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Leung, Wai-shun Wilson. "Ecological water quality indices in environmental management /." View the Table of Contents & Abstract, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B3712058X.
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Leung, Wai-shun Wilson, and 梁威信. "Ecological water quality indices in environmental management." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45013482.
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Lozano, Sacha. "An Ecological Design Approach to Wastewater Management." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2008. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/141.
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Global water depletion and unsustainable food production systems represent two iconic crises of our time. These two crises have important themes in common, referring to basic human needs and the way we interact with landscapes in order to satisfy them. But they are also closely related to the way we produce and dispose wastes in our current societal organization. Insufficient, or inadequate, sanitation and waste management practices continue to undermine not only human well-being, but the entire planet’s ecological integrity, on which humans depend. An ecological design approach to manage human waste invites to learn how to participate more harmoniously within the planet’s recycling of matter, using renewable energy sources and mimicking nature’s low entropic states to maintain the life-support systems that we and our economies are part of. This thesis is an in-depth exploration of such an approach, and an attempt to integrate several elements from ecology, engineering, economics, and community development, around issues of water quality, sanitation and waste management in Latin America. As a whole, the thesis explores how can this transdisciplinary approach translate into coherent, feasible, and concrete action, providing appropriate solutions for sanitation, in ways that are effective and viable on a long term, for Latin American rural communities. Three different papers address different dimensions of the problem, focusing on domestic wastewater and human excreta, as a type of waste of major importance to ecological integrity, public health and economic development. Two of the papers are case studies, carried out at two different rural communities in South West Colombia; one of them focuses on technological and ecological aspects, and the other focuses on social and economic considerations, for a multifunctional-ecological waste management. In the first paper I present an overview of the sanitation problem in Latin America, and the opportunities and challenges of managing waste with an ecological and multifunctional perspective. More specifically, this papers attempts to provide a sound conceptual framework for managing wastewater (sewage) as a valuable resource, in a way that: 1) is affordable –or even profitable– by small communities in developing countries; 2) is safe to the environment and to public health; and 3) provides opportunities for recycling nutrients and organic matter (available in wastewaters), to restore and protect water and soil resources, while enhancing rural livelihoods in tropical agroecosystems. The second paper evaluates the performance and feasibility of an experimental, solar-energy-based, wetland mesocosm, as a complementary aerobic unit to enhance anaerobic wastewater treatment, in a rural locality of the Cauca Valley in Colombia. In the third paper I explore the integration between ecological design and community-based solutions to sanitation, and discuss opportunities and challenges of implementing ecological waste management in the particular bioregional and socioeconomic context of a proposed ecological-low-income co-housing project, in another rural community of Colombia. In doing this, several arguments are presented to support the idea that assuming the responsibility of managing its own waste can be a powerful and transformative experience for a community to fundamentally change its perspective and understanding of its place within the planet. Furthermore, managing waste can be an integrative force linking economic, social and environmental considerations, and favoring human-scale development, genuine progress, and self-reliance in a community. In its broadest level my research aims at reviewing and questioning the very notion of “waste” and the articulation between humans, nature, and technology within that context.
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Charles, Sean P. "The Development of Ecological Functions in Created Forested Wetlands." W&M ScholarWorks, 2013. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539617942.
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Wetland mitigation has become a 2.4 billion dollar per year industry in the U.S. and in Virginia it leads to the replacement of 77 ha of palustrine forested wetlands (PFWs) per year with mitigation wetlands, including created forested wetlands (CFWs). Mitigation hinges on the idea that compensation wetlands lead to “no net loss of wetland function” when compared to impacted wetlands. We assessed the functions of provision of habitat and biogeochemical functions associated with production of biomass, the retention and removal of nutrients and the accumulation of soil C over 8 years in seven CFWs of approximately 11 and 20 years and compared them to natural reference wetlands (NRWs). CFW plant communities were similar to NRWs in all measured parameters in the herbaceous and shrub/sapling strata and in all strata combined. However, non-native dominance showed a significant positive linear relationship with CFW age. In the tree strata, 11 year old (yo) CFWs had lower richness than NRWs and both age classes of CFWs had lower FQI than NRWs. NRWs held 10 to 20 times more carbon in woody biomass than CFWs. Tree species composition was significantly different between CFWs and NRWs, however NRW trees were similar to CFW saplings. 11 yo CFWs held lower percentages of C, N and P and had higher Db than NRWs in both the 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth. 20 yo CFWs developed similar levels of %C, %P, bulk density (Db), and nutrient ratios in the surface and displayed rapid increases in %C and %N over 8 years. However, CFWs offered 45% lower soil total soil C storage and 50% lower %N. Furthermore, all CFWs stored lower nutrient levels than NRWs in the 10-20 cm soil depth. We found that FQI correlated positively with total C accumulation rates in woody biomass and soil C, indicating that biogeochemical function and the provision of habitat can be complimentary in CFWs. Finally, 11 and 20 yo CFWs adhered to the regulatory performance standards established for Virginia in terms of stems per ha and wetland indicator status, but all wetlands (including NRWs) failed to achieve <5% non-native species cover.
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Tillman, Dorothy Hamlin. "Coupling of ecological and water quality models for improved water resource and fish management." [College Station, Tex. : Texas A&M University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2334.
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Cooper, V. A. "Development of the role of biological investigations in UK water pollution management." Thesis, University of Sunderland, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.262880.
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Claassen, Marius. "The development and application of ecological risk assessment in South African water resource management." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006177.
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The provision of goods and services by aquatic ecosystems plays an important role in socio-economic development and livelihoods in the southern African region. Water resource management in South Africa developed from an agrarian and pastoral focus up to 1956 to also supporting mining and industrial activities. This led to the introduction of the resource water quality objectives and pollution prevention approaches, which balanced the needs for development and protection. Prior to 1994, access to water resources was limited to riparian property owners and a minority of the population who controlled industrial and mining activities. The establishment of a democratic government amplified the need for accelerated socio-economic development, with equity, efficiency and sustainability being the principles of such development. New approaches were needed, which could achieve these development objectives and secure the resource base for future generations. An overview of the scientific process highlighted a risk based approach as potentially supporting the much needed balance between development and protection. The aims of this thesis is to develop a framework and process for the application of ecological risk assessment to water resource management in South Africa, to use case studies to draft guidelines for ecological risk assessment and to assess the degree to which ecological risk assessment can contribute to effective water resource management in South Africa. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for ecological risk assessment were identified amongst international best practice as meeting the requirements for local application. A framework was drafted for ecological risk assessment in South Africa, with the main phases being to agree on objectives, formulate the analysis plan, analyse information, characterise risk and manage risk. Modifications from the Environmental Protection Agency’s process include the order of activities in the first phase, the explicit testing of hypotheses and clarification of the evaluation of existing data or collection of new data. An industrial effluent case study was used to assess the applicability of the proposed framework. The case study dealt specifically with the assessment of risks posed by current conditions and long term licence conditions. The framework was found to be useful to identify weaknesses in the established monitoring programme and to evaluate lines of evidence to assess the degree to which the stated conditions would have unacceptable consequences. The study highlighted several weaknesses in the suggested framework, of which the most critical is the interpretation of the risk hypothesis as a testable null hypothesis. It became clear that cause-effect relationships should be stated as the risk hypothesis, whereas the assessment should evaluate expressed or expected conditions against a risk profile for a given stressor to benefit fully from the risk assessment approach. Changes to the framework terminology were suggested as well as nested feedback loops to allow for iterative processes where new information becomes available. The proposed guidelines incorporate the learning from the case study application as well as feedback from a peer review process. The guidelines incorporate the suggested actions under each phase as well as notes providing the rationale for each step. Three case study outlines were provided to assist users with the interpretation of the guidelines in different applications. The proposed guidelines are applied in an ecological Reserve determination case study, which specified the ecological water quality requirements. The study found that a risk-based approach was followed in the development of the water resource management policy, but the Reserve determination method is generally hazard based, with site specific modifications of the target values being allowed on a conservative basis. The case study highlighted a lack of readiness of water resource managers to accommodate scientific results expressed as probability distributions in support of management decisions. The thesis is concluded with a discussion of the key learning points of the ecological risk assessment development process. The evaluation highlights the move from stating and testing a null hypothesis to stating the risk hypothesis and evaluating the stated conditions against a risk profile. Several implementation challenges are highlighted, with specific recommendations made for adopting the proposed guidelines.
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Mao, Feng. "Ecological water quality assessment and science-driven policy : investigating the EU Water Framework Directive and river basin governance in China." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708638.
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Fox, Alison Mary. "The efficacy and ecological impact of the management of submerged vegetation in flowing water." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.290361.
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Al, Zahed Khalid. "Coastal zone management in Dubai with reference to ecological characterization along Dubai Creek." Thesis, St Andrews, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/541.
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Filbrun, Jesse Everett. "An Ecological Approach to Feed Management in Fish Rearing Ponds." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366038927.
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Cary, Brian S. "Hypoxia in Hood Canal using modern science and traditional ecological knowledge to enhance our understanding of a degraded ecosystem /." Online pdf file accessible through the World Wide Web, 2007. http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession86-10MES/Brian%20Cary%20thesis.pdf.
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Kramer, Julie M. "Implementation of River Basin Management in Mexico." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1148567251.
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Andersson, Jesse. "Localized Sustainable Water Management in Practice : Ecological Engineering as a means for an eco-cyclic water system at the Berga Greenhouse Project." Thesis, KTH, Centrum för hälsa och byggande, CHB, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-104305.
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AbstractDue to a growing concern towards issues of sustainability and sustainable development as well as resource scarcity there is a need for increased local cultivation. Cold climate conditions in Sweden make greenhouses necessary for the cultivation of many species. In order to increase the sustainability of greenhouse production processes water cycles should be nearly closedloop cycles. To demonstrate this in practice the Berga Greenhouse project under development by the Centre for Health and Building at the Royal Institute of Technology is used to provide a visionary example. Through precipitation data and a water budget analysis a water reclamation rate of 85% was determined in order to bring the facility to water neutral status. On site water treatment through the use of ecological engineering was analyzed through the use of a multiple-case study of three prevalent technologies (Living Machines®, Organica Water, and Solar Aquatics™) which determined that Living Machines® was the most appropriate technology based upon factors related system performance and footprint.
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Vogt, Jason. "Investigating the Social-Ecological Resilience of Water Management Practices within Ethnic Minority Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand." Thesis, Linköping University, The Tema Institute, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-9465.
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<p>Resilience is an essential and highly desired characteristic of a social-ecological system’s ability to adapt and adjust to various stresses and shocks that cause disruption. As social and ecological systems are intertwined and continually experiencing changes and disturbances, a major challenge appears revolving around the ways in which this resilience can be built and investigated. Social-ecological resilience can be defined as the amount of stress or disturbance that a particular system can tolerate, while still maintaining the same functions and identity. This paper uses social-ecological resilience concepts as a research framework, and examines three main themes that allow for the building of water management resilience to occur. These themes include learning to live with change, nurturing the ability to adapt/adjust to changes, and also on creating opportunities for self-organization. Two ethnic minority villages in Northern Thailand were chosen as research sites, in which the village water management practices were studied within a specific time period. Varying degrees of quantity and quality water issues within both villages have brought about stress and disturbances within their water management practices and increased the need to deal with these problems. Research was conducted at a community scale and resilience analysis pertains only to this specific level. Through the utilization of focus groups and interviews, qualitative data was collected and analyzed within a SE resilience context. This paper sets out to explore how social-ecological resilience has been built or not, and to what degree this has occurred within these two villages water management practices. The analysis indicates how complex and interconnected the social and ecological systems are and how the water management practices of these two communities play a role in this complex, dynamic process. Conclusions drawn are not limited to these two communities, but can be applied to the wider Northern Thailand region.</p>
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Coleman, Sarah. "Bottom-up adaptive management and stakeholder participation for clean water and healthy soils in a complex social-ecological system." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2018. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/853.
