The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutJim_Mead_Three_Project_OverviewBIO‐FIDELITY TEST HYDROLOGIC STREAM CLASSIFICATION RTI INTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S FOUR‐BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROJECT WaterFALL Hydrologic Modeling 30 to 40‐year climate data 2006 land cover Minimize upstream flow alteration and water quality effects by site selection 30 to 40‐year climate data 1. 2006 land cover, plus any flow alterations 2. Potential natural vegetation (PNV) or 1970 land cover, and no flow alterations 30 to 40‐year climate data 1. 2006 land cover, plus any flow alterations 2. 1970 land cover and no flow alterations BIO‐FIDELITY TEST HYDROLOGIC STREAM CLASSIFICATION RTI INTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S FOUR‐BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROJECT Flow Analysis Stream Classification using EFS and McManamay systems Compare #1 to #2 for degree of flow alteration Focus more on mid‐and low flow metrics for water management Compare #1 to #2 for degree of flow alteration Evaluate full range of flow metrics 1. 2006 land cover, plus any flow alterations 2. Potential natural vegetation (PNV) or 1970 land cover, and no flow alterations BIO‐FIDELITY TEST HYDROLOGIC STREAM CLASSIFICATION RTI INTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S FOUR‐BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROJECT Biological Data Benthos, fish & Natural Heritage Program data Individual species (RTI) and community‐ based analysis approaches (USGS‐Tom Cuffney) Fish: up to 20 species from a “hydrology” guild Guilds based on Persinger et al., 2010 Fish metric based on count Fish – similar guilds to RTI Plus EPT, crayfish and mussels Fish metric based on count BIO‐FIDELITY TEST HYDROLOGIC STREAM CLASSIFICATION RTI INTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S FOUR‐BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROJECT Sites Separate mountain, piedmont & coastal Filter eliminates sites with upstream flow alteration if total drainage area at the monitoring site is less than twice the total drainage area of the upstream alteration. Within region, stratified by yes/no upstream flow alteration For each region randomly select ~200 sites rated excellent to good‐fair ~600 sites associated with fish sampling data (NC Fish Community and USGS NAQWA) Cape Fear, Tar, Roanoke and Little Tennessee basins Focus on sites with multiple samples over time Greater detail on fewer sites BIO‐FIDELITY TEST HYDROLOGIC STREAM CLASSIFICATION RTI INTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S FOUR‐BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROJECT Results How well do the stream classes describe the spatial distribution of aquatic biota (i.e., a higher probability of a species or community being present in one stream class over another) Does the classification system need revision? Ecological response curves: x‐axis =% flow alteration y‐axis = fish metric based on species level count Uses space (multitude of sites with varying amounts of flow alteration) as surrogate for change in flow in (same site)over time Ecological response curves: x‐axis = % flow alteration y‐axis = fish metric based on species level count Uses flow changes over time from multiple samples Also will include descriptive analysis of basin conditions BIO‐FIDELITY TEST HYDROLOGIC STREAM CLASSIFICATION RTI INTERNAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S FOUR‐BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROJECT Timeline Complete by 9/30/12 Complete by 9/30/12 Complete by June 2013