Hydrology and water quality in two mountain basins of the northeastern US: assessing baseline conditions and effects of ski area development

Mountain regions throughout the world face intense development pressures associated with recreational and tourism uses. Despite these pressures, much of the research on bio‐geophysical impacts of humans in mountain regions has focused on the effects of natural resource extraction. This paper describes findings from the first 3 years of a study examining high elevation watershed processes in a region undergoing alpine resort development. Our study is designed as a paired‐watershed experiment. The Ranch Brook watershed (9·6 km²) is a relatively pristine, forested watershed and serves as the undeveloped ‘control’ basin. West Branch (11·7 km²) encompasses an existing alpine ski resort, with approximately 17% of the basin occupied by ski trails and impervious surfaces, and an additional 7% slated for clearing and development. Here, we report results for water years 2001–2003 of streamflow and water quality dynamics for these watersheds. Precipitation increases significantly with elevation in the watersheds, and winter precipitation represents 36–46% of annual precipitation. Artificial snowmaking from water within West Branch watershed currently augments annual precipitation by only 3–4%. Water yield in the developed basin exceeded that in the control by 18–36%. Suspended sediment yield was more than two and a half times greater and fluxes of all major solutes were higher in the developed basin. Our study is the first to document the effects of existing ski area development on hydrology and water quality in the northeastern US and will serve as an important baseline for evaluating the effects of planned resort expansion activities in this area. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太湖上游水源区河流水质对景观格局变化的响应关系——以东苕溪上游为例

景观格局演变作为人类活动的综合表征,通过改变水文过程和径流路径,从而影响非点源污染物的发生位置、迁移路径和转化过程,进而对流域水环境产生深刻影响.苕溪作为太湖的主要入湖河流之一,对太湖水环境有着关键的影响作用.本文以发源于杭州市临安区太湖源镇的东苕溪上游区域作为研究对象,在对河流水质进行两个时期监测的基础上,运用相关性分析、冗余分析和逐步回归分析等方法,综合景观组分指数和景观空间配置指数,在子流域尺度上量化景观指数对河流不同水质指标的解释能力,探讨河流水质对流域景观格局的响应规律.结果表明:1)东苕溪上游大部分监测点总氮浓度远超地表水V类水质标准限值,但氨氮和总磷浓度整体较低,部分监测点可达Ⅰ类水质标准.2)在汛期,景观组成中流域的"源"景观比例是影响水质的重要因素,农业用地占比与硝态氮、总氮浓度呈显著正相关,建设用地占比对氨氮、总磷浓度影响显著;而在非汛期,景观配置因子,特别是表征斑块形状的周长—面积分形维数(PAFRAC)对河流水质的影响极显著.3)无论是汛期还是非汛期,林地和草地对河流中污染物均具有显著的削减作用,是流域河流污染防治的关键"汇"景观.4)从整体上来看,河流氮、磷污染与人类活动强度密切相关,增加景观连通性、降低自然景观的破碎化程度可有效改善河流水环境.