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Protection of water resources in a changing climate depends on bottom-up stewardship and adaptive management. From the ground up, a vital component is maintaining soil ecosystem services that regulate water, recycle nutrients, sequester carbon, provide food, and other benefits. Interacting spatial, social, and physical factors determine agricultural and stormwater management, and their impact on water. This dissertation explores these dimensions within a complex social-ecological system. The first chapter evaluates a participatory process to elicit solutions to complex environmental problems across science, policy, and practice. The second chapter studies on-farm soil assessment and its role in informing management decisions and supporting adaptive capacity. The third chapter investigates cross-scale dynamics of residential green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) for improved water resource management in a broader social-ecological context.
Integrating participant feedback into current science, research, and decision-making processes is an important challenge. A novel approach that combines a Delphi method with contemporary “crowdsourcing” to address water pollution in Lake Champlain Basin in the context of climate change is presented. Fifty-three participants proposed and commented on adaptive solutions in an online Delphi that occurred over a six-week period during the Spring of 2014. In a follow-up Multi-Stakeholder workshop, thirty-eight stakeholders participated in refining and synthesizing the forum’s results. The stakeholders’ interventions from the crowdsourcing forum have contributed to the current policy dialogue in Vermont to address phosphorus loading to Lake Champlain. This stakeholder approach strengthens traditional modeling scenario development to include priorities that have been collectively refined and vetted.
Healthy agricultural soils cannot easily be prescribed to farms and require knowledge and a long-term commitment to a holistic and adaptive approach. The second chapter addresses the questions: “to what extent do farmers use indicators of soil health, and does feedback inform management decisions?” A survey of farmers in two Vermont watersheds was conducted in 2016 showed relatively high use of fourteen soil indicators and high rankings of their importance. The finding that there were differences in use and perceived importance of soil indicators across management and land-use types has implications beyond the farm scale for agriculture, and the provision of ecosystem services. Soil management relates to broader adaptation strategies including resistance, resilience, and transformation that affects adaptive capacity of agroecosystems.
Bottom-up adoption of environmental behaviors, such as implementing residential GSI, need to be understood in the context of the broader social-ecological landscape to understand implications for improved water management. A statewide survey of Vermont residents paired a cross-scale and spatial analysis to evaluate how intention to adopt three different GSI practices (infiltration trenches, diversion of roof runoff, and rain gardens) varies with barriers to adoption and household attributes across varying stormwater contexts from the household to watershed scale. Improved stormwater management outcomes at the watershed and local levels depend on management strategies that can be implemented and adapted along the rural-urban gradient, across the bio-physical landscape, and according to varying norms and institutional arrangements.
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Dennis, Evan Marks. "Adaptation to Social Ecological System Shocks| Transformation in San Diego's Water Institutions and Culture between 1990 and 2010." Thesis, Indiana University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10830114.
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<p> Between 1990 and 2010 changing perceptions of water-scarcity and evolving adaptation strategies to water stress transformed water management in San Diego, California. This project examines how perceptions of water scarcity affect the programmatic variety, geographic scale, and types of adaptations that are undertaken. It also investigates whether a cultural consensus developed within San Diego County as a whole about what causes particular water problems. Lastly, the research shows how adaptation responses to the collective action problem of water provisioning contributed to resolving the other collective action problems of wastewater production and water conservation. The project presents San Diego as an example of polycentric governance arrangements that were adaptive to the challenges of a changing social-ecological system. </p><p>
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Petersen, Chantel R. "Effects of catchment management on physical river condition, chemistry, hydrogeomorphology and ecosystem service provision in small coastal rivers of the Western Cape." University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6751.
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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD<br>River systems are by nature complex and dynamic systems, which vary in structure and therefore function, and are closely connected to their landscapes. The primary aim of this thesis was to develop a systems operational understanding of how river patterns and processes (geomorphology and hydrology) link to aquatic and riparian systems and biodiversity (ecology) in a framework of evolving land cover/use and management. This illustrated the hydrogeomorphic controls regulating the structure and functioning of rivers in the provision of goods and services that vegetation, especially riparian vegetation, perform as ecological infrastructure, with a focus on the Duiwe River catchment.
This study used a combination of desktop and field analysis. The desktop analysis followed the spatial and temporal historical land use change detection of river sub-catchments to assess the influence on water quality and river flow. It included historical water quality, flow records, rainfall data and aerial photograph time series analysis for trend detection, which were linked to changes in land use activities. The field surveys included cross-section surveys, physical and chemical sediment analysis, vegetation distribution, ground-water depth surveys and instream biological surveys of aquatic bioindicators.
The study illustrated a correlation between land cover/use, water quality and river ecological integrity. When spatial heterogeneity of the catchments was altered by human or natural events, it was reflected by changes in the water quality. The linkages between the land cover/use and ecological integrity were examined using macroinvertebrates and algae. Macroinvertebrates were indicative of habitat integrity and river condition, while the benthic filamentous algae were indicative of increased nutrients and alkalinity. Results indicated that the full consortium of algae and macroinvertebrates be used as bioindicators for ecological integrity assessments in these short, coastal rivers.
The influence of riparian vegetation and its effectiveness in providing regulating (retaining sediment and nutrients) and provisioning (good water quality for humans and the aquatic environment) services was examined by relating contrasting land uses, riparian vegetation, nutrient dynamics and water quality. The land covers generated different runoff volumes, water quality parameter concentrations and associated nutrient loads. Agriculture and alien Acacia mearnsii trees had the greatest impact on nutrient loads. However, a decreasing trend in nutrient concentrations was observed in the cross-section from the pastures to the riparian zones to the river at all sites.
The key findings from this study were formulated into a conceptual framework flow-chain model demonstrating the linkages between river pattern, processes and ecology in the provision of ecosystem services. This interdisciplinary investigation demonstrated strong links between climate, topography, hydrogeomorphology, land cover/use, human activities and their influence on ecological river integrity. The developed framework provides a hierarchical model to link the different disciplines. It illustrates the top-down constraints provided by the system
controllers and habitat drivers, coupled with the anthropogenic impacts as controllers to determine the response of biological entities (riparian vegetation and aquatic biota) at different scales, to ultimately provide ecosystem services. It provides the basis for an understanding of the linkages, processes and interactions that allows, prevents or alters ecosystem service provision by river ecosystems and in the study context, by riparian buffer zones.
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Hammond, Wagner Courtney Ryder. "Governing Water Quality Limits In Agricultural Watersheds." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2019. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1062.
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The diffuse runoff of agricultural nutrients, also called agricultural nonpoint source pollution (NPS), is a widespread threat to freshwater resources. Despite decades of research into the processes of eutrophication and agricultural nutrient management, social, economic, and political barriers have slowed progress towards improving water quality. A critical challenge to managing agricultural NPS pollution is motivating landowners to act against their individual farm production incentives in response to distant ecological impacts. The complexity of governing the social-ecological system requires improved understanding of how policy shapes farmer behavior to improve the state of water quality. This dissertation contributes both theoretically and empirically to NPS pollution governance by examining the impacts of water quality policy design on farmer nutrient management decision making and behavior.
In the first study, I theoretically contextualize the issue of agricultural NPS pollution in the broader discussion of environmental public goods dilemmas to suggest that an increased focus on the link between policy and behavior can improve sustainable resource management. I propose two empirical approaches to study the policy-behavior link in environmental public goods dilemmas: 1) explicit incorporation of social psychological and behavioral variables and 2) utilization of actor mental models, or perceptions of the world that guide decision making, to identify behavioral drivers and outcomes. In the second and third studies, I then use these approaches to examine how water quality policies for agricultural NPS collectively change farmer behavior to reduce nutrient emissions. The second chapter uses a quantitative, survey-based approach to examine the relationship between mandatory policy design and behavior change in New Zealand. I find that a shift to mandatory policy is not immediately associated with increased adoption of nutrient management practices, but the mandatory policy design is important for potential future behavior change and long-term policy support. In the third study, I combine qualitative methodology with network analysis of qualitative data to examine a spectrum of agricultural NPS pollution policies in Vermont, USA and Taupo and Rotorua, New Zealand. I use farmer mental models to examine behavior change within each of the regions, the perceived drivers of behavior change and perceived outcomes of the policy. In this study, farmers across all three regions cite mandatory water policy as a key behavioral driver, but in each region, policy design interacts with the social-ecological context to produce distinct patterns of behaviors and perceived outcomes. Taken together, this dissertation demonstrates that agricultural NPS pollution policy design must consider the interactions between policy and other social-ecological behavioral drivers in order to achieve long term water quality improvements.
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Vander, Laan Jacob J. "Environmental Assessment of Streams: Linking Land Use, Instream Stressors, and Biological Indices to Infer Likely Causes of Ecological Impairment." DigitalCommons@USU, 2012. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1340.
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To protect and restore the biological integrity of streams, we need to be able to both detect biological degradation and infer likely causes of impairment. Managers often use biological indices to measure biological condition and detect degradation. However, the ability to detect degradation can be limited by the performance of the indices we develop. Index performance varies widely, but the sources of this variation are often unclear. In addition, although bioassessments are useful tools for detecting biological degradation, they do not identify stressors associated with impairment. My thesis research had two general goals: 1) develop statistically and ecologically robust indices to measure biological condition in Nevada streams and 2) quantify relationships between land uses, stressors, and biological condition to infer likely causes of degradation.
I developed two biological indices for Nevada streams, a multimetric index (MMI) and observed to expected (O/E) taxa ratios, and determined if index performance was related to site isolation and sample evenness. The Nevada O/E indices were relatively imprecise compared with those from other regions, which likely results from low assemblage predictability associated with spatial isolation of aquatic habitats in arid regions. In contrast, the Nevada MMI was more precise than most previously developed MMIs, likely the result of using models to reduce natural variation in index scores. Sample evenness was positively associated with both O/E and MMI scores. Adjustments of index scores for sample evenness increased index precision, but also altered relative differences in index values and therefore inferences of biological impairment at specific sites.
I also quantified relationships between biological condition, instream stressors, and land uses and used a weight of evidence approach to infer likely causes of degradation. Land uses such as agriculture, urbanization, and mining were associated with the spatial distributions of instream stressors, and these stressors were associated with variation in biological condition. Total dissolved solids and metal contamination were the stressors most strongly associated with biological condition. By detecting biological degradation and identifying important stressors and their potential sources, the tools I developed should help managers target conservation and restoration efforts and improve their ability to protect freshwater resources.
