Vegetation for Restoring Ecosystems & Treating Stormwater
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Transcript of Vegetation for Restoring Ecosystems & Treating Stormwater
Vegetation for Restoring Ecosystems & Treating Stormwater
Eve Brantley, Ph.D. – AuburnKathy DeBusk - NCSUKaren Hall, NCSU Wendi Hartup - NCSUFrank Henning, EPA-SRWPBill Hunt, Ph.D., PE, NCSUFouad Jaber, Ph.D. – TAMUGreg Jennings, Ph.D., PE, NCSUAmanda Abnee Gumbert - UKAshley Osborne – UKMark Risse, Ph.D.,PE - UGACalvin B. Sawyer, Ph.D – ClemsonDotty Woodson, Ed.D - TAMU Mitch Woodward - NCSUJason Wright, NCSU
Learning Center Website -http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/StreamVeg.html
Watersheds, Water Quality, and Vegetation
(So many functions, so little time)
Eve Brantley, PhDDepartment of Agronomy and Soils
Auburn University, ALAlabama Cooperative Extension System
Overview Watershed Vegetation and Streamside Forests
• Introduction to Watersheds• Changing Hydrology• Vegetation and Ecosystem Services• Invaders• Know the rules
Meet Your Watershed
Watersheds are the platformsWatersheds are the platforms
A Watershed is an area of land that drains to a single outlet.
Center for Watershed Protection
Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.
Infiltration and Runoff
Surface runoff occurs when rainfall intensity exceeds infiltration capacity.
Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.
Stream Order
From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices
Stream Order
Stream Order
From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices
Stream Order
From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices
Stream Orders
• 1st – 3rd Orders = Headwaters and smaller streams
• 4th – 6th Orders = Mid-size rivers
• > 6th Order = Large rivers
Ecosystem Services
– Floodwater storage / retention– Pollutant transformation– Sediment storage– Groundwater recharge– Stream channel
stabilization– Habitat
• Single identifiable source of pollution– Wastewater treatment
plant– Industry
• Usually permitted
Point SourcePoint Source
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Polluted Runoff is the #1 Water Quality Problem in the U.S.*
Polluted Runoff is the #1 Water Quality Problem in the U.S.*
* USEPA* USEPA Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
• Comes from many different sources– Not one person (or
animal) to blame
• Caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground
Land Use• Existing, past, and future land use are key factors to
current and future water quality and quantity• Different land uses have different impacts on water
quality
Land Use examples:• Urban• Suburban• Transitional• Agriculture• Forest / Silviculture
Urban Land
• Heavy metals• Oil• Grease• Toxic chemicals
Dr. Mimi Fearn, USA
Suburban Land
• Fertilizers• Herbicides• Pet Waste
Washington Dept of Ecology, King County
Transitional Land
• Sediment
Agricultural / Rural Land
• Fertilizer• Sediment• Pathogens from
untreated animal waste
Forest / Silviculture
• Sediment• Pathogens (wildlife)
Current and Past Legacies
Arthur Rothstein, WPA
Arthur Rothstein, WPA
Development Impacts on the Water Cycle
50%
10%
15%55%
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Impervious SurfacesMaterials like cement, asphalt, roofing, and compacted soil that prevent percolation of runoff into the ground.
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Changing Hydrology
Changing Hydrology• In Urban Areas
– Water arrives at streams faster– Greater amounts of water– Transporting lots of pollutants
More Runoff
Arriving Faster
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Changing Hydrology
What are we losing?
• Ecosystem Services• Shift in the hydrologic cycle – potential reduction in
infiltration, evapotranspiration, and storage– Modification of streams– Decrease in groundwater recharge– Increased flooding– Decreased pollutant transformation– Increased erosion– Degradation of habitat
Picture Credit Dan Ballard
Impervious surfaces have been linked to degradation of stream water quality and habitat quality
Stream Condition Related to Impervious Surface
Urban Drainage Network
GoodGood
Fair
Poor
Impaired
ProtectedProtected
Degraded
From Schueler, 2002
Which is healthier?
Which is healthier?
Which is healthier?
What were the unhealthy streams missing?
What were the unhealthy streams missing?
• TREES!• Natural Habitats• Good Water Quality
Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices, 10/98, by the Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group (FISRWG)."
What Should We Do?
• Resource Based Planning for Growth
• Stormwater Management
• Urban Forest Enhancement
• Streamside Forest Protection and Restoration
How does watershed vegetation influence ecosystem health?
Watershed Vegetation
• Shading • Temperature • Food sources for
aquatic animals• Woody debris• Bank stability• Filtering nutrients
and sediments• Wildlife Corridor
Shading-Temperature
Cool it.
• Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen than cooler waters
Cool it.• Warmer water increases metabolic rate of
aquatic animals
Cool it.
No shade means more stress.
Food sources for aquatic animals
• Aquatic macroinvertebrates (aka critters)
• Feeding Groups– Shredders– Filter Feeders– Grazers– Predators
Some Photos by M. Clapp www.bgsd.k12.wa.us
Food Source
Shredder Filter Feeder
http://aslo.org/photopost/
Coarse particulate organic matter Fine particulate organic matter
Large woody debris
• aka logs
• Habitat diversity (structure)
• Flow diversity
Large woody debris
Filtering nutrients and sediments
Pollutant Processing
University of MN SULIS
LeavesIntercept rainfall
StemsSlow overland flow
Roots and soil microbesTransform pollutants
Bank stability – Erosion Minimization
Bank stability
Erosion Minimization
ROOTS!
STEMS!
Stable banks and roots provide habitat
Undercut bank
Roots in water
Habitat and Wildlife Corridors
Streamside Vegetation
• Shading • Temperature • Food sources for
aquatic animals• Woody debris• Bank stability• Filtering nutrients
and sediments • Wildlife Corridor
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
• Kudzu• Chinese privet• Japanese Honeysuckle• Japanese Climbing
Fern• Stilt Grass
(Microstegium)• Wisteria• Cogon Grass
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with native vegetation
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with native vegetation
• Low habitat value
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
http://www.duke.edu/web/butterflies/df-habitats.htm
• Remove and replace with native vegetation
• Low habitat value
• May not be providing erosion control
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with native vegetation
• Low habitat value
• May not be providing erosion control
• May alter processes like native plant regeneration, decomposition, and nutrient cycling
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
www.tytyga.com
• Remove and replace with native vegetation
• Low habitat value
• May not be providing erosion control
• May alter processes like native plant regeneration, decomposition, and nutrient cycling
• Streams act as watershed conveyer belts
Invasive, Nonnative Plants
Invasive removal
• Physical removal• Foliar Application• Basal spray• Cut and paint
Invasive, Nonnative Resources
• Southeast Invasive Pest Plant Council• http://www.se-eppc.org/index.cfm
• Let me help you get started:– Privet Pull– Mimosa Maim– Kudzu Kill– Honeysuckle Hound
Streamside Forest Width
• Depends on your goals– Temperature Control– Streambank Stability– Minimize Human /
Livestock Impacts– Pollutant Removal– Wildlife Habitat
Streamside Forest Width
• Depends on regulations– Buffer Ordinances
Rupprecht, et al. Riparian and Wetland Buffers for Water-Quality Protection, Stormwater, November-December 2009
Get to know your buffer rules• Local or State
– What is minimum width?– What are allowable disturbances?
Watershed Vegetation
• Shading • Temperature • Food sources for
aquatic animals• Woody debris• Bank stability• Filtering nutrients
and sediments• Wildlife Corridor
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PN7X9R9
Please Complete the Program Evaluation!
Stream Vegetation Learning Centerwww.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/StreamVeg.html