2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
5/20/2019 | 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM | IRRIGATION CANALS ARE NEWLY CREATED STREAMS OF SEMI-ARID AGRICULTURAL REGIONS | 253 AB
IRRIGATION CANALS ARE NEWLY CREATED STREAMS OF SEMI-ARID AGRICULTURAL REGIONS
Diversion of surface water to support production agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions has degraded ecosystems but also created potential habitat along and in canals. The prevalence of canals and the immense amount of water used for agriculture have created new artificial stream systems urban and agricultural landscapes. We examined the hydrological and ecological characteristics of streams and canals in urban in northeastern Colorado. Despite artificial flow patterns and physical structure taxonomic and functional composition of riparian plant and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities indicated that ecological similarities exist between streams and canals. Surrounding landuse impacted the degree of similarity, with stronger similarities between streams and canals in agricultural areas. We developed a Habitat Quality Index (HQI) that combined physical and biological measures into a single index and compared this to biodiversity and EPT bioassessment methods. Streams scored higher on average within agriculture and urban landscape compared to canals; however, one third of urban canals scored above the average of agricultural streams. This multidisciplinary study shows that irrigation canals can be valuable riparian and aquatic habitat, especially in regions with degraded streams.
- Urban
- Landuse
- Landscape
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Presenters/Authors
Erick Carlson
(), Marietta College, eac005@marietta.edu;
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