A regression model for computing index flows describing the median flow for the summer month of lowest flow in Michigan

Hamilton, David A.; Sorrell, Richard C.; Holtschlag, David J.

doi:10.3133/sir20085096

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The tool provides a water availability map developed from estimated index flow for the lowest summer flow month via analysis of long-term streamflow gauging stations and regression modeling from ungauged stream sites (Hamilton et al 2008), and fish response curves related to catchment area, baseflow yield, and July mean temperature. The underlying model uses habitat suitability information from Michigan for over 40 fish species to predict assemblage structure and characteristic assemblages in river segments under a range of base flow reductions.…”

Section: Journal Of Soil and Water Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Developed by the Institute for Water Research at Michigan State University, MDNR, USGS, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, WWAT is a tool that estimates the amount of flow of a river or stream that could be reduced (e.g., through groundwater pumping) before the species composition and abundance of fish in the river would be adversely impacted (Reeves et al 2009). The tool provides a water availability map developed from estimated index flow for the lowest summer flow month via analysis of long-term streamflow gauging stations and regression modeling from ungauged stream sites (Hamilton et al 2008), and fish response curves related to catchment area, baseflow yield, and July mean temperature. The underlying model uses habitat suitability information from Michigan for over 40 fish species to predict assemblage structure and characteristic assemblages in river segments under a range of base flow reductions.…”

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confidence: 99%

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From model outputs to conservation action: Prioritizing locations for implementing agricultural best management practices in a Midwestern watershed

Legge¹,

Doran²,

Herbert³

et al. 2013

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Many ecologically significant Midwestern rivers are heavily impacted by agriculture yet retain high value for conservation of biodiversity. To address these concerns, watershed managers promote conservation practices (e.g., use of cover crops). Yet taking action to promote implementation of these practices in a cost-effective manner across a watershed is difficult because we rarely know where practices will be most effective, or how much of a benefit will accrue as the result of implementation of a given practice. To improve targeting of conservation practice implementation in locations most beneficial to biodiversity, we propose using a flexible approach assessing fields across a watershed for contributions towards ecological outcomes. We focused on Michigan's Paw Paw River Watershed, where key concerns for biodiversity include reduced infiltration and groundwater recharge that lead to pronounced low and high flow periods, and reduced water quality due to high sediment loads. We used outputs from several existing models to identify and prioritize the agricultural fields where conservation practices will have the greatest reduction in threats to biodiversity, including estimates of the input to groundwater and reduction in sedimentation. We tested the usefulness of our approach using four scenarios for implementation of six practices that vary in terms of the concentration of the practices in areas recommended by the models. Estimates of groundwater recharge under these scenarios were compared to recharge under simulated, "historic" placement scenarios based on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) data for applied conservation practices in the same watershed. Collectively across the six practices, the prioritized scenarios provided an increase in groundwater recharge of between 23% and 36% over the historic scenario. Results for sediment reduction were more variable, but prioritized scenarios suggested a doubling of benefit can be obtained by focusing on agricultural lands predicted to contribute the highest sediment volumes. To maximize the benefits of aggregating practices, we identified subbasins of the watershed for direct outreach to landowners based on a ranking of potential, cumulative downstream conservation benefits and on opportunity factors. As a result of this process, prioritized areas and estimates of groundwater recharge are now informing implementation of conservation practices in the Paw Paw River Watershed, an approach applicable across the region.Key words: conservation practices-groundwater recharge-modeling-quantification of benefits-sedimentationThe outcomes of agricultural conservation practices, while typically evaluated by acres implemented or similar application parameters, can be more adequately judged using quantification of ecological outcomes to provide a more meaningful indication of value and an incentive for efficient use of funding. Like most conservation challenges where resources are very limited relative to the scale of impacts, effectively protecting ...

