Current Problems in Organizing Water Protection Zones at Water Bodies: Case Study of the Uglich Reservoir

A retrospective review of the current scientific publications on the problems of water protection zones at water bodies is given. The content of regulations on water protection zone in the RF Water Code 2006 now in force is interpreted. The legislations regarding the establishment of water protection zones and riparian buffer strips at water bodies in Russia and other countries are compared and analyzed. The technologies and specifics of the development of geoinformation system “Water Protection Zone and Riparian Buffer Strip of a Water Body” are demonstrated as applied to determining the boundary of the water protection zone and riparian buffer strip for the Uglich Reservoir. Assessment of the anthropogenic load onto a drainage basin within the water protection zone of the Uglich Reservoir and a method for geoecological zoning of its territory are considered as an example.     

Identifying the relationships between trophic states and their driving factors in the Shihmen Reservoir,Taiwan

Eutrophication has become a crucial issue for water resource management in recent years. In addition, reservoir trophic states are varied with environmental and water quality variables. The objectives of this study were to apply the DFA model to examine which water quality variables significantly affect variations of trophic state index (TSI) factors (i.e. total phosphorus (TP), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), and Secchi disk transparency (SD)) and use classification and regression tree (CART) to determine the trophic states of the Shinmen Reservoir based on the levels of TSI factors during spring 2001–winter 2009. Results showed that the optimal DFA model contained one common trend (the underlying processes influencing trophic states, which can be rainfall intensity or runoff volume) and 7 explanatory variables. Turbidity (TB), pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) influence concentrations of TP, while ammonium nitrogen (NH₃-N), organic nitrogen (O-N), and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N) control variations of Chl-a, and TB is related to SD. The CART model can specify trophic states only using two dominant driving factors, i.e. TP and Chl-a. The results of the CART illustrated that eutrophication could be occurred in the Shihmen Reservoir if TP is greater than 31.65 μg/L or if Chl-a is greater than 5.95 μg/L while TP concentration is less than 31.65 μg/L. Runoff nonpoint source pollution resulted from heavy storms may be the important factor affecting reservoir trophic states. Establishing vegetative filter strips along the riparian zone may able to effectively reduce this pollution in a reservoir. The integrated DFA and CART serves as good-fit relationships among trophic states, TSI factors, and water quality variables and provide control strategies for managing water quality in the Shihmen Reservoir.     

River Suspended Sediment Control through Riparian Vegetation: A Method to Detect the Functionality of Riparian Vegetation

The aim of this paper is to propose a method to detect the functionality of riparian vegetation as buffers/filters/trap against soil runoff and polluting agents caused by agricultural land and erosion areas, near the river. The suspended sediment yield (SSY) is the main vector for pollutants and nutrients generated from the runoff, in the Apennines torrents, indeed finer particles of the soil and their aggregates were proved to be the preferential vehicle of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other polluting agents. The stages of the current study were to spot soil erosion critical areas by the application of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), on a river strip buffer of 200 m, with support of aerial photos and satellite images, land surveys, and application of a G. I. S. The riparian vegetation analysis, on a 20 m wide buffer, was obtained on the basis of ecologic richness, the structural quality, and the depth of the vegetation. The two maps obtained, “erosion risk strip” and “degree of effectiveness of riparian vegetation”, were connected to identify, for every river trunk, the level of functionality of the riparian vegetation in relation to the level of risk erosion on the near hill slopes. The methodology was applied on the Gaiana torrent, near Bologna, North Italian Apennines, where both basin soil loss and SSY have been well studies. The proposed methodology has been designed for the control of water pollution induced by suspended solids, pollutants, and nutrients coming from soil erosion and as a tool to improve the quality of the river environment. The method has the advantage of being easily applicable and can represent a basic tool for stakeholders to take decisions regarding the control and improvement of the river and it can suggest ways to improve or replant the degraded vegetation on the stream banks.     

