In urban and suburban areas, stormwater runoff is a primary stressor on surface waters. Conventional urban stormwater drainage systems often route runoff directly to streams and rivers, thus exacerbating pollutant inputs and hydrologic disturbance, and resulting in the degradation of ecosystem structure and function. Decentralized stormwater management tools, such as low impact development (LID) or water sensitive urban design (WSUD), may offer a more sustainable solution to stormwater management if implemented at a watershed scale. These tools are designed to pond, infiltrate, and harvest water at the source, encouraging evaporation, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and re-use of stormwater. While there are numerous demonstrations of WSUD practices, there are few examples of widespread implementation at a watershed scale with the explicit objective of protecting or restoring a receiving stream. This article identifies seven major impediments to sustainable urban stormwater management: (1) uncertainties in performance and cost, (2) insufficient engineering standards and guidelines, (3) fragmented responsibilities, (4) lack of institutional capacity, (5) lack of legislative mandate, (6) lack of funding and effective market incentives, and (7) resistance to change. By comparing experiences from Australia and the United States, two developed countries with existing conventional stormwater infrastructure and escalating stream ecosystem degradation, we highlight challenges facing sustainable urban stormwater management and offer several examples of successful, regional WSUD implementation. We conclude by identifying solutions to each of the seven impediments that, when employed separately or in combination, should encourage widespread implementation of WSUD with watershed-based goals to protect human health and safety, and stream ecosystems.
E Ef ff fe ec ct ts s o of f v ve er rm mi ic co om mp po os st ts s a an nd d c co om mp po os st ts s o on n p pl la an nt t g gr ro ow wt th h i in n h ho or rt ti ic cu ul lt tu ur ra al l c co on nt ta ai in ne er r m me ed di ia a a an nd d s so oi il l SummaryVermicomposts, which are produced by the fragmentation of organic wastes by earthworms, have a fine particulate structure and contain nutrients in forms that are readily available for plant uptake. In greenhouse trials, the growth of marigold and tomato seedlings, in a commercial horticultural potting medium (Metro-Mix 360), was enhanced significantly upon substitution of Metro-Mix 360 with 10 % or 20 % vermicomposted pig solids or vermicomposted food wastes, when all required nutrients were supplied. Same enhancement in marigold and tomato seedlings' growth occurred also upon substitution of Metro-Mix 360 with composted biosolids, but not with leaf compost. The shoot dry weights of raspberry plants, grown in a mineral soil mixed with vermicomposted pig wastes weighed more than those grown in unfertilized control soil, and were as great as those in soil receiving a complete fertilizer treatment. By comparison, raspberry shoot growth in soils amended with yard, leaf or bark composts, was poorer than that in the unfertilized control soil. Amending the soil with 4 % chicken manure compost killed most of the raspberry plants. However, plant mortality was reduced and growth restored when the chicken manure compost was mixed with vermicomposted pig solids, but not with bark or yard composts. Plant growth in soils containing a mixture of chicken manure compost with 20% vermicomposted pig wastes was similar to that of plants grown in the unfertilized control. Our results showed that vermicomposts have the potential for improving plant growth when added to greenhouse container media or soil. However, there seem to be distinct differences between specific vermicomposts and composts in terms of their nutrient contents, the nature of their microbial communities, and their effects on plant growth.
Urban impervious surfaces convert precipitation to stormwater runoff, which causes water quality and quantity problems. While traditional stormwater management has relied on gray infrastructure such as piped conveyances to collect and convey stormwater to wastewater treatment facilities or into surface waters, cities are exploring green infrastructure to manage stormwater at its source. Decentralized green infrastructure leverages the capabilities of soil and vegetation to infiltrate, redistribute, and otherwise store stormwater volume, with the potential to realize ancillary environmental, social, and economic benefits. To date, green infrastructure science and practice have largely focused on infiltration-based technologies that include rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavements. However, a narrow focus on infiltration overlooks other losses from the hydrologic cycle, and we propose that arboriculturethe cultivation of trees and other woody plantsdeserves additional consideration as a stormwater control measure. Trees interact with the urban hydrologic cycle by intercepting incoming precipitation, removing water from the soil via transpiration, enhancing infiltration, and bolstering the performance of other green infrastructure technologies. However, many of these interactions are inadequately understood, particularly at spatial and temporal scales relevant to stormwater management. As such, the reliable use of trees for stormwater control depends on improved understanding of how and to what extent trees interact with stormwater, and the context-specific consideration of optimal arboricultural practices and institutional frameworks to maximize the stormwater benefits trees can provide.
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