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Ageson, Karen. "Agricultural nutrient management employing the concept of ecological goods and services : a valuation of ground water quality in Abbotsford, British Columbia." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/38630.
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There is an appetite for market based management mechanisms in agri-environmental policy. The purpose of this study is to explore how the market based concept of ecological goods and services
(EGS) can be applied towards the management of an agricultural externality in British Columbia,
Canada. Through literature review I establish the importance of valuation in market based
management. With an EGS program in mind I identify the City of Abbotsford as a potential ecological
service buyer and establish economic value for improvements to water quality in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer. I use a replacement cost approach based on the present value costs of the proposed Stave Lake surface water system. My results suggest that if nitrate remediation and/ or nitrate management practices improve water quality and the costs fall below $168 million there are potential net benefits to the City of Abbotsford. This value could form the basis for a city program or EGS trading scheme to encourage farmers to place a higher priority on water quality in their land management practices. A key finding is that lack of information on the degree to which nitrate contamination constrains well field development limits the ability to conclusively evaluate the net benefits of improved nitrate
management and proceed with an EGS program.
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Gouriveau, Fabrice. "Constructed farm wetlands (CFWs) designed for remediation of farmyard runoff : an evaluation of their water treatment efficiency, ecological value, costs and benefits." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/3806.
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Farmyard runoff, i.e. the effluent generated by the rain falling over farmyards, tracks and roofs, is a significant and overlooked source of nutrients and pathogens which degrades aquatic ecosystems through eutrophication, siltation and wildlife poisoning, raises public health concerns, and incurs considerable costs for society. Among other Best Management Practices implemented to address agricultural water pollution and help achieve compliance with the Water Framework Directive, Constructed Farm Wetlands (CFWs), i.e. shallow surface flow wetlands comprising several vegetated cells in series, are being recommended for remediation of farmyard runoff, due to their capacity to remove or store pollutants. Investigation is therefore needed of their long-term water treatment efficiency and ecological value to optimize their design and cost-effectiveness and minimize their negative externalities. The main aims of this study were to: 1) evaluate the treatment performance of CFWs and the link between design, hydrology and efficiency; 2) assess their ecological value and the influence of water quality and design on wetland ecology; 3) identify their costs, benefits and the way they are perceived by farmers; and 4) inform guidelines for the design, construction and aftercare of sustainable CFWs. Research focused on two CFWs in south-east Scotland, one at a dairy farm and one at a mixed beef-arable farm, which receive runoff from yards and roofs, field drainage and septic tank overflow. From February 2006 to June 2008, rainfall, evaporation, water levels and flow at the CFWs were monitored, and their treatment efficiency was assessed from water samples collected manually regularly or with automatic samplers during storm events, and analysed using standard methods. In addition, their ecological value was assessed twice a year from vegetation and aquatic macroinvertebrate surveys. Finally, semi-structured interviews with eight farmers and a farm advisor and discussions with three CFW designers in Scotland and Ireland allowed collection of technical and economic data on farm practices, CFW construction and maintenance, and helped assess CFW cost-effectiveness and acceptance by farmers. Both CFWs reduced pollutant concentrations between inlet and outlet, with efficiencies at CFW1 and CFW2 respectively of 87% and < 0% for five-day biochemical oxygen demand, 86% and 83% for suspended solids, 68% and 26% for nitrate/nitrite, 42% and 34% for ammonium, and 12% and 31% for reactive phosphorus. Nevertheless, the concentration of all pollutants at the outlet of CFW1, and concentration of nitrate/nitrite at the outlet of CFW2 frequently exceeded river water quality standards. Water treatment efficiency varied seasonally, being significantly lower in winter, mainly due to lower temperatures, increased volume of inputs and reduced residence time. The ecological value of the two CFWs differed greatly. At CFW1 and CFW2 respectively, 14 and 22 wetland plant species and 24 and 46 aquatic macroinvertebrate species (belonging to 13 and 27 BMWP scoring families respectively) were recorded, illustrating the greater biodiversity conservation value of CFW2, which was one year older, larger, cleaner, comprised several ponds with a combination of open water and densely vegetated areas, and was subsequently more structurally diverse. The socio-economic study revealed that, despite significant costs associated with their construction (£20 000-£50 000 ha-1) and maintenance (£900-£1500 ha-1 yr-1), CFWs may still represent a more cost-effective alternative than conventional methods. However, their adoption, implementation and sustainable use by farmers were conditioned by land availability and suitability, existing farm infrastructure, detailed information on limitations and maintenance requirements, and adequate financial support for both construction and aftercare. To ensure a long-term, consistent and efficient water treatment, and to enhance biodiversity and landscape, well-maintained, large, vegetated, multi-cell CFWs with shallow overflows are recommended. Their size should be adapted to local precipitation patterns and catchment characteristics. Keywords: agriculture, best management practice (BMP), biodiversity, constructed farm wetland (CFW), costs, farmyard runoff, water pollution, water treatment.
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Moore, Michael. "Perceptions and interpretations of "environmental flows" and implications for future water resource management: A survey study." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Water and Environmental Studies, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-2565.
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<p>An understanding of the impacts on freshwater systems from water management and development practices and the recognition that freshwater ecosystems are dependent on various aspects of the natural hydrological variability has given rise to a relatively new field of science commonly referred to as environmental flows. The assessment and application of environmental flows has advanced considerably in the last ten years. To coincide with the emergence and expansion of the environmental flows concept around the world, this survey study was undertaken aiming to identify people’s perceptions and interpretations of the environmental flows concept and its role in water management. It also aims to add to existing knowledge of the extent to which the concept is being applied, how it is being translated into policy and practice and the major challenges and opportunities that exist for continued understanding and implementation. The survey was distributed to a range of people representing different water-related sectors and regions around the world. A total of 272 responses representing 64 countries in the six major regions of the world was received. The responses were compiled and analysis of aspects of the respondents backgrounds as well as the questions were conducted using the computer statistical program SPSS. Representation of specific groups, particularly water user groups, and specific regions in the survey however was low, demonstrating possible limitations of the survey distribution method as well as the lack of concept awareness and application in many parts of the world. The ways in which people define and interpret the concept varied widely. The degree to which the concept was applied shows the growing recognition around the world of the need to consider the environmental water requirements when making decisions on water allocations. Despite the growing recognition many areas do not yet apply the concept. The survey allowed the opportunity for respondents to highlight what they perceived asthe major obstacles and difficulties for the concept within their respective areas. Lack of understanding among stakeholders of the socio-economic costs and benefits associated with concept implementation and a lack of political will were the two most common obstacles for the continued adoption and application of environmental flows around the world. Overall, the survey delivered promising signs for the continued evolution of environmental flows within water management. There was widespread opinion that the concept of environmental flows was an essential element in the efforts to achieve sustainable management of water resources.</p>
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Tomczak, Robert S. "A greenway management plan for Salisbury & Sharon, CT." Thesis, This resource online, 1996. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08292008-063009/.
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Glendell, Miriam. "Evaluating an ecosystem management approach for improving water quality on the Holnicote Estate, Exmoor." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/13975.
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The European Water Framework Directive 2000 established a new emphasis for the management of freshwaters by setting ecologically-based water quality targets that are to be achieved through holistic, catchment-scale, ecosystem management. However, significant knowledge gaps exist in the understanding of the cumulative effectiveness of multiple mitigation measures on a number of pollutants at a catchment scale. This research contributes to improved understanding of the effectiveness of an ecosystem management approach to deliver catchment-scale water quality improvements on the National Trust Holnicote Estate on Exmoor, UK. This research is part of a larger multi-objective project funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), to demonstrate the benefits of land use interventions for the management of flood risk. This thesis evaluates the effects of upland ditch blocking on physico-chemical and biological parameters of water quality in an upland Horner Water catchment one year after habitat restoration, and establishes a solid baseline for the monitoring of the effects of current and future land management changes in a lowland, intensively managed, agricultural Aller catchment. The spatial variability of soil physical and chemical properties (bulk density, total carbon (TN), nitrogen (TN), C:N ratio, δ15N, total phosphorus (TP), inorganic phosphorus (IP), organic phosphorus (OP)) and water quality determinands (suspended sediment (SS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total particulate carbon (TPC), total oxidised nitrogen (TON) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP)) in the two study catchments with contrasting land use has been characterised and linked to the prevailing land use. Agricultural land use resulted in extensive homogenisation of soil properties. The spatial dependence of all soil properties, except for bulk density and δ15N, was stronger in the agricultural than the semi-natural catchment (nugget:sill ratio 0.10-0.42 in the Aller and 0.15-0.94 in Horner Water), while bulk density, TP, inorganic phosphorus (IP), organic phosphorus (OP), C:N ratio, δ15N and carbon storage showed a longer range of spatial auto-correlation in the agricultural catchment (2,807-3,191 m in the Aller and 545-2,599 m Horner Water). The central tendency (mean, median) of all soil properties, except for IP and δ15N, also differed significantly between the two catchments (P < 0.01). The observed extensive alteration of soil physical and chemical properties in the agricultural catchment is likely to have long-term implications for the restoration of ecosystem functioning and water quality management. The intensive land use seems to have resulted in an altered ‘catchment metabolism’, manifested in a proportionally greater total fluvial carbon (dissolved and particulate) export from the agricultural than the semi-natural catchment. The agricultural catchment supported significantly higher DOC concentrations (P < 0.05) and the quality of DOC differed markedly between the two study catchments. The prevalence of more humic, higher molecular weight compounds in the agricultural catchment and simpler, lower molecular weight compounds in the semi-natural catchment, indicated enhanced microbial turnover of fluvial DOC in the agricultural catchment as well as additional allochtonous terrestrial sources. During an eight month period for which a comparable continuous turbidity record was available, the estimated SS yields from the agricultural catchment (25.5-116.2 t km2) were higher than from the semi-natural catchment (21.7-57.8 t km2). Further, the agricultural catchment exported proportionally more TPC (0.51-2.59 kg mm-1) than the semi-natural catchment (0.36-0.97 kg mm-1) and a similar amount of DOC (0.26-0.52 kg mm-1 in the Aller and 0.24-0.32 kg mm-1 in Horner Water), when normalised by catchment area and total discharge, despite the lower total soil carbon pool, thus indicating an enhanced fluvial loss of sediment and carbon from the intensively managed catchment. Whilst detection of catchment-scale effects of mitigation measures typically requires high resolution, resource-intensive, long term data sets, this research has found that simple approaches can be effective in bridging the gap between fine scale ecosystem functioning and catchment-scale processes. Here, the new macro-invertebrate index PSI (Proportion of Sediment-sensitive Invertebrates) has been shown to be more closely related to a physical measure of sedimentation (% fine bed sediment cover) (P = 0.002) than existing non-pressure specific macro-invertebrate metrics such as the Lotic Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE) and % Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera & Trichoptera abundance (% EPT) (P = 0.014). Further testing of PSI along a pronounced environmental gradient is recommended as PSI and % fine bed sediment cover have the potential to become a sensitive tool for the setting and monitoring of twin sedimentation targets. Upland ditch management has not had any discernible effect on water quality in the semi-natural upland catchment one year after restoration, which may be due to the short-term post-restoration monitoring period but may also reflect benign effects of large-scale earth moving works on this high quality environment. The conceptual understanding of catchment processes developed in this thesis suggests that cumulatively, the recently completed mitigation works in the lowland agricultural catchment will likely result in reduced sediment and nutrient input into the aquatic environment. However, further research is needed to build on this detailed baseline characterisation and inform the understanding of the effectiveness of combined mitigation measures to reduce the flux of multiple contaminants at the catchment scale.
