Twenty-six key research questions in urban stream ecology: an assessment of the state of the science

Wenger, Seth J.; Roy, Allison H.; Jackson, C. Rhett; Bernhardt, Emily S.; Carter, Timothy L.; Filoso, Solange; Gibson, Catherine A.; Hession, W. Cully; Kaushal, Sujay S.; Martı́, Eugènia; Meyer, Judy L.; Palmer, Margaret A.; Paul, Michael J.; Purcell, Alison H.; Ramírez, Alonso; Rosemond, Amy D.; Schofield, Kate A.; Sudduth, Elizabeth B.; Walsh, Christopher J.

doi:10.1899/08-186.1

Cited by 316 publications

(262 citation statements)

References 128 publications

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“…In many cases this is a legacy effect of historic urban infrastructure that was designed to channel all runoff and wastewater directly into the closest river (Kaushal and Belt 2012) so that waste would be removed from the immediate area. Whether perennially via wastewater or ephemerally via storm water, a large amount of human-derived pollutants enters into rivers, resulting in unintended consequences such as eutrophication and reduced biotic richness (among others; e.g., Paul and Meyer 2001;Walsh et al 2005;Wenger et al 2009). Efforts to address water quality impairments in the United States are informed by the total maximum daily load (TMDL) process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the urban stream syndrome: organic matter budget for diagnostics and restoration of an impaired urban river

2016

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In response to water quality standard violations linked to excessive organic matter (OM) and a lack of sampling data informing the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), an organic matter budget was created to quantify and identify sources of OM in the lower Jordan River (Salt Lake City, UT). By sampling dissolved, fine, and coarse particulate OM, as well as measuring ecosystem metabolism at seven different sites, the researchers aimed to identify the origin of excess OM, and understand pathways by which different size classes of the OM pool are generated. The dissolved fraction (DOM; 94 %) was found to be the dominant form of OM transported within the river with fine particulate organic matter (FPOM; 6 %) the second most abundant, and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM; 1 %) transport relatively insignificant in the overall OM budget. Primary production exceeded respiratory losses in the upper river, and this, along with OM inputs from two tributaries (where water reclamation facilities discharge into the river) delivered excess OM to the impaired lower reaches. Increasing stream metabolism index (SMI) with distance downstream (>1 in the lower river) further demonstrated that transport of excessive organic matter into the lower river was from upstream sources and not due to lateral inputs. This simple approach to characterizing the organic matter budget as it relates to water quality in the Jordan River was effective and could serve as a model for future studies attempting to quantify and identify sources of OM in urban ecosystems.Keywords Water quality impairment . Organic matter budget . Urban stream syndrome Urban Ecosyst (2016) 19:1623-1643 DOI 10.1007 A TMDL study defines the relationship between pollutant sources and in-stream water quality conditions. Based on this relationship, a permissible load is defined that will result in meeting state water quality standards and restore aquatic life beneficial use support for impaired segments of the river (UT DWQ 2012).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the urban stream syndrome: organic matter budget for diagnostics and restoration of an impaired urban river

2016

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“…These degradations largely result from increased impervious surfaces in the basin and have been the focus of most urban stream ecology research (Wenger et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of urban stream burial on organic matter dynamics and reach scale nitrate retention

et al. 2014

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Nitrogen (N) retention in streams is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of streams in stormwater pipes in urban watersheds. We predicted that stream burial suppresses the capacity of streams to retain nitrate (NO 3 -) by eliminating primary production, reducing respiration rates and organic matter availability, and increasing specific discharge. We tested these predictions by measuring whole-stream NO 3 -removal rates using 15 -retention through a combination of hydrological and biological processes. The channel shape of two of the buried reaches increased specific discharge which enhanced NO 3 -transport from the channel, highlighting the relationship between urban infrastructure and ecosystem function. Uptake lengths in the buried reaches were further lengthened by low stream biological NO 3 -demand, as indicated by NO 3 -uptake velocities 17-fold lower than that of the open reaches. We also observed differences in the periphyton enzyme activity between reaches, indicating that the effects of burial cascade from the microbial to the ecosystem scale. Our results suggest that streamElectronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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“…Numerous studies across a wide range of geographic locations and climates show that urbanization can alter catchment hydrologic responses and negatively impact surface and downstream waters (for example: Athayde et al, 1983;EPA, 1997;Maestre and Pitt, 2006;Shuster et al, 2005;Smullen et al, 1999;Walsh et al, 2005a;Wenger et al, 2009;Zampella et al, 2007). Early urban runoff monitoring efforts such as Nation Wide Urban Runoff Program (NURP, Smullen et al, 1999), the National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA, Brown et al, 2009) and the National Stormwater Quality database (NSQD, Maestre and Pitt, 2006;Pitt et al, 2008) aimed to identify urban runoff responses from distinct urban land uses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land cover controls on summer discharge and runoff solution chemistry of semi-arid urban catchments

Gallo

Brooks

Lohse

et al. 2013

Journal of Hydrology

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cover controls on summer discharge and runoff solution chemistry of semi-arid urban catchments" (2013 Recharge of urban runoff to groundwater as a stormwater management practice has gained importance in semi-arid regions where water resources are scarce and urban centers are growing. Despite this trend, the importance of land cover in controlling semi-arid catchment runoff quantity and quality remains unclear. Here we address the question: How do land cover characteristics control the amount and quality of storm runoff in semi-arid urban catchments? We monitored summertime runoff quantity and quality from five catchments dominated by distinct urban land uses: low, medium, and high density residential, mixed use, and commercial. Increasing urban land cover increased runoff duration and the likelihood that a rainfall event would result in runoff, but did not increase the time to peak discharge of episodic runoff. The effect of urban land cover on hydrologic responses was tightly coupled to the magnitude of rainfall. At distinct rainfall thresholds, roads, percent impervious cover and the stormwater drainage network controlled runoff frequency, runoff depth and runoff ratios. Contrary to initial expectations, runoff quality did not vary in repose to impervious cover or land use. We identified four major mechanisms controlling runoff quality: (1) variable solute sourcing due to land use heterogeneity and above ground catchment connectivity; (2) the spatial extent of pervious and biogeochemically active areas; (3) the efficiency of overland flow and runoff mobilization; and (4) solute flushing and dilution. Our study highlights the importance of the stormwater drainage systems characteristics in controlling urban runoff quantity and quality; and suggests that enhanced wetting and in-stream processes may control solute sourcing and retention. Finally, we suggest that the characteristics of the stormwater drainage system should be integrated into stormwater management approaches.

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Twenty-six key research questions in urban stream ecology: an assessment of the state of the science

Cited by 316 publications

References 128 publications

Beyond the urban stream syndrome: organic matter budget for diagnostics and restoration of an impaired urban river

Beyond the urban stream syndrome: organic matter budget for diagnostics and restoration of an impaired urban river

Effects of urban stream burial on organic matter dynamics and reach scale nitrate retention

Land cover controls on summer discharge and runoff solution chemistry of semi-arid urban catchments

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