A spatially distributed model for the assessment of land use impacts on stream temperature in small urban watersheds

Stream temperatures in urban watersheds are influenced to a high degree by changes in landscape and climate, which can occur at small temporal and spatial scales. Here, we describe a modelling system that integrates the distributed hydrologic soil vegetation model with the semi‐Lagrangian stream temperature model RBM. It has the capability to simulate spatially distributed hydrology and water temperature over the entire network at high time and space resolutions, as well as to represent riparian shading effects on stream temperatures. We demonstrate the modelling system through application to the Mercer Creek watershed, a small urban catchment near Bellevue, Washington. The results suggest that the model was able to produce realistic streamflow and water temperature predictions that are consistent with observations. We use the modelling construct to characterize impacts of land use change and near‐stream vegetation change on stream temperatures and explore the sensitivity of stream temperature to changes in land use and riparian vegetation. The results suggest that, notwithstanding general warming as a result of climate change over the last century, there have been concurrent increases in low flows as a result of urbanization and deforestation, which more or less offset the effects of a warmer climate on stream temperatures. On the other hand, loss of riparian vegetation plays a more important role in modulating water temperatures, in particular, on annual maximum temperature (around 4 °C), which could be mostly reversed by restoring riparian vegetation in a fairly narrow corridor – a finding that has important implications for management of the riparian corridor. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal regimes in a large upland salmon river: a simple model to identify the influence of landscape controls and climate change on maximum temperatures

Temperature observations at 25 sites in the 2000 km² Dee catchment in NE Scotland were used, in conjunction with geographic information system (GIS) analysis, to identify dominant landscape controls on mean monthly maximum stream temperatures. Maximum winter stream temperatures are mainly controlled by elevation, catchment area and hill shading, whereas the maximum temperatures in summer are driven by more complex interactions, which include the influence of riparian forest cover and distance to coast. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the catchment‐wide distribution of mean weekly maximum stream temperatures for the hottest week of the 2‐year observation period. The results suggested the streams most sensitive to high temperatures are small upland streams at exposed locations without any forest cover and relatively far inland, while lowland streams with riparian forest cover at locations closer to the coast exhibit a moderated thermal regime. Under current conditions, all streams provide a suitable thermal habitat for both, Atlantic salmon and brown trout. Using two climate change scenarios assuming 2·5 and 4 °C air temperature increases, respectively, temperature‐sensitive zones of the stream network were identified, which could potentially have an adverse effect on the thermal habitat of Atlantic salmon and brown trout. Analysis showed that the extension of riparian forests into headwater streams has the potential to moderate changes in temperature under climate change. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of infiltration‐based stormwater management to restore hydrological processes in urban headwater streams

Urbanization threatens headwater stream ecosystems globally. Watershed restoration practices, such as infiltration‐based stormwater management, are implemented to mitigate the detrimental effects of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems. However, their effectiveness for restoring hydrologic processes and watershed storage remains poorly understood. Our study used a comparative hydrology approach to quantify the effects of urban watershed restoration on watershed hydrologic function in headwater streams within the Coastal Plain of Maryland, USA. We selected 11 headwater streams that spanned an urbanization–restoration gradient (4 forested, 4 urban‐degraded, and 3 urban‐degraded) to evaluate changes in watershed hydrologic function from both urbanization and watershed restoration. Discrete discharge and continuous, high‐frequency rainfall‐stage monitoring were conducted in each watershed. These datasets were used to develop 6 hydrologic metrics describing changes in watershed storage, flowpath connectivity, or the resultant stream flow regime. The hydrological effects of urbanization were clearly observed in all metrics, but only 1 of the 3 restored watersheds exhibited partially restored hydrologic function. At this site, a larger minimum runoff threshold was observed relative to the urban‐degraded watersheds, suggesting enhanced infiltration of stormwater runoff within the restoration structure. However, baseflow in the stream draining this watershed remained low compared to the forested reference streams, suggesting that enhanced infiltration of stormwater runoff did not recharge subsurface storage zones contributing to stream baseflow. The highly variable responses among the 3 restored watersheds were likely due to the spatial heterogeneity of urban development, including the level of impervious cover and extent of the storm sewer network. This study yielded important knowledge on how restoration strategies, such as infiltration‐based stormwater management, modulated—or failed to modulate—hydrological processes affected by urbanization, which will help improve the design of future urban watershed management strategies. More broadly, we highlighted a multimetric approach that can be used to monitor the restoration of headwater stream ecosystems in disturbed landscapes.     

