scholarly journals Designing a suite of measurements to understand the critical zone

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Brantley ◽  
Roman A. DiBiase ◽  
Tess A. Russo ◽  
Yuning Shi ◽  
Henry Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Critical Zone ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Spatial Density ◽  
Earth Surface ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Landscape Morphology ◽  
Shale Hills

Abstract. Many scientists have begun to refer to the earth surface environment from the upper canopy to the depths of bedrock as the critical zone (CZ). Identification of the CZ as an integral object worthy of study implicitly posits that the study of the whole earth surface will provide benefits that do not arise when studying the individual parts. To study the CZ, however, requires prioritizing among the measurements that can be made – and we do not generally agree on the priorities. Currently, the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO) is expanding from a small original focus area (0.08 km2, Shale Hills catchment), to a larger watershed (164 km2, Shavers Creek watershed) and is grappling with the prioritization. This effort is an expansion from a monolithologic first-order forested catchment to a watershed that encompasses several lithologies (shale, sandstone, limestone) and land use types (forest, agriculture). The goal of the project remains the same: to understand water, energy, gas, solute, and sediment (WEGSS) fluxes that are occurring today in the context of the record of those fluxes over geologic time as recorded in soil profiles, the sedimentary record, and landscape morphology. Given the small size of the Shale Hills catchment, the original design incorporated measurement of as many parameters as possible at high temporal and spatial density. In the larger Shavers Creek watershed, however, we must focus the measurements. We describe a strategy of data collection and modeling based on a geomorphological and land use framework that builds on the hillslope as the basic unit. Interpolation and extrapolation beyond specific sites relies on geophysical surveying, remote sensing, geomorphic analysis, the study of natural integrators such as streams, groundwaters or air, and application of a suite of CZ models. We hypothesize that measurements of a few important variables at strategic locations within a geomorphological framework will allow development of predictive models of CZ behavior. In turn, the measurements and models will reveal how the larger watershed will respond to perturbations both now and into the future.

scholarly journals Designing a suite of measurements to understand the critical zone

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1005-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Brantley ◽  
R. DiBiase ◽  
T. Russo ◽  
Y. Shi ◽  
H. Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Zone ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Spatial Density ◽  
Earth Surface ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Original Measurement ◽  
Measurement Design ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Shale Hills

Abstract. Many scientists have begun to refer to the earth surface environment from the upper canopy to the depths of bedrock as the critical zone (CZ). Identification of the CZ as a worthy object of study implicitly posits that the study of the whole earth surface will provide benefits that do not arise when studying the individual parts. To study the CZ, however, requires prioritizing among the measurements that can be made – and we do not generally agree on the priorities. Currently, the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO) is expanding from a small original study area (0.08 km2, Shale Hills catchment), to a much larger watershed (164 km2, Shavers Creek watershed) and is grappling with the necessity of prioritization. This effort is an expansion from a monolithologic first-order forested catchment to a watershed that encompasses several lithologies (shale, sandstone, limestone) and land use types (forest, agriculture). The goal of the project remains the same: to understand water, energy, gas, solute and sediment (WEGSS) fluxes that are occurring today in the context of the record of those fluxes over geologic time as recorded in soil profiles, the sedimentary record, and landscape morphology. Given the small size of the original Shale Hills catchment, the original measurement design resulted in measurement of as many parameters as possible at high temporal and spatial density. In the larger Shavers Creek watershed, however, we must focus the measurements. We describe a strategy of data collection and modelling based on a geomorphological framework that builds on the hillslope as the basic unit. Interpolation and extrapolation beyond specific sites relies on geophysical surveying, remote sensing, geomorphic analysis, the study of natural integrators such as streams, ground waters or air, and application of a suite of CZ models. In essence, we are hypothesizing that pinpointed measurements of a few important variables at strategic locations will allow development of predictive models of CZ behavior. In turn, the measurements and models will reveal how the larger watershed will respond to perturbations both now and into the future.

scholarly journals Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory: Shale Hills in the Context of Shaver's Creek Watershed

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 180092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Brantley ◽  
Tim White ◽  
Nicole West ◽  
Jennifer Z. Williams ◽  
Brandon Forsythe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Zone ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Critical Zone Observatory ◽  
Shale Hills

Pesticide Contamination of Groundwater in Virginia: BMP Impact Assessment

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 379-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mostaghimi ◽  
P. W. McClellan ◽  
R. A. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Water Quality Monitoring ◽  
Pesticide Contamination ◽  
Cropping Patterns ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Surface And Groundwater

The Nomini Creek Watershed/Water Quality monitoring project was initiated in 1985, as part of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983, to quantify the impacts of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) on improving water quality. The watershed monitoring system was designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of surface and groundwater as influenced by changes in land use, agronomic, and cultural practices in the watershed over the duration of the project. The primary chemical characteristics monitored include both soluble and sediment-bound nutrients and pesticides in surface and groundwater. Water samples from 8 monitoring wells located in agricultural areas in the watershed were analyzed for 22 pesticides. A total of 20 pesticides have been detected in water samples collected. Atrazine is the most frequently detected pesticide. Detected concentrations of atrazine ranged from 0.03 - 25.56 ppb and occurred in about 26 percent of the samples. Other pesticides were detected at frequencies ranging from 1.6 to 14.2 percent of all samples collected and concentrations between 0.01 and 41.89 ppb. The observed concentrations and spatial distributions of pesticide contamination of groundwater are compared to land use and cropping patterns. Results indicate that BMPs are quite effective in reducing pesticide concentrations in groundwater.

