John Richardson, UBC - Learning How to Protect Water for Environmental and Human Needs in a Variable World
1. Learning how to protect water for environmental and human needs in a variable world John S. Richardson University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada John.Richardson@ubc.ca http://faculty.forestry.ubc.ca/richardson/
6. What are our objectives for water? Do we know what we want? Richardson JS & Thompson RM. 2009. Setting conservation targets for freshwater ecosystems in forested catchments. Pp. 244-263 In: Villard M-A & Jonsson B-G (Eds.) Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Cambridge University Press. Aquatic life – salmonids, etc. – globally most-endangered ecosystem and biodiversity Human consumption – direct Hydrological features – e.g. flood control Agriculture – irrigated crops Agriculture – livestock Industry Power generation – hydroelectric and others Recreation Amenity values
7. Policy Science Testing for effectiveness and efficiency; trials Based on observations not usually collected specifically for an emerging issue Richardson JS & Thompson RM. 2009. Setting conservation targets for freshwater ecosystems in forested catchments. Pp. 244-263 In: Villard M-A & Jonsson B-G (Eds.) Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Cambridge University Press.
8. Policy Science Testing for effectiveness and efficiency; trials Based on observations not usually collected specifically for an emerging issue Richardson JS & Thompson RM. 2009. Setting conservation targets for freshwater ecosystems in forested catchments. Pp. 244-263 In: Villard M-A & Jonsson B-G (Eds.) Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Cambridge University Press. Need to react! What is the target? Measureable?
9. 1. QUANTITY (supply) 2. QUALITY – temperature, water quality, habitat structure 3. CONTINUITY and habitat
12. “ Rivers in some of the world’s most populous regions are losing water, ...” "The distribution of the world's fresh water, already an important topic," says Cliff Jacobs of NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences, "will occupy front and center stage for years to come in developing adaptation strategies to a changing climate.” Of rivers examined, more than 70% were decreasing (period 1948 to 2004) Including: Yellow River (China), Ganges (India), Niger (west Africa), Colorado (SW USA) Rivers that were increasing were largely northern rivers, increased by glacier melt Appear to be related to climate change (consistent with all predictions, but of course there is no way to test this directly) NSF – National Science Foundation (USA)
13. “ Water crisis closes Tofino businesses. Resort town is forced to ration drinking water, turn away visitors” Vancouver Sun , 30 August 2006 Headline
14. Carnation Ck Lillooet R Fishtrap Ck Capilano R Coquihalla R Hydroclimatic regimes: examples
15. Carnation Creek Capilano Creek Discharge (m 3 s -1 ) Figures courtesy of Dr. Dan Moore, UBC Coastal – rainfall-dominated
16. Fishtrap Creek Coquihalla Creek Discharge (m 3 s -1 ) Figures courtesy of Dr. Dan Moore, UBC Interior – Snowmelt-dominated
17. Discharge (m 3 s -1 ) Lillooet River Snowmelt and glaciermelt Figures courtesy of Dr. Dan Moore, UBC
18. Historic streamflow patterns for Capilano River during warm and cool PDO phases Discharge (m 3 s -1 ) Figures courtesy of Dr. Dan Moore, UBC
19. Schindler, DW & WF Donahue. 2006. An impending water crisis in Canada’s western prairie provinces. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 7210-7216. 0 500 1000 km Canada Rocky Mountains Pacific Ocean Prairies
21. Carnation Creek, Vancouver Island picture courtesy of Dr. Peter Tschaplinski, BC Ministry of Forests and Range
22. Change in June-July-August average soil moisture content from 1960-1990 to 2070-2100 from HadCM3 IS92a http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climatechange/science/projections/soil_jja.html Units: millimetres -50 -20 -10 -5 +5
23. Nooksack Dace Photo: Jordan Rosenfeld Richardson JS, E Taylor, D Schluter, M Pearson & T Hatfield. 2010. Do riparian zones qualify as critical habitat for endangered freshwater fishes? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 67:1197–1204. Photo: Mike Pearson
24. Large predators Large detritivores 0,0 +,0 +,+ 0,+ Controlling for body size to separate size from functional role Both stonefly (Plecoptera) larvae Species losses – local extinctions
25. Lecerf A, Richardson JS. Large invertebrates dominate the top-down control over stream ecosystem functioning. Manuscript in review
26. Experimental low flows Measures Leaf litter decomposition Benthos Biofilms Drs. Santiago Larrañaga & John Richardson
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28. Some consequences of climate change for aquatic systems The minimal water flows, and not the averages , are the impacts that are most difficult to plan for, and the most damaging for aquatic ecosystems More dams and greater extraction – less water in lakes, reservoirs and rivers Warmer water and higher concentrations of contaminants
29. Balancing allocations of water for ... Power production Irrigation Human consumption Industrial use Recreation Aquatic Ecosystems etc.