Do southern Appalachian Mountain summer stream temperatures respond to removal of understory rhododendron thickets?

Dense understory thickets of the native evergreen shrub Rhododendron maximum expanded initially following elimination of American chestnut by the chestnut blight, and later in response to loss of the eastern hemlock due to hemlock woolly adelgid invasion. Rhododendron thickets often blanket streams and their riparian zones, creating cool, low-light microclimates. To determine the effect of such understory thickets on summer stream temperatures, we removed riparian rhododendron understory on 300 m reaches of two southern Appalachian Mountain headwater streams, while leaving two 300 m reference reaches undisturbed. Overhead canopy was left intact in all four streams, but all streams were selected to have a significant component of dead or dying eastern hemlock in the overstory, creating time-varying canopy gaps throughout the reach. We continuously monitored temperatures upstream, within and downstream of treatment and reference reaches. Temperatures were monitored in all four streams in the summer before treatments were imposed (2014), and for two summers following treatment (2015, 2016). Temperatures varied significantly across and within streams prior to treatment and across years for the reference streams. After rhododendron removal, increases in summer stream temperatures were observed at some locations within the treatment reaches, but these increases did not persist downstream and varied by watershed, sensor, and year. Significant increases in daily maxima in treatment reaches ranged from 0.9 to 2.6°C. Overhead canopy provided enough shade to prevent rhododendron removal from increasing summer temperatures to levels deleterious to native cold-water fauna (average summer temperatures remained below 16°C), and local temperature effects were not persistent.     

Urban stream temperature patterns: Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the Philadelphia region,Pennsylvania, USA

Stream temperature is a critical water quality parameter that is not fully understood, particularly in urban areas. This study explores drivers contributing to stream temperature variability within an urban system, at 21 sites within the Philadelphia region, Pennsylvania, USA. A comprehensive set of temperature metrics were evaluated, including temperature sensitivity, daily maximum temperatures, time >20°C, and temperature surges during storms. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were the strongest driver of downstream temperature variability along 32 km in Wissahickon Creek. WWTP effluent temperature controlled local (1–3 km downstream) temperatures year-round, but the impacts varied seasonally: during winter, local warming of 2–7°C was consistently observed, while local cooling up to 1°C occurred during summer. Summer cooling and winter warming were detected up to 12 km downstream of a WWTP. Comparing effects from different WWTPs provided guidelines for mitigating their thermal impact; WWTPs that discharged into larger streams, had cooler effluent, or had lower discharge had less effect on stream temperatures. Comparing thermal regimes in four urban headwater streams, sites with more local riparian canopy had cooler maximum temperatures by up to 1.5°C, had lower temperature sensitivity, and spent less time at high temperatures, although mean temperatures were unaffected. Watershed-scale impervious area was associated with increased surge frequency and magnitude at headwater sites, but most storms did not result in a surge and most surges had a low magnitude. These results suggest that maintaining or restoring riparian canopy in urban settings will have a larger impact on stream temperatures than stormwater management that treats impervious area. Mitigation efforts may be most impactful at urban headwater sites, which are particularly vulnerable to stream temperature disruptions. It is vital that stream temperature impacts are considered when planning stormwater management or stream restoration projects, and the appropriate metrics need to be considered when assessing impacts.     

