Watershed Management for Potable Water Supply

Watershed Management for Potable Water Supply
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2000-02-17
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0309172683

In 1997, New York City adopted a mammoth watershed agreement to protect its drinking water and avoid filtration of its large upstate surface water supply. Shortly thereafter, the NRC began an analysis of the agreement's scientific validity. The resulting book finds New York City's watershed agreement to be a good template for proactive watershed management that, if properly implemented, will maintain high water quality. However, it cautions that the agreement is not a guarantee of permanent filtration avoidance because of changing regulations, uncertainties regarding pollution sources, advances in treatment technologies, and natural variations in watershed conditions. The book recommends that New York City place its highest priority on pathogenic microorganisms in the watershed and direct its resources toward improving methods for detecting pathogens, understanding pathogen transport and fate, and demonstrating that best management practices will remove pathogens. Other recommendations, which are broadly applicable to surface water supplies across the country, target buffer zones, stormwater management, water quality monitoring, and effluent trading.

Riparian Areas

Riparian Areas
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2002-10-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309082951

The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.

Land Use and Water Quality

Land Use and Water Quality
Author: Brian Kronvang
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-11-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3039435035

This collection of 11 papers introduces broad topics covering various professional disciplines related to the research arena of land use and water quality. The papers exemplify the important links between agriculture and water quality in surface and ground waters as well as the pollution problems around urban areas. Advancement of new technologies for analyzing links between land use and water quality problems as well as insights into new tools for analyzing large monitoring datasets are highlighted in this collection of papers.

Wetlands

Wetlands
Author: George Mulamoottil
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2017-12-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1351404458

An understanding of environmental gradients (physical, chemical, hydrological, and biological) is a prerequisite to the accurate delineation of wetland boundaries. Presenting the wide-ranging views of academicians, environmentalists, policy makers, consultants, planners, engineers, hydrologists, biologists, geochemists, ecologists, and conservationists, Wetlands: Environmental Gradients, Boundaries, and Buffers focuses on current topics and research related to wetland delineation; summarizes the main issues of concern; and provides recommendations on research needs. In addition to integrating the most important research and theoretical aspects, this book includes a strong prescriptive component, providing practicing professionals with specific guidance on defining the true dimensions of a wetland area.

Encyclopedia of Ecology

Encyclopedia of Ecology
Author: Brian D. Fath
Publisher: Newnes
Total Pages: 4292
Release: 2014-11-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 008091456X

The groundbreaking Encyclopedia of Ecology provides an authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the complete field of ecology, from general to applied. It includes over 500 detailed entries, structured to provide the user with complete coverage of the core knowledge, accessed as intuitively as possible, and heavily cross-referenced. Written by an international team of leading experts, this revolutionary encyclopedia will serve as a one-stop-shop to concise, stand-alone articles to be used as a point of entry for undergraduate students, or as a tool for active researchers looking for the latest information in the field. Entries cover a range of topics, including: Behavioral Ecology Ecological Processes Ecological Modeling Ecological Engineering Ecological Indicators Ecological Informatics Ecosystems Ecotoxicology Evolutionary Ecology General Ecology Global Ecology Human Ecology System Ecology The first reference work to cover all aspects of ecology, from basic to applied Over 500 concise, stand-alone articles are written by prominent leaders in the field Article text is supported by full-color photos, drawings, tables, and other visual material Fully indexed and cross referenced with detailed references for further study Writing level is suited to both the expert and non-expert Available electronically on ScienceDirect shortly upon publication

Functional Assessment of Wetlands

Functional Assessment of Wetlands
Author: E. Maltby
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 707
Release: 2009-04-27
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 184569516X

Wetlands perform functions that deliver benefits to society, often referred to as ecosystem services. These ecosystem services include water supply, flood regulation, water purification, climate regulation, biodiversity, agriculture (e.g. grazing land), and amenity. A functional approach to wetland assessment enables a holistic view to be taken of the wide range of services wetlands can provide. The functional assessment procedures (FAPs) in this volume translate best available scientific knowledge into reasonable predictions of how component parts of wetlands function in different landscape contexts. They can be used to indicate the potential and priorities for management options in such areas as flood control, pollution reduction and biodiversity conservation.Functional assessment enables the user to predict the functioning of a wetland area without the need for comprehensive and expensive empirical research The FAPs therefore provide a methodology that can be used by both experts and non-experts to assess wetland functioning relatively rapidly. The volume includes an electronic version of the FAPs on CD which automates aspects of the assessment once the initial recording stage is completed. It is anticipated that the FAPs will be used by a range of individuals or organisations concerned with wetland management who wish to gain a better understanding of the processes, functions, services or benefits and potential of the wetlands for which they have responsibility. - Provides a systematic methodology to evaluate how wetlands function - Allows non-experts to assess wetland functioning rapidly and cost-effectively - Automates aspects of the functional assessment through the accompanying CD-ROM

Designing Greenways

Designing Greenways
Author: Paul Cawood Hellmund
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2013-03-05
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1597265950

How are greenways designed? What situations lead to their genesis, and what examples best illustrate their potential for enhancing communities and the environment? Designing greenways is a key to protecting landscapes, allowing wildlife to move freely, and finding appropriate ways to bring people into nature. This book brings together examples from ecology, conservation biology, aquatic ecology, and recreation design to illustrate how greenways function and add value to ecosystems and human communities alike. Encompassing everything from urban trail corridors to river floodplains to wilderness-like linkages, greenways preserve or improve the integrity of the landscape, not only by stemming the loss of natural features, but also by engendering new natural and social functions. From 19th-century parks and parkways to projects still on the drawing boards, Designing Greenways is a fascinating introduction to the possibilities-and pitfalls-involved in these ambitious projects. As towns and cities look to greenways as a new way of reconciling man and nature, designers and planners will look to Designing Greenways as an invaluable compendium of best practices.

North American Agroforestry

North American Agroforestry
Author: Harold E. Gene Garrett
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 580
Release: 2022-02-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0891183779

North American Agroforestry Explore the many benefits of alternative land-use systems with this incisive resource Humanity has become a victim of its own success. While we’ve managed to meet the needs—to one extent or another—of a large portion of the human population, we’ve often done so by ignoring the health of the natural environment we rely on to sustain our planet. And by deteriorating the quality of our air, water, and land, we’ve put into motion consequences we’ll be dealing with for generations. In the newly revised Third Edition of North American Agroforestry, an expert team of researchers delivers an authoritative and insightful exploration of an alternative land-use system that exploits the positive interactions between trees and crops when they are grown together and bridges the gap between production agriculture and natural resource management. This latest edition includes new material on urban food forests, as well as the air and soil quality benefits of agroforestry, agroforestry’s relevance in the Mexican context, and agroforestry training and education. The book also offers: A thorough introduction to the development of agroforestry as an integrated land use management strategy Comprehensive explorations of agroforestry nomenclature, concepts, and practices, as well as an agroecological foundation for temperate agroforestry Practical discussions of tree-crop interactions in temperate agroforestry, including in systems such as windbreak practices, silvopasture practices, and alley cropping practices In-depth examinations of vegetative environmental buffers for air and water quality benefits, agroforestry for wildlife habitat, agroforestry at the landscape level, and the impact of agroforestry on soil health Perfect for environmental scientists, natural resource professionals and ecologists, North American Agroforestry will also earn a place in the libraries of students and scholars of agricultural sciences interested in the potential benefits of agroforestry.