31. photo: Rachael Dudaniec Coastal giant salamander A threatened species sensitive to elevated temperatures and changes in water quality – changes can be due to forest harvest, urbanisation, being downwind of greater Vancouver, and global change
32. Cole JJ et al. 2007. Plumbing the global carbon cycle: Integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget. Ecosystems 10 : 171-184. Inland waters Inland waters Land Land 0.9 1.9 0.9 0.9 0.23 Ocean Ocean Sediment storage 0.75 CO 2 evasion Values in Pg
33. Cole JJ et al. 2007. Plumbing the global carbon cycle: Integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget. Ecosystems 10 : 171-184. Inland water components Streams Lakes Reservoirs Wetlands Rivers Estuaries Ground water Total CO 2 efflux to the atmosphere NA 0.11 0.28 NA 0.21 0.12 0.01 0.75 Storage in sediments 0.23 Export to the ocean 0.9 Global inland water C fluxes. Mid-range estimates of annual global transport of carbon (Pg) through major inland water components
34. Richardson JS, Hoover TM & Lecerf A. 2009. Coarse particulate organic matter dynamics in small streams: towards linking function to physical structure. Freshwater Biology 54:2116-2126. Modelling to study the roles of flow, retention potential, temperature, and leaf type
35. Richardson JS, Hoover TM & Lecerf A. 2009. Coarse particulate organic matter dynamics in small streams: towards linking function to physical structure. Freshwater Biology 54:2116-2126.
38. Richardson JS, Zhang Y, Marczak LB. 2010. Resource subsidies across the land-freshwater interface and responses in recipient communities. River Research and Applications 26:55-66.
39. . Wipfli MS, Richardson JS & Naiman RJ. 2007. Ecological linkages between headwaters and downstream ecosystems: transport of organic matter, invertebrates, and wood down headwater channels. J. Am. Water Resources Assoc. 43:72-85. Photo: Mark Wipfli, U of Alaska Subsidies to downstream Demonstration of downstream effects What happens to the productivity and biodiversity of downstream ecosystems when these subsidies from upstream are eliminated or altered? An important ecosystem service Energy, nutrients, structure
42. Vulnerability of species’ populations in headwaters and springs – and recovery within a catchment Fagan, WF. 2002. Connectivity, fragmentation, and extinction risk in dendritic metapopulations. Ecology 83:3243-3249. X X flow
43. Richardson JS & Moore RD. 2009. Chapter 13 – Stream and riparian ecology. In Compendium of Forest Hydrology and Geomorphology in British Columbia. R.G. Pike et al. (editors). B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range Research Branch, Victoria, B.C. and FORREX Forest Research Extension Partnership, Kamloops, B.C. Land Management Handbook (TBD). URL: http://www.forrex.org/program/water/PDFs/Compendium/Compendium_Chapter13.pdf
47. 30 m reserve 10 m reserve control clearcut 50% basal area removal
48. Marczak LB, Sakamaki T, Turvey SL, Deguise I, Wood SLR & Richardson JS. 2010. Are forested buffers an effective conservation strategy for riparian fauna? An assessment using meta-analysis. Ecological Applications 20:126-134. Meta-analysis of 397 studies of riparian zone effects compared to intact forest
51. Protected Areas and Special Management Zones http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Mr/Mr112/page24.htm Protection ~14% protected Herbert MS, McIntyre PB, Doran PJ, Allan JD & Abell R. 2010. Terrestrial reserve networks do not adequately r epresent aquatic ecosystems. Conservation Biology 24:1002-1011.
54. Objectives for riparian management Fish habitat (large wood, geomorphology) Shade (temperature, algae) Nutrient uptake Sediment interception Litter input (& invertebrates) Streambank integrity Habitat for vertebrates and other organisms (wildlife in the broadest sense) Corridors for dispersal Aesthetics How much is “enough”?
55. Policy Science Testing for effectiveness and efficiency; trials Based on observations not usually collected specifically for an emerging issue Richardson JS & Thompson RM. 2009. Setting conservation targets for freshwater ecosystems in forested catchments. Pp. 244-263 In: Villard M-A & Jonsson B-G (Eds.) Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Cambridge University Press. Need science and other information to inform policy, and science to explore how things work and to rigorously test policy
56. 1. Objectives and effectiveness 2. Recovery processes 3. Safety factors core habitats, extremes, climate change, landscape connections fish, water, sediment, biodiversity, channel stability, ecosystem services, etc., etc. time frame, point of reference, rare species, non-stationary world, etc.
57. North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA) – Ralph M. Parsons Company, California For additional reading, see Nature – 20 March 2008 Perhaps increased trade in “ virtual water ” instead
58. What are our objectives for water? Do we know what we want? Richardson JS & Thompson RM. 2009. Setting conservation targets for freshwater ecosystems in forested catchments. Pp. 244-263 In: Villard M-A & Jonsson B-G (Eds.) Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Cambridge University Press. Aquatic life, biodiversity and ecosystems Human consumption – direct Hydrological features – e.g. flood control Agriculture – irrigated crops Agriculture – livestock Industry Power generation – hydroelectric and others Recreation Amenity values
59. Final Messages Quality – temperature, chemistry, and structure Continuity – aquatic species have limited options Quantity – extremes