Climate and land cover effects on the temperature of Puget Sound streams

We apply an integrated hydrology‐stream temperature modeling system, DHSVM‐RBM, to examine the response of the temperature of the major streams draining to Puget Sound to land cover and climate change. We first show that the model construct is able to reconstruct observed historic streamflow and stream temperature variations at a range of time scales. We then explore the relative effect of projected future climate and land cover change, including riparian vegetation, on streamflow and stream temperature. Streamflow in summer is likely to decrease as the climate warms especially in snowmelt‐dominated and transient river basins despite increased streamflow in their lower reaches associated with urbanization. Changes in streamflow also result from changes in land cover, and changes in stream shading result from changes in riparian vegetation, both of which influence stream temperature. However, we find that the effect of riparian vegetation changes on stream temperature is much greater than land cover change over the entire basin especially during summer low flow periods. Furthermore, while future projected precipitation change will have relatively modest effects on stream temperature, projected future air temperature increases will result in substantial increases in stream temperature especially in summer. These summer stream temperature increases will be associated both with increasing air temperature, and projected decreases in low flows. We find that restoration of riparian vegetation could mitigate much of the projected summer stream temperature increases. We also explore the contribution of riverine thermal loadings to the heat balance of Puget Sound, and find that the riverine contribution is greatest in winter, when streams account for up to 1/8 of total thermal inputs (averaged from December through February), with larger effects in some sub‐basins. We project that the riverine impact on thermal inputs to Puget Sound will become greater with both urbanization and climate change in winter but become smaller in summer due to climate change. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Riparian canopy openings on mountain streams: Landscape controls upon temperature increases within openings and cooling downstream

How much stream temperatures increase within riparian canopy openings and whether stream temperatures cool downstream of these openings both have important policy implications. Past studies of stream cooling downstream of riparian openings have found mixed results including rapid, slow, and no cooling. We collected longitudinal profiles of stream temperatures above, within, and below riparian forest openings along stream segments within otherwise forested riparian conditions to evaluate how sensitivity of stream temperatures to riparian conditions varied across landscape factors. We conducted these temperature surveys across openings in 12 wadeable streams within and near the Upper Little Tennessee River Basin in western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia. Basin areas ranged from 74 to 6,913 ha, and bankfull channel widths varied from 3.4 to 16.4 m. Stream temperatures were collected every 15 min using HOBO® data loggers for 2 weeks in each stream, repeated later in summer in some streams. Reference temperatures were highest in stream reaches at low elevations and with large drainage areas. Stream temperature increases in the middle of riparian gaps were highest when streams drained small high-elevation watersheds, and increases at the end of openings were highest when the opening length was large relative to watershed size. Downstream from openings, cooling rates were greatest in small, high-elevation headwater streams and also increased with larger increases in canopy cover. Stream segments that warmed the most within openings also featured higher cooling rates downstream. The data show that stream temperature sensitivity to canopy change is highly dependent on network position and watershed size. A better understanding of stream temperature responses to riparian vegetation may be useful to land managers and landowners prioritizing riparian forest restoration.     

Streambank sediment loading rates at the watershed scale and the benefit of riparian protection

Streambank erosion is a pathway for sediment and nutrient loading to streams, but insufficient data exist on the magnitude of this source. Riparian protection can significantly decrease streambank erosion in some locations, but estimates of actual sediment load reductions are limited. The objective of this research was to quantify watershed‐scale streambank erosion and estimate the benefits of riparian protection. The research focused on Spavinaw Creek within the Eucha‐Spavinaw watershed in eastern Oklahoma, where composite streambanks consist of a small cohesive topsoil layer underlain by non‐cohesive gravel. Fine sediment erosion from 2003 to 2013 was derived using aerial photography and processed in ArcMap to quantify eroded area. ArcMap was also utilized in determining the bank retreat rate at various locations in relation to the riparian vegetation buffer width. Box and whisker plots clearly showed that sites with riparian vegetation had on average three times less bank retreat than unprotected banks, statistically significant based on non‐parametric t‐tests. The total soil mass eroded from 2003 to 2013 was estimated at 7.27 × 10⁷ kg yr.^?1, and the average bank retreat was 2.5 m yr.^?1. Many current erosion models assume that fluvial erosion is the dominant stream erosion process. Bank retreat was positively correlated with stream discharge and/or stream power, but with considerable variability, suggesting that mass wasting plays an important role in streambank erosion within this watershed. Finally, watershed monitoring programs commonly characterize erosion at only a few sites and may scale results to the entire watershed. Selection of random sites and scaling to the watershed scale greatly underestimated the actual erosion and loading rates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrology and related changes after harvesting native forest catchments and establishing pinus radiata plantations. Part 3. Stream temperatures