scholarly journals An Automatic and Operational Method for Land Cover Change Detection Using Spatiotemporal Analysis of MODIS Data: A Northern Ontario (Canada) Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 325
Author(s):  
Ima Ituen ◽  
Baoxin Hu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Operational Method ◽  
Northern Ontario ◽  
Modis Data ◽  
Forest Fire Management ◽  
Land Cover Change Detection

Mapping and understanding the differences in land cover and land use over time is an essential component of decision-making in sectors such as resource management, urban planning, and forest fire management, as well as in tracking of the impacts of climate change. Existing methods sometimes pose a barrier to the effective monitoring of changes in land cover and land use, since a threshold parameter is often needed and determined based on trial and error. This study aimed to develop an automatic and operational method for change detection on a large scale from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Super pixels were the basic unit of analysis instead of traditional individual pixels. T2 tests based on the feature vectors of temporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and land surface temperature were used for change detection. The developed method was applied to data over a predominantly vegetated area in northern Ontario, Canada spanning 120,000 sq. km from 2001–2016. The accuracies ranged between 78% and 88% for the NDVI-based test, from 74% to 86% for the LST-based test, and from 70% to 86% for the joint method compared with manual interpretation. Our proposed method for detecting land cover change provides a functional and viable alternative to existing methods of land cover change detection as it is reliable, repeatable, and free from uncertainty in establishing a threshold for change.

scholarly journals Correlating elements content in mosses collected in 2015 across Germany with spatially associated characteristics of sampling sites and their surroundings

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Nickel ◽  
Winfried Schröder
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Atmospheric Deposition ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Spatial Density ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Tree Layer

Abstract Background The aim of the study was a statistical evaluation of the statistical relevance of potentially explanatory variables (atmospheric deposition, meteorology, geology, soil, topography, sampling, vegetation structure, land-use density, population density, potential emission sources) correlated with the content of 12 heavy metals and nitrogen in mosses collected from 400 sites across Germany in 2015. Beyond correlation analysis, regression analysis was performed using two methods: random forest regression and multiple linear regression in connection with commonality analysis. Results The strongest predictor for the content of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and N in mosses was the sampled species. In 2015, the atmospheric deposition showed a lower predictive power compared to earlier campaigns. The mean precipitation (2013–2015) is a significant factor influencing the content of Cd, Pb and Zn in moss samples. Altitude (Cu, Hg and Ni) and slope (Cd) are the strongest topographical predictors. With regard to 14 vegetation structure measures studied, the distance to adjacent tree stands is the strongest predictor (Cd, Cu, Hg, Zn, N), followed by the tree layer height (Cd, Hg, Pb, N), the leaf area index (Cd, N, Zn), and finally the coverage of the tree layer (Ni, Cd, Hg). For forests, the spatial density in radii 100–300 km predominates as significant predictors for Cu, Hg, Ni and N. For the urban areas, there are element-specific different radii between 25 and 300 km (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, N) and for agricultural areas usually radii between 50 and 300 km, in which the respective land use is correlated with the element contents. The population density in the 50 and 100 km radius is a variable with high explanatory power for all elements except Hg and N. Conclusions For Europe-wide analyses, the population density and the proportion of different land-use classes up to 300 km around the moss sampling sites are recommended.

scholarly journals RAPELD: a modification of the Gentry method for biodiversity surveys in long-term ecological research sites

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Magnusson ◽  
Albertina P. Lima ◽  
Regina Luizão ◽  
Flávio Luizão ◽  
Flávia R. C. Costa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Local People ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Biological Surveys ◽  
Incomplete Coverage ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research

Our objectives were to develop a method that would be appropriate for long-term ecological studies, but that would permit rapid surveys to evaluate biotic complementarity and land-use planning in Amazonia. The Amazon basin covers about 7 million km². Therefore, even a sparse coverage, with one sample site per 10.000 km², would require about 700 sampling sites. Financial considerations limit the number of sites and investment at each site, but incomplete coverage makes evaluation of biotic complementarity difficult or impossible (Reddy & Dávalos 2003). Our next challenge is to install similar systems throughout Amazonia. The cost, based on modification of Al Gentry's original design is moderate (less than US$ 50.000 per site if it is not necessary to immediately identify all vascular plants in plots) and we can obtain RAP results for most taxa in the short term at much lower cost. However, biological surveys will only be relevant if the local people participate and the surveys serve as much to teach the local communities about the value of their natural resources as they serve to teach the international community about biodiversity. Therefore, we want to see each site run as a long-term ecological research project by local people and institutions. Biological surveys are an important tool in land-use planning, but only the local people can implement those plans.

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