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Grossman, Jake J. "Assessment of Four Years of Marsh Restoration at the Jones Farm Experimental Restoration Facility in Northeast Ohio: Water Quality, Plant Community Development, and Adaptive Management." Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1213361786.
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Siman, Kelly. "Social-Ecological Risk and Vulnerability to Erosion and Flooding Along the Ohio Lake Erie Shoreline." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1597092923090799.
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Twombly, Cameron Robert. "Edge-of-Field Hydrology and Nutrient Fluxes within Northeastern Agroecosystems: Evaluation of Alternative Management Practices and Water Quality Models." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2019. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1170.
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Agricultural runoff is one of largest contributors of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and sediment affecting freshwater systems in watersheds across the Northeastern U.S., including the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont. Agricultural cropping systems, such as corn silage and haylands, used for dairy feed production have been shown to impact watershed hydrology and water quality. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) have the potential to decrease runoff volumes and flow rates and the associated export of nutrients and sediment from agricultural fields. Many states in the Northeastern U.S., including Vermont, are beginning to require farmers to implement water quality BMPs and further improve risk evaluation of export of P in runoff using evolving P site assessment tools, such as the Phosphorus Index (P-Index). Quantifying the effects of BMPs on hydrologic and nutrient exports from fields is critical for informing site assessment tools that aid in the development of nutrient management plans and to help design agroecosystems that do not degrade water quality. However, there is a lack of data on the effects of BMPs on edge-of-field hydrologic and nutrient fluxes, especially in cold-climate regions with snow-melt induced runoff events. This thesis consists of four chapters, Chapter 1 is a comprehensive literature review on agricultural hydrology and water quality, BMP effectiveness, and P site assessment tools. Chapters 2 and 3 address research objectives related to the evaluation of BMP and P site assessment tool effectiveness. Chapter 4 is a summary of the conclusions drawn from the work done in Chapters 2 and 3, and suggestions for future work.
Chapter 2 evaluates the effects of soil aeration prior to manure application on edge-of-field hydrology, water quality, and P fluxes in haylands with clay soils during both precipitation and snow-melt induced runoff events. Edge-of-field water quality monitoring techniques and passive-capillary lysimeter systems were used to continuously measure the losses of surface runoff, subsurface leachate, and the associated export of nutrients (total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, and total dissolved nitrogen) and total suspended solids resulting from runoff events year-round from 2012 to 2018. Annual P fluxes in the form of vegetative uptake and removal, manure additions, and soil test P were also recorded. Results from this study indicated that soil aeration had the potential to reduce nutrient and sediment exports from haylands with poorly-drained, high runoff producing soils in the Northeastern U.S. where winter freeze-thaw conditions exist. However, potential increases in surface and subsurface hydrologic flows can accompany these reductions; these implications should be considered before implementation.
Chapter 3 identifies potential P-Index improvements through the representation of topographic controls on phosphorus (P) transport by comparing results from the Vermont P-Index (VT P-Index) and a more complex process-based model, TopoSWAT, across topographic regions in a small agricultural watershed (360 ha) in the Lake Champlain Basin. Scenarios of varying P management strategies were modeled for corn silage production fields with poorly-drained soils and rolling topography. Modeled outputs of P risk assessments and edge-of-field dissolved and particulate P losses were compared. Results from this study suggest that the VT P-Index could improve its ability to support farm nutrient management planning and other P-based management decisions by incorporating topographic controls of runoff production into its estimation of P transport.
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Rathwell, Kaitlyn. "MANAGING WATER QUALITY IN AHETEROGENEOUS LANDSCAPE : A SOCIAL NETWORK PERSPECTIVE." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-50956.
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Understanding how humans and ecosystems interact across landscapes is an importantchallenge for the development of sustainable societies. Human dominated landscapes arefrequently heterogeneous in their distribution of ecosystems and the associated goods andservices. It can be difficult to create management strategies that cater to diverse demandsfrom different resource managers, while at the same time promoting healthy functioningof ecosystems held in common. I use a social network perspective to analyze howmunicipal management units connect to each other with regards to a water resource intwo watersheds in Québec, Canada. I test the importance of collaborative network ties formunicipalities’ engagement in water quality management activities. I assess ifmunicipalities with different ecosystems, namely agriculture and tourism, engagedifferently in water quality management activities and if they have different socialnetworks. I assess the role of third party actor groups such as Government Ministries andNon-Governmental Organizations that connect municipalities across the diverselandscape. Third party actor groups are instrumental in connecting municipalities acrossa diverse landscape. Municipalities with ecosystems facilitating tourism have morecollaborative ties in the water quality management network and are more engaged inwater quality management activities than municipalities managing for agriculturalproduction. An asymmetry in collaborations and activity engagement for water qualitymanagement has implications for the capacity of the region to encourage basin scalewater management.
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Cheng, Yiwei. "Impacts of self-organizing mechanism and topography on wetland ecosystem dynamics." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/47705.
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Understanding the first order controls over resource cycling and limitation in ecosystems is critical for predicting ecosystem response to disturbances. Topography and vegetation self-organizing mechanisms are first order controls over resource fluxes across the landscape. Topography controls downslope flow of resources (i.e water and nutrients). Through spatial feedbacks, vegetation is able to actively modify its environment and maximize resource flows towards it. To date, the impacts of these controls on ecosystem dynamics have mostly been investigated separately. As such, there is a knowledge gap in the understanding of how these first order controls together dictate the dynamics of the ecosystem. This dissertation aims to gain a better understanding of how self-organizing mechanisms and topography operate together to affect wetland ecosystem dynamics.
A spatially explicit, wetland vegetation patterning model that includes for both vegetation self-organizing control and topographic control is developed (Nutrient Depletion Model, NDM). The model describes a scale dependent feedback between vegetation, transpiration and nutrient accumulation that drives the formation of vegetation patterns. The model is applied to investigate the effects of topography and self-organizing mechanisms on form and orientation of vegetation patterns and vegetation growth dynamics of wetland ecosystems. Results show that the two first order controls synergistically impact the formation of the various patterns as observed in wetland ecosystems. Results also show the following: (1) Self-organizing mechanisms result in a more efficient retention of resources, which result in higher biomass in the model that include for both self-organizing mechanism and topographic control (SO+TC) than in the model that that includes only for topographic control (TC). (2) However, when resources or topographic gradients increase or annual rainfall decrease, the vegetation growth dynamics of the TC+SO and TC models converge. The NDM is applied to arctic Alaska to investigate how do the two first order controls impact present and future C-N dynamics of an arctic ecosystem. Simulation results show no significant difference in the dynamics between the SO+TC model and the TC model. The climate change simulation results suggest that changes in daily variability of temperature and precipitation can impact ecosystem dynamics as much as the changes in mean temperature and precipitation.
Results from this dissertation provide a more complete picture on the relative roles of the two first order controls over ecosystem nutrient cycling and vegetative growth dynamics. Finally, in this thesis, in order to simulate small-scale feedbacks over large spatial domains, the NDM is implemented in a GPU computing language, which accelerates computational simulation by at least two orders of magnitude. These tools for grid-based simulations can provide a platform for using GPUs in other areas of scientific investigation.
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Saunders, James Woodward. "A method for imputing economic value to ecological goods and services provided by the Knysna River." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003894.
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The purpose of this thesis was to develop a method by which economic value can be imputed from an economic activity to a non-market ecological function or service which contributes to that economic activity. The Knysna River in South Africa was chosen as the ecological function which supported three economic activities from which value was to be imputed; these were the Knysna Municipal Water Supply, Fish Production in the Knysna Estuary and Production of Indigenous Forest within the Knysna Catchment. Three underlying assumptions and two functional operations were required in order to implement the suggested method. The underlying assumptions were: - The ecological and economic activities considered are within a single catchment. - The allocation of value imputed for a specific economic activity to the ecological function or service under consideration (in this case the Knysna River) is proportional to the total contribution of ecological functions or services contributed to the economic activity. - The valuation of the economic activity for the purposes of obtaining a price-quantity point on a demand function is to be full cost pricing with no producer surplus. The two functional requirements were: - Diagram or map the linkages between an economic activity and the supporting ecological functions. - Determine the consumer surplus related to an incremental change in quantity under a demand function where the original price and quantity are known. A value from each of the economic activities was imputed to the Knysna River. However, the method was not tested. Nonetheless applying the equations and collecting the required data allowed several methodological needs to be clearly pointed out. The most acute deficiency was difficulty in obtaining secondary data from governmental agencies, commercial representatives and existing published academic research to ensure a robust price. Also, scientific information was not sufficiently available for allocating ecological contributions to the economic activities. Even with the shortage of credible data the method appears to allow non-market ecological functions to be valued in context of an existing economic system.
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Watson, Sarah Louise. "Assessing the Impacts of Unrestricted Pesticide Use in Small-Scale Agriculture on Water Quality and Associated Human Health and Ecological Implications in an Indigenous Village in Rural Panam[aacute]." Scholar Commons, 2014. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5149.
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In 2014, the global pesticide industry's projected worth is $52 billion and by 2020, the developing world will make up one-third of the world's chemical production and consumption. Pesticides can have unintended negative consequences for human health and the environment, especially in the developing world where regulations are loose or nonexistent. One country with unrestricted use of pesticides is Panam[aacute], especially in Santa Rosa de Cucunatí. In this indigenous village, small-scale farmers and ranchers spray paraquat, glyphosate, picloram, and 2,4-D at higher elevations than the spring water source of a gravity-fed water system, the river, and the village. The objective of this study was to estimate the concentration of these pesticides in the water system and the river and to perform a human health and ecological risk assessment.
Pesticide fate and transport models in the graphical user interface EXAMS-PRZMS Exposure Simulation Shell (EXPRESS), which was developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, were used to predict concentrations of the four mentioned pesticides in drinking water and the river using chemical properties, data from Food and Agriculture Organization and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the author's experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The results from Tier I model FQPA Index Reservoir Screening Tool (FIRST) were used to compare immediate and delayed rain events, noting minimal difference. The Tier II PRZM-EXAMS shell provided estimated drinking water concentration (EDWC) profiles. The paraquat profile was much lower than picloram, glyphosate, and 2,4-D, which had almost identical profiles with peak concentrations around 12 ppm and the average annual concentration 100 ppb.
Average Daily Dose (ADD) via drinking water was calculated for men, women, and children using model results and compared to the oral reference dose (RfD). ADDs only exceeded the RfD with maximum peak EDWCs, implying low risk. However, RfD was used to calculate a breakpoint concentration, the concentration at which each pesticide presents a risk to the consumer. This was then compared to the maximum peak (highest, i.e. worst-case scenario) and annual (lowest, i.e. best-case scenario) EDWC profiles. In the best-case scenario, glyphosate and picloram did not pose a threat, paraquat posed a moderate threat and 2,4-D posed a high threat, with the concentration exceeding the breakpoint for 90 percent of the years. With respect to the worst-case scenario, all four chemicals posed high threats to the consumer. Individual exposure via consumption of fish from the river was calculated using a calculated bioconcentration (BCF) factor and calculated breakpoint concentrations. For the best case scenario, picloram presented a low risk and 2,4-D presented a high risk but for the worst case, both of these chemicals presented a very high risk. An additive exposure of these two human health pathways found that for the best case scenario, exposure from most of the four chemicals did not approach the RfD. However, for the worst-case scenario the exposures were significantly higher than the oral RfD--therefore, between the lowest and the highest concentrations, the general population is at risk.