Eight small steep south-west facing catchments (1-63-8-26 ha) have been monitored in Westland, New Zealand since 1974. Two catchments were retained in native mixed evergreen forest and the rest were subjected to various harvesting and land preparation techniques before being planted with Pinus radiata between 1977 and 1980. Stream temperatures were measured in all catchments for 11 years, including up to four years before harvesting. The streamwater temperature regime under the native forest cover has a seasonal cycle, with an annual mean of about 9°C and mean daily temperatures ranging between a winter minimum of about 5.8°C and a summer maximum of 12.S°C. After harvesting, the winter minimum stream temperatures in all trials were unchanged as topography exerts the major control over incoming solar radiation. The largest rises in mean summer stream temperatures, up to 5.5°C, were in the catchments that had been clearcut and burnt before planting. The maximum stream temperature recorded was 22.8°C in a clearcut catchment with no riparian reserve. Summer stream temperatures in this catchment were up to 11°C higher than in an adjacent control catchment. Summer stream temperature rises in catchments with riparian reserves were less than 1.5°C. Seven years after harvesting, stream temperatures were dropping towards pre-treatments levels in only two of the six treated catchments as revegetation of the riparian areas occurred and the plantations became established. As these small headwater streams discharge into streams with flows one or two orders of magnitude larger, the increases in summer stream temperatures will be rapidly dissipated. However, the cumulative impact of harvesting many small headwater catchments that discharge into a larger stream could have a noticeable effect on stream temperature if intact riparian reserves were not retained in both headwater and main streams.     

T‐NET,a dynamic model for simulating daily stream temperature at the regional scale based on a network topology

Currently, the distribution areas of aquatic species are studied by using air temperature as a proxy of water temperature, which is not available at a regional scale. To simulate water temperature at a regional scale, a physically based model using the equilibrium temperature concept and including upstream‐downstream propagation of the thermal signal is proposed. This model, called Temperature‐NETwork (T‐NET), is based on a hydrographical network topology and was tested at the Loire basin scale (10⁵ km²). The T‐NET model obtained a mean root mean square error of 1.6 °C at a daily time step on the basis of 128 water temperature stations (2008–2012). The model obtained excellent performance at stations located on small and medium rivers (distance from headwater <100 km) that are strongly influenced by headwater conditions (median root mean square error of 1.8 °C). The shading factor and the headwater temperature were the most important variables on the mean simulated temperature, while the river discharge influenced the daily temperature variation and diurnal amplitude. The T‐NET model simulates specific events, such as temperature of the Loire during the floods of June 1992 and the thermal regime response of streams during the heatwave of August 2003, much more efficiently than a simple point‐scale heat balance model. The T‐NET model is very consistent at a regional scale and could easily be transposed to changing forcing conditions and to other catchments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The response of headwater stream channels to urbanization in the humid tropics