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Section: Journal Of Soil and Water Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

From model outputs to conservation action: Prioritizing locations for implementing agricultural best management practices in a Midwestern watershed

Legge¹,

Doran²,

Herbert³

et al. 2013

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Each of these approaches presents difficulties, such as the reproducibility of professional judgment and the temporal disagreement between spatially distributed basin‐attribute data (land cover, climate, soil characteristics, etc. ), and between those data and the period of observed streamflow records (Koltun and Whitehead, ; Hamilton et al ., ; Knight et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States

et al. 2013

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Ecological limit functions relating streamflow and aquatic ecosystems remain elusive despite decades of research. We investigated functional relationships between species richness and changes in streamflow characteristics at 662 fish sampling sites in the Tennessee River basin. Our approach included the following: (1) a brief summary of relevant literature on functional relations between fish and streamflow, (2) the development of ecological limit functions that describe the strongest discernible relationships between fish species richness and streamflow characteristics, (3) the evaluation of proposed definitions of hydrologic reference conditions, and (4) an investigation of the internal structures of wedge-shaped distributions underlying ecological limit functions.Twenty-one ecological limit functions were developed across three ecoregions that relate the species richness of 11 fish groups and departures from hydrologic reference conditions using multivariate and quantile regression methods. Each negatively sloped function is described using up to four streamflow characteristics expressed in terms of cumulative departure from hydrologic reference conditions. Negative slopes indicate increased departure results in decreased species richness. Sites with the highest measured fish species richness generally had near-reference hydrologic conditions for a given ecoregion. Hydrology did not generally differ between sites with the highest and lowest fish species richness, indicating that other environmental factors likely limit species richness at sites with reference hydrology. Use of ecological limit functions to make decisions regarding proposed hydrologic regime changes, although commonly presented as a management tool, is not as straightforward or informative as often assumed. We contend that statistical evaluation of the internal wedge structure below limit functions may provide a probabilistic understanding of how aquatic ecology is influenced by altered hydrology and may serve as the basis for evaluating the potential effect of proposed hydrologic changes.

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“…The GWCAC selected late summer stream base flow (defined as the August 50% exceedance flow; August is typically the lowest flow month during summer in Michigan) as an ecologically sensitive hydrologic metric and used a statewide statistical model to estimate this for each Michigan river segment (Hamilton et al ., 2008). Most instream flow studies elsewhere in North America have occurred on hydrologically unstable, high‐gradient streams whose thermal characteristics depend largely upon elevation and snowmelt runoff.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams¹

Zorn

Seelbach

Rutherford

2012

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Zorn, Troy G., Paul W. Seelbach, and Edward S. Rutherford, 2012. A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 871‐895. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00656.x Abstract: In response to concerns over increased use and potential diversion of Michigan’s freshwater resources, and the resulting state legislative mandate, an advisory council created an integrated assessment model to determine the potential for water withdrawals to cause an adverse resource impact to fish assemblages in Michigan’s streams. As part of this effort, we developed a model to predict how fish assemblages characteristic of different stream types would change in response to decreased stream base flows. We describe model development and use in this case study. The model uses habitat suitability information (i.e., catchment size, base‐flow yield, and July mean water temperature) for over 40 fish species to predict assemblage structure in an individual river segment under a range of base‐flow reductions. By synthesizing model runs for individual fish species at representative segments for each of Michigan’s 11 ecological stream types, we developed curves describing how typical fish assemblages in each type respond to flow reduction. Each stream type‐specific, fish response curve was used to identify streamflow reduction levels resulting in adverse resource impacts to characteristic fish populations, the regulatory standard. Used together with a statewide map of stream types, our model provided a spatially comprehensive framework for evaluating impacts of flow withdrawals on biotic communities across a diverse regional landscape.

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A regression model for computing index flows describing the median flow for the summer month of lowest flow in Michigan

Abstract: index water yield and flow statewide. In addition, a technique is presented for computing prediction intervals about the index flow estimates.

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

From model outputs to conservation action: Prioritizing locations for implementing agricultural best management practices in a Midwestern watershed

From model outputs to conservation action: Prioritizing locations for implementing agricultural best management practices in a Midwestern watershed

Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States

A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams¹

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A regression model for computing index flows describing the median flow for the summer month of lowest flow in Michigan

Abstract: index water yield and flow statewide. In addition, a technique is presented for computing prediction intervals about the index flow estimates.

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

From model outputs to conservation action: Prioritizing locations for implementing agricultural best management practices in a Midwestern watershed

From model outputs to conservation action: Prioritizing locations for implementing agricultural best management practices in a Midwestern watershed

Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States

A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams1

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A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams¹