5/23/2016  |   13:30 - 13:45   |  313

HYDROATLAS: A GLOBAL DATABASE OF RIVER AND CATCHMENT ATTRIBUTES TO FACILITATE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM MODELLING AND CONSERVATION PLANNING Uptake of modern conservation planning methods is still hindered by two obstacles. These are a) defining the network topology that describes the connected nature of a river system and b) the patchy data sources hampering conservation planning and abiasing towards data rich areas. To facilitate broader application of modern species modelling and conservation planning methods, we designed a global database of river and catchment attributes. The data is derived from either existing or newly developed global datasets and is compiled in a hierarchical, nested breakdown of subcatchments. At the highest level of subdivision, the globe is split into over 1 million subcatchments. For each of these subcatchments, we calculated a suite of local (within subcatchment) as well as upstream attributes for a variety of both natural and human influenced descriptors. These include variables of hydrology, inundation, groundwater, climate, terrain, soils, vegetation, topology, and network geometry. To characterise human disturbance, we summarised land use measures, including agricultural use, population and urbanisation, as well as socioeconomic data. Attribute layers and a suite of tools will be freely available in 2016.

Simon Linke (Primary Presenter/Author), Australian Rivers Institute - Griffith University, simon.linke@gmail.com;


Bernhard Lehner ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), McGill University, Montreal, bernhard.lehner@mcgill.ca;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2016  |   13:45 - 14:00   |  313

GROWING DEMANDS, SHRINKING SUPPLIES? MODELING CALIFORNIA’S LAND-USE AND WATER USE FUTURE Municipal and urban land-use intensification in coming decades will place increasing pressure on California’s already limited water resources. The state is currently experiencing one of the most extreme droughts on record. This coupled with earlier spring snowmelt and projected future climate warming will increasingly constrain the already limited water supplies. We utilized the Land Use and Carbon Scenario Simulator (LUCAS), a state-and-transition simulation model, to project the spatially explicit (1 km) future developed and agricultural land use from 2012 to 2062 and estimated the associated water use for California’s Central Valley and Oak Woodlands ecoregions. Under current water use efficiency rates, total water demand was projected to increase 4.6% (1.6 million acre feet) by 2062, driven primarily by increases in urbanization and shifts to more water intensive perennial crops (i.e. orchards and vineyards). Scenarios of land-use related water demand are useful for visualizing alternative futures, examining potential management approaches, and enabling better informed resource management decisions.

Tamara Wilson (Primary Presenter/Author), U.S. Geological Survey, tswilson@usgs.gov;


D. Richard Cameron ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, dcameron@tnc.org;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2016  |   14:00 - 14:15   |  313

CURRENT AND FUTURE EFFECTS OF LAND USE AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON RIVER AND STREAM SALINITY Most human activities can lead to increased stream and river salinity, and climate change will likely exacerbate these effects. To better understand salinity responses to land use and climate change, I linked an empirical model (R² = 0.78) predicting natural specific electrical conductivity (EC, a measure of salinity) to a model (R² = 0.60) predicting EC alterations associated with land use. I applied the first model to 2001 probabilistically selected sites across the U.S. to compare natural EC to current observations. Then I applied climate and land use projections based on the IPCC’s A2 emissions scenario to estimate EC in 2100 at all sites. EC has already increased by > 50% at 34% of sites, with the greatest changes occurring primarily in the Midwest and Plains. By 2100, over 50% of sites will see this level of increase, and the largest changes shift to the South. Salinity will increase enough to be unsuitable for agricultural or municipal use at 6% of sites. However the threat to stream biota is even greater, with 69% of low EC habitat being potentially eliminated.