三峡库区土地利用对河流溶解性有机质的多时空尺度影响

三峡库区拥有目前世界上规模最大的水利枢纽工程,自投入使用以来,为长江流域提供了丰富的水源及电力,促进了经济的发展,但同时也对该区域的生态环境造成了严重的冲击。澎溪河流域作为三峡库区长江流域干流的典型回水区和消落带,是众多学者研究三峡库区生态环境变化的重点区域。为探究不同时空尺度下土地利用对河流溶解性有机质（DOM）的影响,以澎溪河流域为研究对象,基于紫外-可见光谱分析和三维荧光光谱矩阵-平行因子分析,结合河段缓冲区、河岸带缓冲区及子流域3种空间尺度的二级土地利用类型,解析了旱雨季水体DOM的组成及来源特征,并采用相关分析和冗余分析方法探讨了3种空间尺度下土地利用方式对旱雨季水体DOM的多时空尺度影响。结果表明：（1）旱季水体DOM荧光组分以陆源类腐殖质所占比例更大,雨季水体DOM荧光组分以富里酸贡献为主。（2）流域内陆源输入和内源产生对水体DOM丰度均有贡献,雨季较旱季水体DOM的陆源性更强,自生源特征较弱。（3）土地利用在雨季和子流域尺度下对水体DOM的影响更显著,其中,雨季子流域尺度下,土地利用指数对水体DOM参数的解释率为90.35%。（4）不同土地利用方式对水体DOM产生的影响...     

Intelligent control for modelling of real‐time reservoir operation

This paper presents a new approach to improving real‐time reservoir operation. The approach combines two major procedures: the genetic algorithm (GA) and the adaptive network‐based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The GA is used to search the optimal reservoir operating histogram based on a given inflow series, which can be recognized as the base of input–output training patterns in the next step. The ANFIS is then built to create the fuzzy inference system, to construct the suitable structure and parameters, and to estimate the optimal water release according to the reservoir depth and inflow situation. The practicability and effectiveness of the approach proposed is tested on the operation of the Shihmen reservoir in Taiwan. The current M‐5 operating rule curves of the Shihmen reservoir are also evaluated. The simulation results demonstrate that this new approach, in comparison with the M‐5 rule curves, has superior performance with regard to the prediction of total water deficit and generalized shortage index (GSI). Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of land use on the persistence effect of riverine phosphorus

The persistence effect contribution of legacy nutrients is often cited as a reason for little or no improvement in water quality following extensive implementation of watershed nutrient mitigation actions, yet there is limited knowledge concerning factors influencing this response, often called the “persistence effect.” Here, we adopted detrended fluctuation analysis and Spearman analysis methods to assess the influence of land use on the watershed phosphorus (P) persistence effect, using monthly water quality records during 2010–2016 in 13 catchments within a drinking water reservoir watershed in eastern China. Detrended fluctuation analysis was used to calculate the Hurst exponent α to assess watershed legacy P characteristics (α  ≈ 0.5, α  > 0.5, and α  < 0.5 indicate white noise, persistence, and anti‐persistence, respectively). Results showed weak to strong P persistence (0.60–0.81) in the time series of riverine P in the 13 catchments. The Hurst exponent α had negative relationships with agricultural land (R = ?.47, p = .11) and developed land (R = ?.67, p = .01) and a positive relationship with forest land cover (R = .48, p = .10). The persistence effect of riverine P was mainly determined by retention ability (biogeochemical legacy) and migration efficiency (hydrological legacy). A catchment with strong retention capacity (e.g., biomass uptake/storage and soil PO₄ sorption) and low migration efficiency results in a stronger persistence effect for riverine P. In practice, source control is more effective in catchments with weak persistence, whereas sink control (e.g., riparian buffers and wetlands) is preferred in catchments with strong persistence effects.     

