SFS Annual Meeting

5/23/2019  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  151 DEF

CUTTING EDGE: CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES OF RIPARIAN BUFFER MANAGEMENT AROUND HEADWATERS IN CANADA, FINLAND AND SWEDEN Forested riparian buffers are commonly used to mitigate negative effects of forest harvesting on recipient freshwater ecosystems. Most of the best practices of riparian buffer retention aim at larger streams while headwaters are often compromised. We surveyed >300 small streams flowing through recent clearcuts in three timber-producing countries – Canada, Finland and Sweden. We found that the three countries differed in how both policy and practice consider riparian buffers. British Columbia (Canada) does not require any buffer reserves on the smallest streams and thus 45% of the surveyed stream in BC had no buffers at all. Average buffer width of the rest of the streams was 16 m. Finland had buffers allocated to most of the surveyed streams, with average buffer width of 15.3 m. Buffers were on average 4.04 m wide along Swedish headwaters but 70% of these streams had buffers below this average. We found that buffer width somewhat increased with stream size and slope of the riparian area. In addition, most of the surveyed streams had marks of other impairments associated with forestry operations (e.g., machine tracks, ditching) which poses an additional threat to the freshwater environment.

Jussi Jyväsjärvi (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland, jussi.jyvasjarvi@oulu.fi;


Claire Ruffing (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of British Columbia, ruffing.cathcart@ubc.ca;


Timo Muotka (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland, timo.muotka@oulu.fi;


John Richardson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of British Columbia, John.Richardson@ubc.ca;


Lenka Kuglerová (Primary Presenter/Author), Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, lenka.kuglerova@slu.se;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2019  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  151 DEF

LANDSCAPE AND LAKE INFLUENCES ON GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLAND WATER QUALITY Coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes provide important ecosystem services and ecological functions to the region. Despite their value and role in mitigating effects of land-use, these ecosystems are susceptible to water quality impairments driven by runoff from the landscape. Using water quality monitoring data collected from coastal wetlands spanning the entire Great Lakes basin from 2011 to 2018, we assessed the influences of the landscape (developed and agricultural land-cover) and the open water (wave action, location) over time to better understand their combined influences on coastal wetland water quality variables (e.g., Cl-, NOx, SRP, TN and TP). Greater proportions of developed and agricultural land related to higher nutrient concentrations, whereas greater wave action was associated with lower nutrients. Lake-influenced lacustrine wetlands consistently had lower nutrients than riverine wetlands. Nutrients were higher in wetlands in the southern basin compared to wetlands in the northern basin, and Lake Huron had the lowest TP and SRP of all five Great Lakes. Our data showcase the importance of monitoring to understand nutrient and pollution trends in coastal wetlands, and support the need for management efforts focused on reducing nutrient and pollution loads.

Matthew Cooper (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, Northland College, mcooper@northland.edu;


Donald Uzarski (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Institute for Great Lakes Research, Central Michigan University, uzars1dg@cmich.edu;


Anna Harrison (Primary Presenter/Author), Institute for Great Lakes Research, Central Michigan University, harri25a@cmich.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2019  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  151 DEF

HIGH CONTAMINANT FLOWS BETWEEN STREAM AND RIPARIAN FOOD WEBS IN MOUNTAINTOP-MINED LANDSCAPES OF CENTRAL APPALACHIA Alkaline mine drainage (AlkMD) from mountaintop mines has been demonstrated to reduce aquatic insect diversity and production and lead to selenium (Se) bioconcentration in aquatic biota. We ask how mining contaminants propagate from the aquatic to terrestrial food web through emergent insects. We examined the mass, diversity, and Se content of adult emergent insects captured from mined and unmined streams in West Virginia. Within mined streams, we compared sites with and without settling ponds -- landscape features we predicted to increase biological Se assimilation. To quantify terrestrial response to AlkMD, we measured the density, mass, and Se content of riparian spiders (Tetragnatha spp.): substantial emergent insect predators. We find elevated spider Se concentrations along mined (median: 13.1 +/ 0.8 ug/g) compared to unmined streams (median: 4.5 +/ 3.1 ug/g), indicating aquatic-terrestrial transfer of AlkMD. The presence of settling ponds further elevated Se concentrations. Spiders along ponded streams had among the highest spider Se concentrations in the literature, reaching tissue concentrations of 26.3 +/ 0.1 ug/g, indicating that settling ponds are promoting high biological uptake. Altogether, this study emphasizes the importance of insect emergence in transferring pollutant impacts across ecosystem boundaries.