Analysis of the bankfull cross-sections of headwater streams in Ado-Ekiti region of Southwestern Nigeria and their comparison with data from other tropical environments and temperate latitudes reveal that the channel capacities of streams in the humid tropics are relatively smaller than those of temperate regions, averaging 1.51 m² with a coefficient of variation of 87 per cent. This is attributed to the small stream discharge, the predominantly low and highly seasonal flows of the streams, the low shear stress of stream load, and the stabilizing and protective influence of riparian vegetation and surface incrustations. The chanel capacities of the urban streams (mean = 1.13m²) are about 47 per cent smaller than those of the natural streams (mean = 2.12 m²) in the same ecological zone. In terms of hydraulic efficiency, the urban streams also have relatively inefficient cross-sections and larger width/depth ratios than their rural or natural counterparts. Resurveys of seventeen monumented cross-sections reveal that while channel shoulder width increased by only 6 per cent over a one-year period, channel depth and capacity decreased by 16 per cent and 4 per cent respectively; the observed decrease in channel size occurs entirely in the channel depth dimension. Thus the response of stream channels to the urbanization of small headwater catchments in the humid tropics is probably more of vertical accretion of channel bed and reduction in channel capacity rather than the widely-reported anomalous enlargement of urban streams through channel widening. The rapid rate of channel aggradation is attributed to excessive rates of sediment production and delivery to streams in urbanized catchments in the humid tropics, rapid deposition of sediments during small runoff events and on the falling stage of storm hydrographs, and the inability of the streams to evacuate the sediments delivered to them despite the increased discharge and peak flow associated with urbanization. The low competence of the urban streams is attributed to the predominance of low flows, very gentle bed slopes, and most importantly the widespread dumping of refuse into the channels thereby reducing flow velocity and promoting backwater flooding, ponding, and sedimentation. The correlations between drainage basin area, a surrogate for stream discharge, and channel capacity are very strong for the rural watersheds, and the regression analysis indicates a tendency towards a steady-state isometric relationship. Urban channels are, to a large extent, in disequilibrium with the urban hydrological state. However, spatial variations in the degree of urbanization of the catchments, and, therefore in runoff volume and velocity, exercise strong control on channel width, depth, and size. A model of the sequence of stream channel adjustment to the urbanization of small headwater catchments in the humid tropics is presented.     

Stream temperature response to variable glacier coverage in coastal watersheds of Southeast Alaska

We measured stream temperature continuously during the 2011 summer run‐off season (May through October) in nine watersheds of Southeast Alaska that provide spawning habitat for Pacific salmon. The nine watersheds have glacier coverage ranging from 0% to 63%. Our goal was to determine how air temperature and watershed land cover, particularly glacier coverage, influence stream temperature across the seasonal glacial meltwater hydrograph. Multiple linear regression models identified mean watershed elevation (related to glacier extent) and watershed lake coverage (%) as the strongest landscape controls on mean monthly stream temperature, with the weakest (May) and strongest (July) models explaining 86% and 97% of the temperature variability, respectively. Mean weekly stream temperature was significantly correlated with mean weekly air temperature in seven streams; however, the relationships were weak to non‐significant in the streams influenced by glacial run‐off. Streams with >30% glacier coverage showed decreasing stream temperatures with rising summer air temperatures, whereas those with <30% glacier coverage exhibited summertime warming. Glaciers also had a cooling effect on monthly mean stream temperature during the summer (July through September) equivalent to a decrease of 1.1 °C for each 10% increase in glacier coverage. The maximum weekly average temperature (an index of thermal suitability for salmon) in the six glacial streams was substantially below the lower threshold for optimum salmon growth. This finding suggests that although glaciers are important for moderating summer stream temperatures, future reductions in glacier run‐off may actually improve the thermal suitability of some glacially dominated streams in Southeast Alaska for salmon. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Landscape influence on small‐scale water temperature variations in a moorland catchment