For the ecological risk assessment, the 96-hour peak profile was compared to the 96-hour lethal dose (LD50); glyphosate posed a high risk to fathead minnows and low risk to bluegills and 2,4-D presented a high risk to fathead minnows, low risk to channel catfish, and very high risk to bluegills. A more general risk assessment compared maximum peak and annual concentrations to the US EPA's aquatic life benchmarks. Glyphosate presented no threat and 2,4-D only presented a threat to plants. For picloram, fish were at very high risk at the chronic level and low risk at the acute level, and plants were at moderate risk. Paraquat presented the most significant threat to aquatic life, exceeding benchmarks for all plants and invertebrates at the chronic level 100 percent of the time. It presented no threat to fish in the best-case scenario, but a high risk for fish at the chronic level in the worst case scenario, as well as very high risk for all invertebrates and plants. Improvements in application and watershed protection as part of a multi-disciplinary approach are proposed in place of technological mitigation strategies. Recommendations for future studies include the development of a developing-world context model and experimental studies in the developing world to compare to model results, where possible.
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De, Coninck Amandine. "Faire de l’action publique une action collective : expertise et concertation pour la mise en œuvre des continuités écologiques sur les rivières périurbaines." Thesis, Paris Est, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PESC1078/document.
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Les politiques de préservation de la biodiversité (Grenelle 1 et 2, trames vertes et bleues) et les politiques de gestion de l'eau et des milieux aquatiques (Directive cadre européenne sur l'eau, LEMA) enjoignent les collectivités de protéger et restaurer des corridors écologiques. Cependant, dans le cas de rivières fortement modifiées, comme c'est le cas des rivières périurbaines d'Ile-de-France, cette mesure fait l'objet de controverses quant à la faisabilité hydraulique des restaurations (risques d'assecs et d'inondations) et à leur intérêt en termes de qualité de l'eau. Les différents acteurs en charge de la gestion de ces rivières, mais également les scientifiques travaillant sur ces rivières (écologues, hydrologues, géographes,…) ne parviennent pas à construire une expertise partagée pour définir les conséquences, bénéfiques ou négatives, de cette restauration écologique.Nous avons fait l'hypothèse que les controverses autour de l'idée de restauration des cours d'eau, étaient en grande partie structurées par la mobilisation de différents types de connaissances et de représentations pour gérer ces cours d'eau. Il nous a dès lors semblé intéressant de mener, dans deux cas de figure très différents, deux démarches de concertation dans le but de favoriser une confrontation de ces expertises et représentations. Nous avons ensuite observé les effets produits par ces dispositifs sur la construction d'une expertise locale permettant une action collective en vue d'une restauration des continuités. Dans un cas, nous avons mené une démarche de « modélisation d'accompagnement » sur la rivière du Grand Morin, pour discuter de la restauration de la continuité longitudinale, en mêlant les expertises de chercheurs, d'élus, de représentants de l'Etat et de représentants d'usagers. Dans un second cas, nous avons mené une démarche de « jury citoyen » sur la vallée de l'Orge, visant à débattre de la restauration de la continuité latérale (trames vertes et bleues) avec des gestionnaires (syndicats, techniciens,…), des élus, des représentants d'associations et des citoyens. Ces arènes de concertation étaient des lieux privilégiés pour observer les échanges et les possibilités de co-construire des connaissances. Elles nous ont aussi permis d'étudier la mise en œuvre de la continuité écologique au niveau local en zone périurbaine, et d'étudier comment cette politique publique pouvait devenir l'objet d'une action collective entre tous les acteurs concernés. Nous avons choisi d'explorer les débats et les échanges entre les participants d'une manière dynamique, du point de vue des acteurs qui y participent, afin de voir comment se forge une action collective. Nous réalisons une comparaison entre les positions des participants avant et après les démarches de concertation. L'hybridation de savoirs permise par ces procédures produit des apprentissages chez les participants. Elle permet d'expliciter les valeurs et représentations qui sont derrière les connaissances de chacun. Ces démarches facilitent la construction d'une représentation commune du système. Elles permettent de débattre des incertitudes, de montrer ce qu'on ne sait pas, et donc de (re)poser des choix politiques face aux lacunes de connaissances techniques. Elles permettent d'approfondir la définition de la continuité écologique, et d'alterner des moments de politisation et dépolitisation de cet objet technique. Bien que ces procédures ne changent pas fondamentalement le cours de la décision publique, elles permettent un recadrage de la question, une forme de légitimation et d'appropriation de la continuité écologique. Elles permettent de construire une certaine confiance entre les participants, en changeant le collectif et la dynamique des débats. En ce sens on peut dire qu'elles facilitent l'action collective, en transformant un objet technique en objet socio-technique<br>Biodiversity preservation and water management policies (WFD, Grenelle 1 and 2) require local stakeholders to restore ecological corridors and natural functions of rivers and aquatic environments. Implementing this measure on semi-artificial rivers in the Ile-de-France region can be an issue. In this context, river managers use dams to regulate the water level and to prevent floods. Therefore, they are reluctant to remove them. We made the assumption that those controversies about ecological continuity were mostly due to the diversity of expertise and representation of nature management. Therefore, we conducted two participative procedures to discuss those types of expertise and representations, on two different rivers in the Ile-de-France region: the Morin River and the Orge River. We studied the effects of those procedures and their ability to create collective action in order to restore continuities. On the Morin River, a companion modeling process was conducted to debate about longitudinal ecological continuity, associating scientists, elected representatives and user representatives (kayakers, fishermen). Using a model, participants shared their knowledge and representations of the river, to build a compromise between different management options. On the Orge River, a citizen jury was conducted to debate about green and blue corridors, involving elected representatives, river managers and citizens. We observed and analyzed debates and knowledge sharing during those procedures. We studied how ecological continuity could be implemented in suburban areas and how it could become a collective action involving all stakeholders. We compared participants' positions before and after the debates. Sharing expertise through those procedures led the participants to learn about the river, its functioning and about others. It helped elucidating values and representation of each participant, facilitating the common understanding of their position. A common representation of the system was built and uncertainties were debated. Therefore, the technical subject of ecological continuity became more explicit and more political. Those procedures didn't have a direct impact on political and management decisions. However, they facilitated the appropriation and legitimation of the concept of ecological continuity. We observed more trust between participants and the collective dynamics of discussions was improved. Therefore, to a certain extent, these procedures changed a technical concept for a socio-technical object, and turned this public policy into a collective action
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Wendel, Kendra Lesley. "Lifeblood of the earth| Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) hydrological knowledge and perceptions of restoration in two Southern Nevada protected areas." Thesis, Portland State University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1553973.
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<p> In the arid landscapes of the southern Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert, issues surrounding water resource management are often politically contentious. Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) have known and managed these resources for thousands of years prior to Euro-American arrival in the region. A variety of factors, including federal policies that resulted in the creation of reservations and forced placement in boarding schools, as well as contemporary resource commodification, have influenced Nuwuvi knowledge and practice. In this thesis, I examined the character of Nuwuvi ethnohydrological knowledge, including management knowledge, of two protected areas: Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA), managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In addition, I investigated perceptions of water health and restoration among participants from the two managing agencies and six Nuwuvi Nations. I addressed these topics using the theoretical framework of political ecology and a methodology that included semi-structured interviews and demographic questionnaires with 16 Nuwuvi knowledge holders and four federal agency participants. I conducted text analysis of partial interview transcripts using the inductive coding method in order to identify recurring themes and concepts related to hydrology, management, and restoration. My results illustrated that Nuwuvi ethnohydrological knowledge, which developed incrementally over time, conceptualized water as a sentient being that required human interaction to remain healthy. There was also evidence that Nuwuvi knowledge of water was changing as a result of political, economic, and social forces. Furthermore, these findings suggest that Nuwuvi and agency approaches to hydrological management and restoration were built upon differing epistemologies, though there was convergence among specific management and restoration techniques. Based on these results, a report of findings from the Nuwuvi Knowledge-to-Action project, including recommendations for collaborative stewardship approaches, was delivered to participants in August 2013.</p>
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O'Hara, Christine Edstrom. "Revisiting Eden : the Olmsted Brothers' ecological plans for Los Angeles, 1914-1931." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31295.
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Ecological planning relies on a keen awareness of relationships between biophysical and social processes, then uses this knowledge for decision making in accommodating for human needs. The value of this planning process allows for design intervention while also ensuring a sustained use of the landscape, with these insights blending skill and artistry into place-making. In the 1960s, environmental concerns galvanized a generation of landscape architects who first codified ecological planning as a rationale for decisions with environmental stewardship. While this is the accepted canon, in the early 20th century during a period of experimentation and exploration, the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm was using ecological principles as foundations for landscape architecture practice. This thesis challenges current discourse and accepted history, presenting evidence that the Olmsted Brothers' work in the 1920s predated many modern ecological theories and applications, and is an important addition to the historiography of ecological planning. This thesis largely focuses on Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. as the central historical figure, offering a more in-depth understanding of the evolution of the firm, and fills the gap of the Olmsted legacy. As the children of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (1870-1957) along with his brother John Charles Olmsted (1852-1920) co-founded the Olmsted Brothers and created one of the most prolific landscape architecture practices, developing projects in all aspects of landscape design. The Olmsted Brothers' work in California accounts for over 200 projects, and ranks among the highest number of their 5000 designs developed in the United States. In the early 20th century, the city of Los Angeles offered significant ecological, cultural, and technological challenges for the firm, with the city's unbridled urbanization and proliferate use of water and automobility. Rich in solutions, the firm's built and proposed designs over the course of 20 years revealed the discipline of landscape architecture in its richest and most scalar form. From small scale gardens, residential communities, park and parkway systems, to open space and watershed planning, the Olmsted Brothers created public spaces that worked in relationship to the ecology of the region during a critical juncture in the history of regional planning in Southern California. A range of methods were utilized in this thesis. Primary data provided both qualitative and quantitative material for study and was extracted from letters, reports and writing, drawings, photos, plans and maps. Over 20,000 primary documents, written by the firm's principals, provided the basis for analysis, and in a new way, this thesis interprets not only the written documents, but related construction documents developed from 1914 - 1931. As part of its data collection, an original contribution of this study is a comprehensive corpus of Olmsted Brothers source material from their work in Los Angeles. Methodologies sought to modify these documents into a spatial understanding of their work through digital analysis and re-creation of designs. The Olmsted Brothers' design solutions provide insights into today's ongoing concerns about water management, sustainable urban planning, and multifunctional landscapes. Their design proposals solved multiple problems with the design, accounting for not only vast geography, but complex cultural and natural systems within it. The value of their ideas reflects landscape architecture solutions as hybrid, dynamic, and strategic, offering 21st century practitioners paradigms in an ever-changing ecology.