Laura Naslund (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Georgia, laura.naslund@duke.edu;


Jacqueline Gerson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, jgerson1@gmail.com;


Emily Bernhardt (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, emily.bernhardt@duke.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2019  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  151 DEF

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF LAKE MICHIGAN: A COMPREHENSIVE ESTIMATE OF TRIBUTARY NUTRIENT LOADS Despite efforts to reduce nutrient loads to the Laurentian Great Lakes since the 1970’s, inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus continue to cause coastal eutrophication and degrade ecosystems. Tributaries that deliver nutrients directly into the Lakes are a key focus for managing loads. However, there is uncertainty in aggregate contributions of tributaries due to limited monitoring data of small and mid-sized watersheds. We used a synoptic, lake-wide sampling approach paired with modeled estimates of discharge to estimate total nutrient input from Lake Michigan's tributaries. Over a 6-day period in July 2018, we collected water from 265 tributaries (97% of Lake Michigan's watershed area) for total and dissolved nutrient analyses. For each tributary, discharge was modeled for the 24-hour period around the sampling event. Tributary nutrient loads spanned many orders of magnitude (e.g., <1 to >100 kg nitrate per day). Although tributary size is an important driver of load, high nutrient concentrations allow some small tributaries to contribute disproportionately large loads. Our comprehensive snapshot approach to estimating nutrient loads provides context for evaluating nutrient loads at large spatial scales using limited local data.

Peter Esselman (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, pesselman@usgs.gov;


Will Rosenthal (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wyoming, wrosenth@uwyo.edu;


Emily Stanley (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wisconsin - Madison, ehstanley@wisc.edu;


Peter B. McIntyre (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, pbm3@cornell.ecu;


Robert J. Mooney (Primary Presenter/Author), Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, rjmooney@wisc.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

5/23/2019  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  151 DEF

CONSERVATION PRACTICE EFFECTIVENESS AND APPLICATION FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL SUBWATERSHEDS OF THE MACKINAW RIVER, ILLINOIS, USA The Mackinaw River is a major tributary of the Illinois River that drains into the Mississippi River. This 3,000 km2 watershed contains some of the most productive agricultural land in the nation and plays a key role in the livelihood of farmers and Illinois economy. Urban development and tile-drained row crop agriculture have stressed freshwater resources, leading to habitat loss and reduced water quality. Long term research in the watershed to evaluate and mitigate agricultural impacts on hydrology, biodiversity and water quality includes (1) field and watershed-scale monitoring of wetland effectiveness, (2) bundling infield and edge of field practices, and (3) transitioning farmers from fall to spring nitrogen application for corn production. Results are promising, showing up to 50% reduction of nitrate-N by wetlands, some water quality improvements from winter cover crops, and 22% reduction in nitrogen application on acres enrolled in 2-year pilot study with an estimated reduction of 4,065 kg nitrate to adjacent surface waters. Continued incorporation of science into collaborative outreach and implementation efforts is necessary to develop and apply sustainable conservation-based solutions at scale to address water quality goals and sustain diversity in this agricultural watershed.

Maria Lemke (Primary Presenter/Author), The Nature Conservancy, mlemke@tnc.org;


Krista Kirkham (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, kkirkham@tnc.org;


Ashley Maybanks (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, amaybanks@tnc.org;


David Kovacic (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Illinois, dkovacic@illinois.edu;


Michael Wallace (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Illinois, mwallace@illinois.edu;


William Perry (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois State University, wlperry@ilstu.edu;


Jackie Kraft (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), McLean County Soil and Water District, jacqueline.kraft@il.nacdnet.net;


Terry Noto (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Conservation Strategies Consulting, tnoto@rochester.rr.com;


Adrienne Marino (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, adrienne.marino@tnc.org;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.