We monitored temperatures in stream water, groundwater and riparian wetland surface water over 18 months in a 3.2‐km² moorland catchment in the Scottish Highlands. The stream occupies a glaciated valley, aligned east–west. It has three main headwater tributaries with a large north facing catchment, a south facing catchment and the smallest east facing headwater. The lower catchment sampling locations begin after the convalescence of all three headwaters. Much of the stream network is fringed by riparian peatlands. Stream temperatures are mainly regulated by energy exchanges at the air–water interface. However, they are also influenced by inflows from the saturated riparian zone, where surface water source areas are strongly connected with the stream network. Consequently, the spatial distribution of stream temperatures exhibits limited variability. Nevertheless, there are significant summer differences between the headwaters, despite their close proximity to each other. This is consistent with aspect (and incident radiation), given the south and east facing headwaters having higher temperatures. The largest, north‐facing sub‐catchment shows lower summer diurnal temperature variability, suggesting that lower radiation inputs dampen temperature extremes. Whilst stream water temperature regimes in the lower catchment exhibit little change along a 1‐km reach, they are similar to those in the largest headwater; probably reflecting size and comparable catchment aspect and hydrological flow paths. Our results suggest that different parts of the channel network and its connected wetlands have contrasting sensitivity to higher summer temperatures. This may be important in land management strategies designed to mitigate the impacts of projected climatic warming. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Air‐stream temperature correlation in forested and urban headwater streams in the Southern Appalachians

Air temperature can be an effective predictor of stream temperature. However, little work has been done in studying urban impacts on air‐stream relationships in groundwater‐fed headwater streams in mountainous watersheds. We applied wavelet coherence analysis to two 13‐month continuous (1 hr interval) stream and air temperature datasets collected at Boone Creek, an urban stream, and Winkler Creek, a forest stream, in northwestern North Carolina. The main advantage of a wavelet coherence analysis approach is the ability to analyse non‐stationary dynamics for the temporal covariance between air and stream temperature over time and at multiple temporal scales (e.g. hours, days, weeks and months). The coherence is both time and scale‐dependent. Our research indicated that air temperature generally co‐varied with stream temperature at time scales greater than 0.5 day. The correlation was poor during the winter at the scales of 1 to 64 days and summer at the scales of 1.5 to 4 days, respectively. The empirical models that relate air temperature to stream temperature failed at these scales and during these periods. Finally, urbanization altered the air‐stream temperature correlation at intermediate time scales ranging from 2 to 12 days. The correlation at the urban creek increased at the 12‐day scale, whereas it decreased at scales of 2 to 7 days as compared with the forested stream, which is probably due to heated surface runoff during summer thunderstorms or leaking stormwater or wastewater collection systems. Our results provide insights into air‐stream temperature relationships over both time and scale domains. Identifying controls over time and scales are needed to predict water temperature to understand the future impacts that interacting climate and land use changes will have on aquatic ecosystem in river networks. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of a rock glacier spring on the stream energy budget and cold‐water refuge in an alpine stream

The thermal regimes of alpine streams remain understudied and have important implications for cold‐water fish habitat, which is expected to decline due to climatic warming. Previous research has focused on the effects of distributed energy fluxes and meltwater from snowpacks and glaciers on the temperature of mountain streams. This study presents the effects of the groundwater spring discharge from an inactive rock glacier containing little ground ice on the temperature of an alpine stream. Rock glaciers are coarse blocky landforms that are ubiquitous in alpine environments and typically exhibit low groundwater discharge temperatures and resilience to climatic warming. Water temperature data indicate that the rock glacier spring cools the stream by an average of 3 °C during July and August and reduces maximum daily temperatures by an average of 5 °C during the peak temperature period of the first two weeks in August, producing a cold‐water refuge downstream of the spring. The distributed stream surface and streambed energy fluxes are calculated for the reach along the toe of the rock glacier, and solar radiation dominates the distributed stream energy budget. The lateral advective heat flux generated by the rock glacier spring is compared to the distributed energy fluxes over the study reach, and the spring advective heat flux is the dominant control on stream temperature at the reach scale. This study highlights the potential for coarse blocky landforms to generate climatically resilient cold‐water refuges in alpine streams.     