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Wedrén, Malin. "Insamling, rening och användning av vatten i den hållbara hemträdgården." Thesis, University of Gävle, Department of Mathematics, Natural and Computer Sciences, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-5951.
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<p>Utan vatten inget liv. Människor är beroende av rent vatten för sin överlevnad. I många länder orsakar idag bristen på rent vatten sjukdomar och för tidig död. Världens problem med sötvatten i form av brist och svåra föroreningar orsakade av människan kan te sig kolossala. Befolkningsökning och ändrade levnadssätt påverkar. Industrier och jordbruk har stor påverkan men också den enskilda människans vattenanvändning har betydelse.</p><p> </p><p>I Sverige tycks den allmänna inställningen vara att vi inte har ett problem med vårt användande av vatten. Men vid en närmare undersökning av vårt innanhav Östersjöns problem med exempelvis övergödning och syrebrist och utsläppen av näringsämnen ifrån våra enskilda avlopp kan man ställa sig frågande. Även svenskens nyttjande av grundvattenreserver kan te sig olämpligt utifrån ett ekologiskt hållbart perspektiv. Att sedan detta vatten renas till dricksvattenkvalitet för att sedermera användas till att vattna fuktälskande växter som är planterade i gassande sol i en sandig torr jord kan vara förbryllande. Medvetenhet utifrån det lilla perspektivet, till exempel den svenska hemträdgården, kan vara åskådligt. Samtidigt kan det kanske också bidra till en i framtiden miljövänligare politik där målet är att rent sötvattnen skall finnas tillgängligt för alla i ett långt perspektiv.</p><p> </p><p>I denna litteraturstudie, möjligheten till en rationell vattenanvändning i den privata hemträdgården ur ett ekologiskt hållbart perspektiv. Flertalet olika metoder att hushålla med vatten och att tillvarata, rena och använda sig av nederbörd och gråvatten belyses. Resultatet är indelat i två delar; hushållning och rening. I den första redogörs på vilka sätt en effektivisering av vattenanvändandet kan gå till. Lättast och effektivast görs detta genom att dra ner på förbrukningen. Detta går enkelt att göra med några få tekniker. Till exempel att bättra på jordstruktur med organisktmaterial, att placera växter på platser som liknar deras naturliga habitat, minska avdunstning och forma platsen så att nederbörd kan ledas dit den behövs. Att se över hur extrabevattning ska tillämpas på effektivast sätt samt vilken vattenkälla detta vatten kommer ifrån tillhör också detta hushållande stycke. I den andra delen redogörs för olika metoder som kan tillämpas i en trädgård för att rena grå- och dagvatten så att trädgårdens naturliga potential till att vara en del av jordens naturliga kretslopp främjas. Lättast görs detta genom en begränsning av föroreningar redan vid deras källa. Därefter kan infiltrationsytor, infiltrationsplanteringar, biodiken, gröna tak, dammar, konstruerade våtmarker, rotzoner, UV-ljus och aquakulturer vara mer eller mindre användbara metoder som kan tillämpas i hemträdgården.</p><p> </p><p>Vattenfrågan bör klarläggas redan vid planeringen av byggnader och trädgård. Varje tomt måste sättas in i sitt sammanhang då dessa unika med speciella förutsättningar och problem. Hemträdgården är en utmärkt plats för experiment och utvecklingsarbete av ett hållbart vattenanvändande.</p><br><p>Without water there would be no life on earth. People depend of clean water for their survival. Today in many countries the lack of clean water is causing disease and premature death. World problems with fresh water in the form of shortage and severe pollution caused by humans may seem colossal. Industries and agriculture have a major impact but also the individual’s water-use has consequences.</p><p> </p><p>In Sweden the public opinion seems to be that we do not have a problem with our use of water. But with a closer look on facts that is not the case. For example our inland sea, Östersjön, and our contribution to its problems with euthrophication, lack of oxygen with the spillage of nutrients from the sewers and agriculture. Also the Swedish use of ground water may seem inappropriate in an ecological sustainable perspective. What is even more puzzling is that this water gets cleaned to a drinking water quality and then gets used for watering plants in the garden or to wash the car. Consciousness from the small perspective (as the Swedish private garden) can contribute to a future environmentally friendly politic that will lead to a sustainable water-use in a long perspective.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>With this paper I would like to demonstrate, in a literature study, the possibility of a rational water-use in the private home garden from an ecological sustainable perspective. Different methods of economising the water-use, gathering and cleaning stormwater and greywater will be illustrated. The result part will be divided into two parts; economization of water and cleaning of water.</p><p> </p><p>The first part describes the ways in which an efficiency of water-use can be preceded. The easiest way this is done is to cut down the consumption of water. This can easily be done with a few techniques. For example to improve the soil structure with organic material, placing of plants in places that resemble their natural habitat, reduction of evaporation and shaping pf the site so that precipitation can be managed where it is needed. Also to in which way irrigation is applied in the most efficient way and from which source this water is taken is presented in this part. The second part describes different methods of cleaning grey- and stormwater so the home garden’s natural potential to be a part of the earth’s natural rhythm is promoted.</p><p>Most easily this is done by stopping the pollution at the source. After that infiltration areas, bioswales, green roofs, ponds, constructed wetlands, reed beds, UV light and aquacultures can be more or less potential methods to be applied in the home garden.</p><p> </p><p>Water issues should be clarified already at the design process with homes and gardens. Each plot and garden is unique with its particular conditions and problems. Therefore needs every case to be seen in its particular context in order to obtain the optimal solution for that particular place.The home garden is a suitable place for experimental development of a sustainable water-use.</p>
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Dhungel, Hari. "Investigating the Temporal and Spatial Variability of Flow and Salinity Levels in an Ungaged Watershed for Ecological Benefits:A Case Study of the Mentor Marsh Watershed." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1532016261996327.
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Smith, Anton. "Changes in Hydrologic Regime to Balance Human and Environmental Requirements: a Case Study in the Långan River Basin, Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-329476.
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Dams and reservoirs play an important role in the Swedish energy system, and a large number of rivers are today regulated. How to combine the ecological and economic interests in the regulation of these rivers is a growing concern for stakeholders and authorities. The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual environmentally- oriented dam release plan that combines economic and ecological needs for the Lower Långan Natura 2000 area as well as evaluating how the water stage of the reservoir Lake Landösjön would change with a more environmentally oriented flow regime. Three flow scenarios were established: (0) Current flow regime, (1) EU demand for good ecological status which requires changes in discharge dynamics, and (2) the environmental design flow. The Dundee hydrological regime assessment method (DHRAM) was used to evaluate the hydrological alterations for each of the three scenarios. Scenario 0 exhibited the largest alteration from natural flow and the results from the DHRAM analysis indicated on high risk of ecological impact in the river system. Scenario 1 met EU’s demand of good ecological status but the water stage in Lake Landösjön exceeded the maximum allowed legal limit. Scenario 2 comprised a flow regime encompassing both economic and ecological interests and is the most realistic scenario for improving ecology in the Lower Långan River. In conclusion in order to meet EU demand of good ecological status a change in upstream regulation is needed.<br>Vattenkraften spelar en viktig roll i det svenska energisystemet och i dagsläget är ett stor antal sjöar och vattendrag reglerade. Ett växande problem för aktörer inom vattenkraft och myndigheter är hur ekonomiska och ekologiska intressen skall kombineras för att åstadkomma en mer hållbar vattenanvändning. Långans avrinningsområde ligger i nordvästra Jämtland och har en total yta på 2 287 km2 . Inom avrinningsområdet återfinns fyra regleringsmagasin: Burvattnet, Stora Mjölkvattnet, Korsvattnet och Landösjön. I den sydöstra delen av avrinningsområdet ligger nedre Långans Natura 2000-område vilket har undantagits från vattenkraftsutbyggnad då det innehåller ett antal viktiga naturtyper. Ett centralt begrepp i Natura 2000 är gynnsam bevarandestatus vilket innebär att medlemsstaterna är skyldiga att gynnsam bevarandestatus bibehålls alternativt återställs till naturligt tillstånd. Då gynnsam bevarandestatus är kopplad till rådande hydrologiska förhållanden gäller miljökvalitetsnormen God ekologisk status. I dagsläget klassificeras nedre Långans Natura 2000-område med otillfredsställande ekologisk status. För att nedre Långans skall uppnå EUs krav på god ekologisk status krävs det att flödet anpassas till mer naturliga flödes förhållanden. Syftet med denna studie var att utveckla miljöanpassade flöden enligt tre scenarier. Dessa scenarier med miljöanpassade flöden har konsekvensbeskrivits där huvudmålet har varit att förbättra den ekologiska statusen av nedre Långan samt utvärderat hur vattennivån i Landösjön påverkas om dessa flöden tas i bruk. Följande scenarier fastställdes: (0) Nuvarande flödesregim, (1) EU: s efterfrågan på god ekologisk status vilket kräver att flödet efterliknar det naturliga oreglerade flödet, och (2) kompromissflödet, ett mellanting mellan scenario 0 och 1. Den hydrologiska avvikelsen av scenarierna bedömdes med hjälp av The Dundee Hydrological Regime Alteration Method (DHRAM). DHRAM analysen består av en ett femgradigt system som mäter graden av mänsklig påverkan på naturliga flödesregimen relaterat till scenario 0-2. och är kompatibelt med EU:s ramdirektivet för vatten. Resultatet från DHRAM-analysen uppvisade att Scenario 0 har den största förändringen jämtemot det naturliga flödet och vattendraget löper stor risk för ekologisk påverkan. Scenario 1 uppfyllde EU: s krav på god ekologisk status, men med detta flöde översteg dämningsgränsen i Landösjön med 2m under april till juni. Scenario 2 är baseras på både ekonomiska och ekologiska intressen Utifrån de testade scenariona kunde följande slutsatser dras: (1) scenario 2 är det mest realistiska scenariot för att förbättra ekologin i nedre Långan, (2) för att möta EU: s krav på god ekologisk status krävs en förändring av uppströms liggande regleringsmagasin
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Stone, Harry James. "THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH: ANALYZING THE “TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD” PROCESS IN THE UPPER MILL CREEK (CINCINNATI)." Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1082567599.
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Martinsson, Erik, Emil Martinsson, and Sören Säf. "IWESS, an integrated water, energy and sanitation solution : A holistic approach to reach sustainability trough organic waste management for the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya." Thesis, University of Skövde, School of Technology and Society, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-566.
