The impact of cattle access on ecological water quality in streams: Examples from agricultural catchments within Ireland

Conroy, Emer; Turner, Jonathan; Rymszewicz, A.; Bruen, Michael; Lawler, Damian; Lally, Heather; Kelly‐Quinn, Mary

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.120

Cited by 44 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Bank erosion caused by unrestricted cattle access to streams and riparian areas can result in sedimentation and homogenisation of stream substrates downstream of the point of access (Collins, Zhang, et al, ; Magner et al, ). However, research on the impact of cattle access to watercourses in temperate climates is less well developed (Conroy, Turner, Rymszewicz, O'Sullivan, et al, ) than that for freshwater systems in arid and semiarid regions such as Australia and the western United States (Belsky et al, ; Vidon et al, ). Further still, the impacts of cattle access points on headwater streams in these areas are unknown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effects of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in the current study were seasonal in nature, with levels generally lower in spring. Low flow conditions, which are common in upland streams in Ireland over the summer period, can exacerbate sedimentation (Braccia & Voshell, ; Conroy, Turner, Rymszewicz, O'Sullivan, et al, ; Vidon et al, ; Wood & Armitage, ) and likely contribute to this seasonal trend. Furthermore, cattle are generally housed in slatted sheds over winter in Ireland (Schulte, Doody, Byrne, Cockerill, & Carton, ) allowing potential temporal recovery of stream banks and substrate embeddedness as reported by McIver and McInnis ().…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Samples of deposited sediment were taken from riffle habitats at control, pressure, and recovery points in April/May 2016 and October 2016 using the "Quorer" resuspendable sediment sampling technique (Conroy, Turner, Rymszewicz, O'Sullivan, et al, 2016;Duerdoth et al, 2015;Lambert & Walling, 1988a). An open-ended cylinder (215 × 400 mm) was pressed into the substrate of the riffle habitat (within the frame of a Surber sampler within the frame of the Surber sampler used to collect macroinvertebrate samples) and water depth within the cylinder was measured.…”

Section: Deposited Sediment Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…headwater streams in the current study were seasonal in nature, with levels generally lower in spring. Low flow conditions, which are common in upland streams in Ireland over the summer period, can exacerbate sedimentation (Braccia & Voshell, 2006;Conroy, Turner, Rymszewicz, O'Sullivan, et al, 2016;Vidon et al, 2008;Wood & Armitage, 1999) and likely contribute to this seasonal trend. (Conroy, Turner, Rymszewicz, O'Sullivan, et al, 2016;Naden et al, 2016;Zaimes & Schultz, 2011), and this material can become an "internal" source of SS during high flows (Kurashige, 1996) or can be carried via vertical flow patterns into the hyporheic zone (Kibichii et al, 2015).…”

Section: Effects Of Cattle Access Points On Deposited Sediment Levels Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently however, research in the United Kingdom (Collins, Walling, et al, ; Collins, Zhang, et al, ) has demonstrated the significant contributions of cattle poaching to stream bank erosion and the efficacy of fencing as an exclusionary measure at reducing such inputs (Collins, Zhang, et al, ). There is however, a general paucity of research from much of Europe that can inform management (see Conroy et al, ; Evans, Gibson, & Rossell, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

O’Sullivan

hUallacháin

Antunes

et al. 2019

River Research & Apps

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Cattle access to streams has been linked globally with degradation of stream water quality, driven largely by bank erosion and resultant instream, fine sediment deposition. The majority of evidence on such effects is however based in arid and semiarid regions of the United States and Australia, with few studies relating to cool temperate climates such as Northwest Europe. In this study, “Quorer” resuspendable sediment samples were taken from riffle geomorphic units upstream (control) and at two points downstream (pressure and recovery) of cattle access points in headwater streams in agricultural catchments in Ireland to assess levels of deposited stream sediment. Samples were taken in April/May (2016) prior to the grazing season and in October (2016) at the end of the grazing season. Sites in good‐high ecological status catchments and less than good ecological status catchments were included in the study. Higher levels of sediment were found downstream of cattle access points in both good‐high status and less than good status catchments; however, the impacts of access points were spatially confined to, in most cases, the area immediately downstream of the point of access. There was a strong correlation between deposited sediment mass and organic matter (OM) mass, with levels of OM increasing linearly with deposited sediment mass. Levels of measured sediment were negatively correlated with riparian habitat health (measured using a qualitative habitat assessment). The results of this study highlight the need for measures to prevent cattle access to headwater streams where access points can be many in order to manage local habitat quality and downstream water quality issues.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Deposited Sediment Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effects Of Cattle Access Points On Deposited Sediment Levels Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

O’Sullivan

hUallacháin

Antunes

et al. 2019

River Research & Apps

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Patterns in stream greenhouse gas dynamics from mountains to plains in northcentral Wyoming

et al. 2017

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Quantification of small stream contributions to global carbon cycling is key to understanding how freshwater systems transmit and transform carbon between terrestrial and atmospheric pools. To date, greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from freshwaters, particularly in mountainous regions, remain poorly characterized due to a lack of direct field observations. Using a unique longitudinal approach, we conducted field surveys across two ecoregions (Middle Rockies and Great Plains) in the Clear Creek watershed, a subwatershed of Wyoming's Powder River Basin. We took direct measurements of stream gases using headspace sampling at 30 sites (8 June to 23 October). We observed the lowest and most variable concentrations in headwaters, which flow through a federally designated alpine wilderness area. By contrast, the Great Plains exhibited 1.45 and 4 times higher pCO2 and pCH4 concentrations and the relative contributions of methane increased downstream. Fluxes during snowmelt were 45% and 58% higher for CO2 and CH4 than during base flow but overall were lower than estimates for other systems. Variability for pCO2 was highest during late summer and in the uppermost sections of the headwaters. The high heterogeneity and common undersaturation observed through space and time, especially in the mountains, suggest that downscaled regional estimates may fail to capture variability in fluxes observed at these smaller scales. Based on these results, we strongly recommend higher resolution time series studies and increased scrutiny of systems at near equilibrium, inclusive of winter storage and ice‐off events, to improve our understanding of the effects of seasonal dynamics on these processes.

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Environmental DNA‐based methods detect the invasion front of an advancing signal crayfish population

et al. 2022

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The impact of cattle access on ecological water quality in streams: Examples from agricultural catchments within Ireland

Cited by 44 publications

References 78 publications

The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

Patterns in stream greenhouse gas dynamics from mountains to plains in northcentral Wyoming

Environmental DNA‐based methods detect the invasion front of an advancing signal crayfish population

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