Temperature in lowland Danish streams: contemporary patterns,empirical models and future scenarios

Continuous temperature measurements at 11 stream sites in small lowland streams of North Zealand, Denmark over a year showed much higher summer temperatures and lower winter temperatures along the course of the stream with artificial lakes than in the stream without lakes. The influence of lakes was even more prominent in the comparisons of colder lake inlets and warmer outlets and led to the decline of cold‐water and oxygen‐demanding brown trout. Seasonal and daily temperature variations were, as anticipated, dampened by forest cover, groundwater input, input from sewage plants and high downstream discharges. Seasonal variations in daily water temperature could be predicted with high accuracy at all sites by a linear air‐water regression model (r²: 0·903–0·947). The predictions improved in all instances (r²: 0·927–0·964) by a non‐linear logistic regression according to which water temperatures do not fall below freezing and they increase less steeply than air temperatures at high temperatures because of enhanced heat loss from the stream by evaporation and back radiation. The predictions improved slightly (r²: 0·933–0·969) by a multiple regression model which, in addition to air temperature as the main predictor, included solar radiation at un‐shaded sites, relative humidity, precipitation and discharge. Application of the non‐linear logistic model for a warming scenario of 4–5 °C higher air temperatures in Denmark in 2070‐2100 yielded predictions of temperatures rising 1·6–3·0 °C during winter and summer and 4·4–6·0 °C during spring in un‐shaded streams with low groundwater input. Groundwater‐fed springs are expected to follow the increase of mean air temperatures for the region. Great caution should be exercised in these temperature projections because global and regional climate scenarios remain open to discussion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating process‐based flow and temperature models to assess riparian forests and temperature amelioration in salmon streams

The importance of riparian tree cover in reducing energy inputs to streams is increasingly recognized in schemes to mitigate climate change effects and protect freshwater ecosystems. Assessing different riparian management strategies requires catchment‐scale understanding of how different planting scenarios would affect the stream energy balance, coupled with a quantitative assessment of spatial patterns of streamflow generation. Here, we use the physically based MIKE SHE model to integrate simulations of catchment‐scale run‐off generation and in‐stream hydraulics with a heat transfer model. This was calibrated to model the spatio‐temporal distribution of hourly stream water temperature during warm low flow periods in a Scottish salmon stream. The model was explored as a “proof of concept” for a tool to investigate the effects of riparian management on high stream water temperatures that could affect juvenile Atlantic salmon. Uncertainty was incorporated into the assessment using the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation approach. Results showed that by decreasing both the warming (daylight hours) and the cooling (night‐time hours) rates, forest cover leads to a reduction of the temperature range (with a delay of the time to peak by up to 2 hr) and can therefore be effectively used to moderate projected climate change effects. The modelling presented here facilitated the quantification of potential mitigating effects of alternative riparian management strategies and provided a valuable tool that has potential to be utilized as an evidence base for catchment management guidance.     

Determining long time‐scale hyporheic zone flow paths in Antarctic streams

In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, glaciers are the source of meltwater during the austral summer, and the streams and adjacent hyporheic zones constitute the entire physical watershed; there are no hillslope processes in these systems. Hyporheic zones can extend several metres from each side of the stream, and are up to 70 cm deep, corresponding to a lateral cross‐section as large as 12 m², and water resides in the subsurface year around. In this study, we differentiate between the near‐stream hyporheic zone, which can be characterized with stream tracer experiments, and the extended hyporheic zone, which has a longer time‐scale of exchange. We sampled stream water from Green Creek and from the adjacent saturated alluvium for stable isotopes of D and ¹⁸O to assess the significance and extent of stream‐water exchange between the streams and extended hyporheic zones over long time‐scales (days to weeks). Our results show that water residing in the extended hyporheic zone is much more isotopically enriched (up to 11‰ D and 2·2‰ ¹⁸O) than stream water. This result suggests a long residence time within the extended hyporheic zone, during which fractionation has occurred owing to summer evaporation and winter sublimation of hyporheic water. We found less enriched water in the extended hyporheic zone later in the flow season, suggesting that stream water may be exchanged into and out of this zone, on the time‐scale of weeks to months. The transient storage model OTIS was used to characterize the exchange of stream water with the extended hyporheic zone. Model results yield exchange rates (α) generally an order magnitude lower (10^?5 s^?1) than those determined using stream‐tracer techniques on the same stream. In light of previous studies in these streams, these results suggest that the hyporheic zones in Antarctic streams have near‐stream zones of rapid stream‐water exchange, where ‘fast’ biogeochemical reactions may influence water chemistry, and extended hyporheic zones, in which slower biogeochemical reaction rates may affect stream‐water chemistry at longer time‐scales. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the impact of recent land‐cover changes on the stream flows in northeastern Puerto Rico

