2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/21/2018 | 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM | RESTORING STREAM ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION ON WORKING LANDS TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY | 420 B
RESTORING STREAM ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION ON WORKING LANDS TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
Stream restoration often focuses on returning stream habitat features to their historic configuration via intensive channel engineering. Targeted restoration of selected ecosystem functions (e.g., nutrient retention) has become more prevalent given goals to improve water quality in systems where traditional habitat restoration is infeasible (e.g., urban, agricultural). For example, ten years ago, we restored connectivity in 600m of an agricultural stream by adding small inset floodplains to the formerly channelized system. Floodplain restoration immediately increased sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen retention by increasing bioreactive surface area and improved storm resilience by decreasing water velocity. Other improvements emerged years later, including increased floodplain denitrification and a shift from silt-dominated to sand- and gravel-dominated substrate, the latter having potential positive consequences for macroinvertebrates, but potentially reducing high-denitrification habitat. The short length of the restored reach limited its watershed-scale effects, but model results suggest that floodplain restoration could decrease nitrogen and phosphorus export by 10 and 30%, respectively, if all headwaters reaches in the sub-watershed were restored. We conclude that restoring stream ecosystem function through targeted strategies (e.g., floodplain construction) offers a low-cost but effective approach to improving water quality in working agricultural lands.
- Restoration
- Floodplain
- Nutrients
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Presenters/Authors
Sarah S. Roley
(), Washington State University, sarah.roley@wsu.edu;
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Jennifer L. Tank
(), University of Notre Dame, tank.1@nd.edu;
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Brittany Hanrahan
(), USDA Agricultural Research Service, br.hanrahan@gmail.com;
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Matt Trentman
(), Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, matt.trentman@flbs.umt.edu;
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