INTEGRATION OF THE MODELS OF ANNAGNPS AND REMM TO ASSESS RIPARIAN BUFFER SYSTEM FOR SEDIMENT REDUCTION

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Annualized Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution model (AnnAGNPS) is used to help evaluate a watershed response to agricultural management practices to control water quality. However, AnnAGNPS version 3.5 does not contain features to estimate the effect of a riparian buffer (RB) system on water quality. The Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) is used to simulate the impact of riparian buffer systems on water quality. However, frequently the lack of measured upland loadings that are required by REMM simulation limits the application of REMM. To address this data gap, a study was conducted to integrate AnnAGNPS with REMM for RB system simulation. AnnAGNPS was used to simulate water and sediment loadings from an upland field into a three-zone RB system at the Gibbs Farm located in the Georgia coastal plain. These AnnAGNPS outputs were used as the inputs to REMM. REMM was used to simulate water and sediment movement along the riparian buffers. The AnnAGNPS simulated amount of annual runoff at the edge of the field was close to observed amounts (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.92). It is believed that a substantial portion of sand was removed from the runoff one meter into the grass buffer where the samplers were located; therefore, sand was excluded from the AnnAGNPS simulation for comparison with observed sediment. Excluding sand, the AnnAGNPS predicted amount of annual sediment matches the observed amount fairly well (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.46). In addition, based on evaluating the percent reduction of sediment at each zonal interface, the AnnAGNPS/REMM model well simulated the function of the RB system to reduce sediment.     

Assessing impacts of riparian buffer zones on sediment and nutrient loadings into streams at watershed scale using an integrated REMM‐SWAT model

Riparian buffer zones in agriculture dominated watersheds play important roles in reducing nonpoint source pollution into aquatic ecosystems and are widely used as a Best Management Practice. Assessment of the effectiveness of riparian buffer zones by modeling method is widely used for watershed management as field measurement‐based assessment is difficult and expensive. The integration of Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been developed to simulate the effect of nonpoint source pollution reduction by riparian buffer zones at subbasin scale. However, there are problems in using the integrated model at subbasin scale, as the size of subbasin partition could affect the pollutant reduction rate by riparian buffers. In this study, we partitioned a large watershed with size of 1331 ha into sub‐watersheds with sizes of 666, 333, 166, 83, 51, and 29 ha, and then compared the different simulation results. We found that the modeling could yield more convergent results when the sub‐watersheds were partitioned into suitable size. In the studied area, the suitable sub‐watershed size was less than about 166 ha for runoff and nitrogen and 83 ha for sediment and phosphorus. Among the eight sub‐watersheds (partitioned based on the size of 166 ha), results showed that the effects of riparian buffers on runoff and nutrient loading varied drastically. The reduction rate varied from 0.26% to 30.13% for runoff, 29.4% to 74.07% for sediment, 9.61% to 57.85% for nitrogen, and 18.61% to 68.12% for phosphorus, respectively.     

Using palm‐mat geotextiles on an arable soil for water erosion control in the UK

To date, most studies of the effectiveness of geotextiles on soil erosion rates and processes have been conducted in laboratory experiments for less than 1 h. Hence, at Hilton (52°33′ N, 2°19′ W), UK, the effectiveness of employing palm‐mat geotextiles for soil erosion control under field conditions on arable loamy sands was investigated. Geotextile‐mats constructed from Borassus aethiopum (Borassus palm of West Africa) and Mauritia flexuosa (Buriti palm of South America) leaves are termed Borassus mats and Buriti mats, respectively. Duplicate runoff plots (10 m × 1 m on a 15° slope) had five treatments (bare, permanent grass, Borassus total plot cover, Borassus buffer strip and Buriti buffer strip). Borassus covered plots had about 72% ground cover and to differentiate between this treatment and Borassus buffer strips, the former treatment is termed Borassus completely‐covered. Runoff and eroded soil were collected from each bounded plot in a concrete gutter, leading to a receptacle. Results from 08/01/2007–23/01/2009 (total precipitation = 1776·5 mm; n = 53 time intervals) show that using Borassus buffer strips (area coverage ～10%) on bare soil decreased runoff volume by about 71% (P > 0·05) and soil erosion by 92% (P < 0·001). Bare plots had nearly 29·1 L m^?2 runoff and 2·36 kg m^?2 soil erosion during that period. Borassus buffer strip, Buriti buffer strip and Borassus completely‐covered plots had similar effects in decreasing runoff volume and soil erosion. Runoff volumes largely explain the variability in soil erosion rates. Although buffer strips of Borassus mats were as effective as whole plot cover of the same mats, the longevity of Borassus mats was nearly twice that of Buriti mats. Thus, use of Borassus mats as buffer strips on bare plots is highly effective for soil erosion control. The mechanisms explaining the effectiveness of buffer strips require further studies under varied pedo‐climatic conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国东南丘陵山区水质良好水库现状与天目湖保护实践