John Olson (Primary Presenter/Author), Dept of Applied Environmental Science, California State University Monterey Bay, CA, USA, joolson@csumb.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2016  |   14:15 - 14:30   |  313

GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF WETLAND DISTRIBUTION, THREATS AND CONSERVATION STATUS Despite the importance of wetlands for economies and biodiversity, they have undergone substantial degradation of unknown extent at global scale. We quantified the extent of inland wetlands globally and then evaluated the conservation status and human pressure, accounting for human footprint and protected areas, including six IUCN categories and as well as RAMSAR sites. Currently, 8% of the world’s land surface is covered by wetlands, yet more than 90% of these wetlands are out of protected areas. Regionally, wetland protection ranged from 17% in Central and South America to only 7% in Asia. Human pressure on wetlands also varied widely across geographical units. The highest impact was found in Asia, the region with the second largest wetland area (13% of the world’s wetlands). Also, high impacts were observed within some protected areas, such as in the IUCN categories V-VI in Europe. The results demonstrated that wetlands are highly threatened globally, yet poorly protected. The results show the urgent need for adequate planning and protection specifically designed for wetland conservation and provide guidance on specific actions that are needed.

Vanessa Reis (Primary Presenter/Author), Australian Rivers Institute - Griffith University, vanessacsreis@gmail.com;


Virgilio Hermoso ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Centre Tecnologic Forestal de Catalunya, virgilio.hermoso@gmail.com;


Simon Linke ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Australian Rivers Institute - Griffith University, simon.linke@gmail.com;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2016  |   14:30 - 14:45   |  313

ASSESSING SUFFICIENCY OF THERMAL RIVERSCAPES FOR RESILIENT SALMON AND STEELHEAD POPULATIONS Resilient salmon populations require river networks that provide water temperature regimes sufficient to support a diversity of salmonid life histories across space and time. Efforts to protect, enhance and restore watershed thermal regimes for salmon may target specific locations and features within stream networks hypothesized to provide disproportionately high-value functional resilience to salmon populations. These include relatively small-scale features such as thermal refuges, and larger-scale features such as entire watersheds or aquifers that support thermal regimes buffered from local climatic conditions. Quantifying the value of both small and large scale thermal features to salmon populations has been challenged by both the difficulty of mapping thermal regimes at sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions, and integrating thermal regimes into population models. We attempt to address these challenges by using newly-available datasets and modeling approaches to link thermal regimes to salmon populations across scales. We will describe an individual-based modeling approach for assessing sufficiency of thermal refuges for migrating salmon and steelhead in large rivers, as well as a population modeling approach for assessing large-scale climate refugia for salmon in the Pacific Northwest.

Joe Ebersole (Primary Presenter/Author), US EPA, Western Ecology Division, Corvallis, OR, ebersole.joe@epa.gov;


Allen Brookes ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, brookes.allen@epa.gov;


Brenda Rashleigh ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, rashleigh.brenda@epa.gov;


Jordan Massie ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, Western Ecology Division, Corvallis, OR, massie.jordan@epa.gov;


Nathan Schumaker ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US EPA, schumaker.nathan@epa.gov;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2016  |   14:45 - 15:00   |  313

HOW MANY ARE TOO MANY BARRIERS FOR FRESHWATER FISH? While barriers have been widely accepted as problematic for freshwater biota, the construction of dams and further structural modifications to rivers and streams continues in many regions of the world. The Kinzig River in Germany (LTER: Rhein-Main Observatory), is no exception with 718 structural impairments that hinder connectivity to some degree. However, few species specific recommendations on the number and magnitude of barriers are available to watershed managers and conservation practitioners. Using species distribution models (SDMs) we compared suitable habitats for freshwater fish, which are predicted to become unsuitable when barriers are included in the model. Our results show how barrier densities characterize the river stretches predicted as suitable or unsuitable for 20 species of freshwater fish. This SDM application suggests thresholds for barrier numbers which are highly relevant for assessing stream conservation priorities and identifying suitable sites for reintroduction and stocking.

Mathias Kuemmerlen (Primary Presenter/Author), Senckenberg Research Institute, mkuemmerlen@senckenberg.de;


Stefan Stoll ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Senckenberg Research Institute, sstoll@senckenberg.de;


Peter Haase ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Senckenberg Research Institute, phasse@senckenberg.de;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.