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<p>The process of allocating necessary resources like clean water, fuel/energy and food have resulted in an unsustainable use of natural resources causing problems with Soil erosion, soil fertility, desertification, deforestation, eutrophication and global warming. The purpose of this study was to gain information on the functional design of a waste management system enabling the organic components of domestic waste to be processed as useful resources while at the same time allow them to be re-circulated. The main part of this study was carried out at the Kendu SDA Hospital in the Rachyonyo district in western Kenya. For the case of this study two main objectives where chosen. The first was to develop a principal technological solution using three classed “appropriate technologies” found suitable for the purpose namely biogas, ecological water treatment systems and slow sand filtration. The second was to further analyse each included technology to further develop their potential to fit the concept. Results from the pilot facilities where then to be retrieved from the actual component selection and construction process itself, with performance analysis left for future studies.</p><p>The main purpose of the biogas system study has been to evaluate the original ideas of overall concept, details, materials and construction methods. The 1 m3 biogas system has improved significantly during the development process and is today not far from an implementation, i.e. construction on a slightly larger scale. The biogas system developed during the project has proven to have potential for digestion of both latrine and kitchen waste. Using the two as fuel for the process does not only remove a problem – it grants several benefits.</p><p>The ecological waste water treatment system main objective was to design and construct a pilot SSF-wetland. Results show that the construction process for smaller scaled SSF systems is simple and does not require trained personnel or specialized equipment and that significant cost reduction can be made by using locally available materials.</p><p>The slow sand filtration sub system concept is called PT SCX and though still in the stage of development proved to have great potential concerning both efficiency and sustainability. The PT SCX comprises the advantages of slow sand filtration with further development of individual system solutions. It was adapted to enable both integration to the IWESS solution and stand alone installations purifying even highly turbid surface water sources to drinking water quality.</p><p>The result from the study confirms the suitability of the three included technologies, ecological waste water treatment, biogas and slow sand filtration to work in an integrated system called IWESS- Integrated Water Energy and Sanitation Solution. The combined subsystems can together with source separated sewage offer full resource recovery enabling recirculation of both nutrients and water. In addition the system can be designed as a net producer of renewable and emission free energy.</p>
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Borda, Ana Amabile [UNESP]. "Avaliação dos parâmetros físicos, químicos, biológicos e ecológicos do curso d’água do Rio Turvo (SP)." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/148609.
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Previous issue date: 2016-12-19<br>Nos últimos anos muitos estudos têm sido realizados para investigar o problema da redução da qualidade da água para o abastecimento, lazer, irrigação, entre outros, levando à identificação das fontes poluidoras, bem como à elaboração de propostas para o seu controle. Outra prática bastante utilizada é o estabelecimento de indicadores da qualidade das águas (físicos, químicos e biológicos). A preservação da qualidade da água é uma necessidade universal, que exige atenção por parte das autoridades sanitárias e consumidores em geral, principalmente nos cursos d´água destinados ao consumo humano, visto que sua contaminação por excretos de origem humana e animal pode torná-las um veículo de transmissão de agentes de doenças. Este trabalho avalia a qualidade do curso d’água do Rio Turvo/SP utilizando parâmetros físicos, químicos, biológicos e ecológicos e aspectos referentes da legislação vigente. Foram realizadas análises físicas, químicas, microbiológicas, ecológicas e de gestão ambiental e sanitária em seis pontos específicos do curso d’água do Rio Turvo, localizado na Bacia Hidrográfica do Médio Paranapanema. Aplicou-se um protocolo de avaliação rápida com o intuito de se conhecer o grau de conservação e qualidade ecológica dos pontos amostrados. Os resultados de ensaios físicos e químicos demonstram que a maioria dos valores obtidos estão dentro dos padrões exigidos pelo Ministério da Saúde e Conama, no entanto, os parâmetros ferro, fosfato e DBO demonstraram valores acima do permitido e são causados principalmente pelo lançamento de esgotos domésticos e excrementos animais. Os parâmetros microbiológicos demonstram a presença de coliformes totais em todos os pontos analisados, caracterizando o lançamento de esgotos e possível veiculação de doenças. A avaliação ecológica rápida demonstrou grau moderado de conservação na maioria dos ambientes estudados e as principais causas são as interferências urbanas e o descaso com o meio ambiente. Assim, se faz necessário melhorar a gestão sanitária municipal das cidades por onde o Rio Turvo percorre, com ênfase no tratamento de água e de esgoto e existe a necessidade de continuar os estudos e parâmetros com relação do Rio Turvo para acompanhamento da qualidade ambiental, sanitária, física, química e microbiológica afim de servir como base para melhores políticas públicas e desenvolvimento do manejo com o ambiente.<br>In recent years, many studies have been carried out to investigate the problem of water quality reduction for water supply, leisure, irrigation, among others, leading to the identification of pollutant sources, as well as the preparation of proposals for its control. Another widely used practice is the establishment of water quality indicators (physical, chemical and biological). The preservation of water quality is a universal need, which requires attention from health authorities and consumers in general, especially in water courses intended for human consumption, since their contamination by excreta of human and animal origin can make them a vehicle for the transmission of disease agents. This work evaluates the quality of the Rio Turvo / SP watercourse using physical, chemical, biological and ecological parameters and referring aspects of the current legislation. Physical, chemical, microbiological, ecological and environmental and health management analyzes were carried out at six specific points in the Rio Turvo watercourse, located in the Paranapanema Basin. A rapid evaluation protocol was applied in order to know the degree of conservation and ecological quality of the points sampled. The results of physical and chemical tests show that most of the values obtained are within the standards required by the Ministry of Health and Conama, however, the iron, phosphate and BOD parameters showed values above the allowable and are mainly caused by the discharge of domestic sewage of animal droppings. Microbiological parameters demonstrate the presence of total coliforms in all the analyzed points, characterizing the discharge of sewage and possible disease transmission. The rapid ecological evaluation showed a moderate degree of conservation in most of the studied environments and the main causes are the urban interferences and the neglect with the environment. Thus, it is necessary to improve the municipal sanitary management of the cities through which Rio Turvo travels, with emphasis on the treatment of water and sewage, and there is a need to continue the studies and parameters related to Rio Turvo for monitoring the environmental, sanitary quality , Physics, chemistry and microbiology in order to serve as a basis for better public policies and development of environmental management.
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Hampson, Danyel Ian. "Enhancing Britain's rivers : an interdisciplinary analysis of selected issues arising from implementation of the Water Framework Directive." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/32859.
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The Water Framework Directive requires reduced environmental impacts from human activities and for the assessment of the non-market benefits of pollution remediation schemes. This policy shift has exacerbated the research problems surrounding the physical, social and economic consequences of the relationship between land use and water quality. This research seeks to quantify the major socio-economic and environmental benefits for people which may arise as riverine pollution is reduced. To achieve these aims this research integrates primary data analyses combining choice experiment techniques with geographical information system based analyses of secondary data concerning the spatial distributions of riverine pollution. Current knowledge on the microbial quality of river water, measured by faecal indicator organism (FIO) concentrations and assessed at catchment scale, is inadequate. This research develops generic regression models to predict base- and high-flow faecal coliform (FC) and enterococci (EN) concentrations, using land cover and population (human and livestock) variables. The resulting models are then used both to predict FIO concentrations in unmonitored watercourses and to evaluate the likely impacts of different land use scenarios, enabling insights into the optimal locations and cost-effective mix of implementation strategies. Valuation experiments frequently conflate respondents’ preferences for different aspects of water quality. This analysis uses stated preference techniques to disaggregate the values of recreation and ecological attributes of water quality, thereby allowing decision makers to better understand the consequences of adopting alternative investment strategies which favour either ecological, recreational or a mix of benefits. The results reveal heterogeneous preferences across society; specifically, latent class analysis identifies three distinct groups, holding significantly different preferences for water quality. From a methodological perspective this research greatly enhances the ongoing synthesis of geographic and economic social sciences and addresses important policy questions which are of interest to a variety of stakeholders, including government departments and the water industry.
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Mistry, Isha. "Collaborative Governance in the Rideau Canal: Barriers and Opportunities." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/41590.
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The environmental management of watersheds presents a complex governance issue due to their large spatial scales that include overlapping jurisdictions, competing interests in resource use, and lack of coordination among stakeholders. The Rideau Canal, spanning 200 km between the cities of Ottawa and Kingston, is an interesting case study as it is a multi-watershed system over which municipal, provincial and federal governments have authority. However, these governments have been unsuccessful in addressing system-wide issues such as shoreline development, erosion and invasive species that have significantly impacted the ecological integrity of the canal. A shift toward polycentric governance, which are systems of multi-scale governance, in which well-informed publics can contribute to the Rideau Canal’s management is required. This thesis examines how co-governance can be conceptualized for the RC by (1) analyzing convergences in stakeholder perspectives about the environment and governance, and (2) comparing collaborative causal mapping exercises with various stakeholders to current government engagement efforts. A tiered co-governance framework that intentionally links existing small-scale activities to system-wide formal venues of knowledge sharing could democratize environmental governance on the Rideau Canal to improve its management. Beyond its practical contributions, this research also contributes to developing the academic literature on co-governance for multi-watershed waterways that have both constructed and natural aspects.
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Mahdian, Adrian. "ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT : Case study: Cost-effectiveness evaluation of Proposition O projects." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för ekonomi, samhälle och teknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-52945.
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Stormwater Management (SWM) or Best management practices (BMPs) treat the stormwater runoff that carries pollutants. Pollutants in the waters and in the stormwater, negatively impact the environment, the ecology, and natural resources. Stormwater Control Measures (SCM) are used in different projects to improve water quality and quantity. This thesis aims to understand the connection between SWMs, the economy, and environmental sustainability. This thesis evaluates the cost-effectiveness of SWMs in Mediterranean climates. The research aims to guide the next project managers to choose better SWMs based on cost-effectiveness, socio-economic, and environmental implications. Various studies suggest that the terms SWM, SWM, and SCM are used interchangeably. The research methodology uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative data analysis The research was conducted in Los Angeles at the request of UCLA. Therefore, it focused on water quality improvement projects in Los Angeles. The costs for the projects, areas, and whatSWMs are used will be acquired through data gathering and personal communication with experts. This thesis compares several projects which include different SWMs. It calculates the cost-effectiveness with two different methods, firstly, the cost per drainage area, and secondly, the cost per pollutant removed. Data is gathered from the city of LA and other secondary data sources to calculate the cost-effectiveness. The calculation results showed that the Glenoaksproject and the Machado lake project were the most cost-effective. Glenoaks utilizes infiltration wells and grass swales, and the Machado lake is a large wetland. Based upon these facts, generally, wetlands and grass swales can be recommended for Mediterranean climates. The expensive total costs of SWMs or their inability to remove pollutants can strongly affect the cost-effectiveness of some projects, and produce a negative impact on the economy. Quantitative assessment of study investigates cost-effectiveness of SWMs and for highlighting its economic impact. For qualitative assessment thematic analysis of 14 sample studies related to stormwater management (SWM) was carried out. Findings reveal that 78% of sample studies reflect the themes associated with the positive economic impact of SWMs. Additionally, the sample studies confirm a 76% positive impact of SWMs on the environment and ecology of the region. Further research with better data and more accurate calculations are needed. It would be beneficial if other factors such as recreation and unquantifiable factors such as the aesthetic improvements and community benefits were incorporated into or considered together with the cost-effectiveness for future projects.
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Muller, Matthew Justin. "Linking institutional and ecological provisions for wastewater treatment discharge in a rural municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013048.