东南丘陵山区是我国水库分布最为集中的区域之一,这些水库在保障区域供水安全方面具有极其重要的作用,应该优先保护.然而,水库水环境保护正面临丘陵山区开发强度持续增加,开发方式和空间布局不合理,氮、磷污染及富营养化趋势严峻,缺乏完善监测和管理体系等众多问题.本文以2000年以来天目湖水库保护实践过程为例,从库体水环境治理、流域污染物削减和综合管理3个方面介绍天目湖沙河水库保护的措施和成效,在此基础上提出良好湖库优先保护的建议:建立具有部门协调能力的水库管理机构,实行基于湖库水生态目标的水质目标管理,治理丘陵山区茶果园的面源污染,注重流域生态系统整体的恢复,禁止上游水源涵养区和临湖地带的开发,划定生态保护红线,明确禁止和限制的开发类型与规模,加强湖库及流域的监测和预警,开展必要的水库水体治理工程,并针对性地制定湖库管理条例.天目湖十几年的保护实践中有效地解决了流域开发与水库水质保护之间的矛盾,使天目湖水质由快速恶化转为稳步好转,为东南丘陵山区经济发展过程中水库的环境保护探索了一条道路.     

Nonpoint source pollution control effectiveness of riparian forests along a coastal plain river

A detention-time model of water quality buffer zones is used to evaluate the nonpoint source pollution control effectiveness of riparian forests in a two-county area of the lower Tar River basin, North Carolina. Soil map units, which represent specific combinations of soil, topography, and vegetation characteristics, are compared in terms of their relative ability to filter nitrate in agricultural runoff. All typical riparian forests provide significant water quality protection, but there is a wide variation in buffer effectiveness. This suggests a need for flexibility in determining buffer widths. A range of 15–80 m is appropriate for the soil-landform-vegetation complexes found in riparian zones within the study area. Buffer widths of 60 m — and often much less — are generally adequate on the soils likely to be used for agricultural production.     

Development of a SWAT extension module to simulate riparian wetland hydrologic processes at a watershed scale

Using a mass balance algorithm, this study develops an extension module that can be embedded in the commonly used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). This module makes it possible to assess effects of riparian wetlands on runoff and sediment yields at a watershed scale, which is very important for aquatic ecosystem management but rarely documented in the literature. In addition to delineating boundaries of a watershed and its subwatersheds, the module groups riparian wetlands within a subwatershed into an equivalent wetland for modelling purposes. Further, the module has functions to compute upland drainage area and other parameters (e.g. maximum volume) for the equivalent wetland based on digital elevation model, stream network, land use, soil and wetland distribution GIS datasets. SWAT is used to estimate and route runoff and sediment generated from upland drainage area. The lateral exchange processes between riparian wetlands and their hydraulically connected streams are simulated by the extension module. The developed module is empirically applied to the 53 km² Upper Canagagigue Creek watershed located in Southern Ontario of Canada. The simulation results indicate that the module can make SWAT more reasonably predict flow and sediment loads at the outlet of the watershed and better represent the hydrologic processes within it. The simulation is sensitive to errors of wetland parameters and channel geometry. The approach of embedding the module into SWAT enables simulation of hydrologic processes in riparian wetlands, evaluation of wetland effects on regulating stream flow and sediment loading and assessment of various wetland restoration scenarios. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江流域水汽收支的时空变化与环流特征

利用自行设计的实验装置和5种土著草皮构建草皮缓冲带,模拟上海地区农业面源污染和降雨特征,进行缓冲带污染物净化效果和草皮生物量监测实验研究结果表明,草皮缓冲带对径流污染物质的净化效果明显高于空白对照,百慕大实验带SS平均截留率最高,达到74％;白花三叶草TN、TP去除率最高,分别为28％和25％;黑麦草受高温的影响,污染物净化效果最差．5种草皮中．百慕大和白花三叶草生物量最大,栽种当年9月份,两者地上部分的生物量鲜重分别为6．14kg／m^2和6．49kg／m^2：百慕大生长速度最快,9月份生物量几乎达到5月份的6倍;草皮生物量的增加明显提高了缓冲带对径流污染物的去除效果,生物量与径流SS去除率呈显著线性相关关系．     

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.