We investigated the influence of recent and future land‐cover changes on stream flow of a watershed northeastern Puerto Rico using hydrological modeling and simulation analysis. Monthly and average annual stream flows were compared between an agricultural period (1973–1980) and an urbanized/reforested period (1988–1995) using the revised Generalized Watershed Loading Function model. Our validated results show that a smaller proportion of rainfall became stream flows in the urbanized/forested period compared with the agricultural period, apparently because of reforestation. Sensitivity analysis of the model showed that evapotranspiration, precipitation, and curve number were the most significant factors influencing stream flow. Simulations of projected land‐cover scenarios indicate that annual stream flows would increase by 9·6% in a total urbanization scenario, decrease by 3·6% in a total reforestation scenario, and decrease by 1·1% if both reforestation and urbanization continue at their current rates to 2020. An imposed hurricane event that was similar in scale to the largest recent event on the three land‐cover scenarios would increase the daily stream flow by 62·1%, 68·4% and 67·1% respectively. Owing to the environmental setting of eastern Puerto Rico, where sea breezes caused by temperature differences between land surface and the ocean dominate the local climate, we suggest that managing local land‐cover changes can have important consequences for water management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Floodplain connection buffers seasonal changes in urban stream water quality

Urban streams in the Northeastern United States have large road salt inputs during the winter, increased nonpoint sources of inorganic nitrogen and decreased short‐term and permanent storage of nutrients. Restoration activities that re‐establish connection between streams and riparian environments may be effective for improving urban stream water quality. Meadowbrook Creek, a first‐order stream in Syracuse, NY, provides a unique setting to explore impacts of stream–floodplain connection because it flows along a negative urbanization gradient, from channelized and armoured headwaters to a broad, vegetated floodplain with a riparian aquifer. In this study, we investigated how reconnection to groundwater and introduction of riparian vegetation impacted urban surface water chemistry by making biweekly longitudinal surveys of stream water chemistry in the creek from May 2012 until June 2013. We used multiple methods to measure groundwater discharge rates along the creek. Chloride concentrations in the upstream, disconnected reach were influenced by discharge of road salt during snow melt events and ranged from 161.2 to 1440 mg/l. Chloride concentrations in the downstream, connected reach had less temporal variation, ranging from 252.0 to 1049 mg/l, because of buffering by groundwater discharge, as groundwater chloride concentrations ranged from 84.0 to 655.4 mg/l. In the summer, there was little to no nitrate in the disconnected reach because of limited sources and high primary productivity, but concentrations reached over 1 mg N/l in the connected reach because of the presence of riparian vegetation. During the winter, when temperatures fell below freezing, nitrate concentrations in the disconnected reach increased to 0.58 mg N/l but were still lower than the connected reach, which averaged 0.88 mg N/l. Urban stream restoration projects that restore floodplain connection may impact water quality by storing high salinity road run‐off during winter overbank events and discharging that water year‐round, thereby attenuating seasonal fluctuations in chloride. Contrary to prior findings, we observed that floodplain connection and riparian vegetation may alter nitrate sources and sinks such that nitrate concentrations increase longitudinally in connected urban streams. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.