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The Green Drop Certification Programme, launched in 2008 alongside the Blue Drop Certification Programme, aims to provide the Department of Water Affairs with a national overview of how municipalities and their individual wastewater treatment works (WWTW) are complying with licence conditions set by the National Water Act (NWA) (No. 36 of 1998; DWAF 1998) and the Water Services Act (No. 108 of 1997; DWAF 1998). By publishing the results of each municipality’s performance, the programme aims to ensure continuous improvement in the wastewater treatment sector through public pressure. The programme has been identified by this project as a necessary linking tool between the NWA and the Water Services Act to ensure protection and sustainable use of South Africa’s natural water resources. It does this through assisting municipalities to improve their wastewater treatment operations which in theory will lead to discharged effluent that is compliant with discharge licence conditions. These discharge licences form part of the NWA’s enforcement tool of Source Directed Controls (SDC) which help a water resource meet the ecological goals set for it as part of Resource Directed Measures (RDM). The link between meeting the required SDC and achieving the RDM goals has never been empirically tested. This project aimed to determine the present ecological condition of the Uie River, a tributary of the Sundays River which the Sundays River Valley Municipality (SRVM) discharges its domestic effluent into. It then determined whether the SRVM’s WWTW was complying with the General Standard licence conditions and what the impact of the effluent on the river was through the analysis of monthly biomonitoring, water chemistry and habitat data. Lastly, the project examined the effectiveness of the Green Drop Certification Programme in bringing about change in the SRVM’s wastewater treatment sector, which previously achieved a Green Drop score of 5.6 percent. It wanted to examine the underlying assumption that a WWTW which improves its Green Drop score will be discharging a better quality effluent that will help a water resource meets the RDM goals set for it. The Kirkwood WWTW did not have a discharge licence at the time of assessment and was thus assessed under the General Standard licence conditions. It was found that the Kirkwood WWTW was not complying with the General Standard discharge licence conditions in the Uie River. This was having a negative impact on the river health, mainly through high concentrations of Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN-N), orthophosphate and turbidity. The SRVM should see an improvement in its Green Drop score for the Kirkwood WWTW. However, the municipality showed no implementation of necessary programmes. Implementation of these programmes would help the SRVM meet the General Standard licence conditions (part of SDC) which would help the Uie River meet the RDM goals set for it.
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Magalhães, Danielle Soares. "Zoneamento ecológico-econômico versus planos de recursos hídricos, com aplicação na região norte do estado do Tocantins." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/32406.
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No Brasil, particularmente nas últimas décadas, um considerável número de instrumentos de políticas foram criados, para uma melhor gestão dos recursos naturais do país. Dentre os instrumentos, destacam-se o Zoneamento Ecológico-Econômico e os Planos de Recursos Hídricos, ambos de políticas ambientais distintas, porém com objetivos, em partes, semelhantes, ao proporem, em seu escopo, a criação de áreas sujeitas à restrição de uso para uma melhor gestão do território e dos recursos hídricos, respectivamente. Diante da problemática de dinamizar o planejamento ambiental, este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a efetividade de ambos os instrumentos de políticas ao considerar o efeito das proposições dos usos do solo sobre a disponibilidade quantitativa dos recursos hídricos de uma bacia. Para testar a efetividade dos instrumentos será desenvolvido um caso de estudo na região norte do Estado do Tocantins, especificamente nas bacias dos rios Lontra e Corda, inseridas no sistema hidrográfico do rio Araguaia. As bacias foram selecionadas por possuírem elaborados um plano de Zoneamento Ecológico-Econômico e um Plano de Bacia Hidrográfica, a serem implantados em uma mesma área. Os rios das bacias em apreço apresentam uma considerável interação com os recursos hídricos subterrâneos, necessitando de uma gestão integrada das componentes hídricas. Aplicaram-se filtros digitais recursivos para separação do escoamento de base do escoamento total de hidrogramas das séries históricas de duas estações fluviométricas (2820000 e 28240000 – Hidroweb/ANA) e observou-se que 80 e 76% das vazões dos rios são mantidas pelos aqüíferos da região. Ao considerarem que os aqüíferos são importantes para manutenção da vazão dos rios e que os mesmos estão localizados em áreas propicias a usos do solo, este trabalho buscou localizar, na área em estudo, as áreas potenciais de armazenamento de água subterrânea, possivelmente áreas de recarga de aqüíferos (CHIARANDA, 2002), a fim de observar as proposições de ambos os instrumentos para as referidas áreas. Com o auxílio de técnicas de ponderação, análise e cruzamento de mapas temáticos em ambiente de Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG), foi possível observar que grande parte da área das bacias dos rios Lontra e Corda estão inseridas em classes de muito alta a alta capacidade de armazenamento de água subterrânea. Como resultado da análise da efetividade dos instrumentos, algumas divergências foram observadas quanto à proposição das zonas, que no ato da implementação dos instrumentos poderá acarretar prejuízos econômicos e/ou ambiental para a região, a exemplo, a indicação para uma mesma localidade de criação de áreas restritas ao uso e de ocupação por atividades humanas. Ao realizar o cruzamento das zonas dos ZEE’s sobre as áreas potenciais de armazenamento de água subterrânea, observou-se que ambos os instrumentos propõe áreas de ocupação humana, sobre as áreas de maior potencial de armazenamento de água subterrânea. Não sendo evidenciada nenhuma proposta quanto aos cuidados específicos em relação à preservação destas áreas, não reconhecendo a interação existente entre as águas subterrâneas e superficiais e sua necessidade de gestão integrada para uma melhor qualidade ambiental da região.<br>In Brazil, particularly in recent decades, a considerable number of policy instruments were created for better management of natural resources of the country. Among the instruments stand out from the Ecological and Economic Zoning and Plans of Water Resources, both of different environmental policies, but with goals, in part, similar to propose in its scope, the creation of areas subject to use restrictions for better land management and water resources, respectively. Regarding the problem of dynamic environmental planning, this work is to analyze the effectiveness of both policy instruments to consider the effect of the proposals of land use on the availability of water resources in a bowl. To test the effectiveness of both instruments will be developed a case study in the northern state of Tocantins, specifically in the basins of the rivers Otter and rope, inserted in the hydrographic system of the Araguaia River. The basins were selected because they have drawn up a plan of Ecological-Economic Zoning Plan and a Watershed, both to be deployed in the same area. The rivers in this basin have a considerable interaction with the groundwater resources, requiring an integrated component of water. Applied to recursive digital filters for separating the base flow of total flow hydrographs of historical series of two gauged stations (2820000 and 28240000 - Hidroweb / ANA) and observed that 80 and 76% of the flows of rivers are maintained by aquifers the region. In considering that the aquifers are important for maintaining river flows and that they are located in areas conducive to land use, this study tried to find, in the study area, the potential areas of water storage underground, possibly recharge areas aquifer (CHIARANDA 2002), in order to observe the propositions of both instruments for those areas. With the help of techniques of measurement, analysis and cross-thematic maps in an environment of geographic information system (GIS), it was observed that much of the area of the basins of rivers Otter and rope are placed in classes for very high discharge capacity storage of groundwater. Based on the analysis of the effectiveness of the instruments, some differences were observed concerning a proposed areas, which at the time of implementation of both instruments may cause economic losses and / or environmental in the region, such as the indication for the same location establishment of restricted areas to use and occupancy by human activities. When performing the crossroad of the exclusive economic areas of potential water storage underground, it was observed that both instruments proposed areas of human occupation on the areas of greatest potential for water storage underground. Not being shown any proposal regarding the specific care for the preservation of these areas, not recognizing the interaction between groundwater and surface water and their need for integrated management for better environmental quality in the region.
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Tashev, Azamat. "Understanding Ecosystem Services through Organizational Analysis: Application to the Truckee-Carson River System." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1515072255449453.
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Zhang, Wendong. "Three Essays on Land Use, Land Management, and Land Values in the Agro-Ecosystem." The Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437656707.
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Pettus, Paul Bryce. "Modeling Fecal Bacteria in Oregon Coastal Streams Using Spatially Explicit Watershed Characteristics." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1493.
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Pathogens, such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms, are causing the majority of water quality impairments in U.S., making up ~87% of this grouping's violations. Predicting and characterizing source, transport processes, and microbial survival rates is extremely challenging, due to the dynamic nature of each of these components. This research built upon current analytical methods that are used as exploratory tools to predict pathogen indicator counts across regional scales. Using a series of non-parametric methodologies, with spatially explicit predictors, 6657 samples from non-estuarine lotic streams were analyzed to make generalized predictions of regional water quality. 532 frequently sampled sites in the Oregon Coast Range Ecoregion, were parsed down to 93 pathogen sampling sites in effect to control for spatial and temporal biases. This generalized model was able to provide credible results in assessing regional water quality, using spatial techniques, and applying them to infrequently or unmonitored catchments. This model's 56.5% explanation of variation, was comparable to other researchers' regional assessments. This research confirmed linkages to land uses related to anthropogenic activities such as animal operations and agriculture, and general riparian conditions.
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Dracic, Melisa. "Omvandla Malmö till en "svampstad"? : En studie om sponge city-konceptet." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Institutionen för Urbana Studier (US), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-44104.
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Förekomsten av vattenrelaterade problem som extrem nederbörd, översvämningar, torka och vattenbrist kommer att öka i urbana områden till följd av de globala klimatförändringarna. Sponge city-konceptet är ett urbant dagvattenhanteringssystem som lanserades i Kina och syftar till att förbättra vattenhanteringen i städer genom att återställa stadens kapacitet att absorbera, infiltrera, lagra och rena vatten. Den här studien syftade till att undersöka om sponge city-konceptet hade kunnat implementeras i Malmö genom att besvara frågeställningen ” Vilka möjligheter respektive hinder finns det för Malmö att implementera sponge city-konceptet?”. Genom en systematisk litteraturstudie och innehållsanalys i kombination med det teoretiska ramverket som baserades på konceptet sårbarhet för klimatförändringar visade resultatet på att det både finns en del möjligheter men också hinder. Det huvudsakliga hindret som identifierades är att en stor del av marken i Malmö består av täta moränleror vilket utgör ett hinder för de infiltrationsåtgärder som ingår i sponge city-konceptet. Några möjligheter som identifierades är att sponge city-konceptet kan minska känsligheten för skada som uppstår i förhållande till exponeringsnivån, samt att Malmös anpassningskapacitet är relativt hög. På grund av att den här studien enbart undersökte specifika fysiska/miljömässiga aspekter inom sponge city-konceptet krävs däremot fler studier som tar hänsyn till fler aspekter om en implementering av konceptet skulle bli aktuell.<br>The occurrence of water related problems such as extreme precipitation, floods, drought and water scarcity will increase in urban areas as a result of global climate change. The sponge city-concept is an urban stormwater system launched in China and aims to improve the water management in cities by restoring the city’s capacity to absorb, infiltrate, store and purify water. This study aimed to investigate if the sponge city-concept could be implemented in Malmö by answering the question “What possibilities and obstacles exist for Malmö to implement the sponge city-concept?”. Through a systematic literature review and content analysis in combination with the theoretical framework, which was based on the concept climate change vulnerability, the results showed that there are some possibilities but also obstacles. The main obstacle that was identified is that the ground in Malmö largely consists of dense moraines which forms an obstacle for the infiltration measures that are included in the sponge city-concept. Some possibilities that were identified is that the sponge city-concept can decrease the sensitivity to harm that occurs in relation to the exposure level but also that Malmö’s adaptation capacity is relatively high. However, because this study only investigated specific physical/environmental aspects within the sponge city-concept, more studies that consider more aspects are required if an implementation of the concept would become prevailing.