Review of Hydrologic Models for Forest Management and Climate Change Applications in British Columbia and Alberta

Review of Hydrologic Models for Forest Management and Climate Change Applications in British Columbia and Alberta
Author: Jos Beckers
Publisher:
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2010
Genre: Climatic changes
ISBN:

This review summarizes the capabilities and limitations of existing hydrologic models for use in an operational forest management context in British Columbia (BC) and Alberta (AB). The review brings together relevant information contained in user manuals, technical model documentation, and in published materials that describes model applications, and emphasizes studies conducted in the Pacific Northwest and in physical and climatic settings similar to those encountered in BC and AB. One outcome of this review is to provide guidance (decision support) for resource managers and other practitioners to help them identify which hydrologic models are most appropriate for addressing their forest management questions. To do this, the review identifies trade-offs between model complexity and model functionality for addressing forest management questions and makes recommendations for advancing the routine and consistent use of watershed models. These recommendations include improving interdisciplinary education; performing model inter-comparisons at data-rich (experimental) and data-poor (ungauged) watersheds; enhancing data availability; communicating uncertainty in results; developing better models, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), commercial software, and model support; and establishing regulatory guidance and professional precedence. The review also considers the suitability of select models for exploring the potential effects of climate change on future watershed processes that are relevant to forest management. Emphasis is placed on shifts in site water balances (evapotranspiration); changes in snow accumulation and melt rates; melting of permafrost, river, and lake ice processes; adjustments in glacier mass balance; changes in streamflow generation; and the increased risk of disturbances such as wildfire, pest outbreaks (e.g., mountain pine beetle), flood events, windthrow, and landsliding. The barriers and challenges to using hydrologic models for answering climate change questions are discussed, and areas for model improvement are identified.

Tailings Management Handbook

Tailings Management Handbook
Author: Kimberly Finke Morrison
Publisher: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
Total Pages: 1026
Release: 2022-02-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0873354907

As long as we have mining and mineral processing, tailings and the responsible management thereof will remain at the forefront, with a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in part a reflection of how well tailings risks are being managed. The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) was published in August 2020, aiming to prevent catastrophic failure of tailings facilities by providing operators with specified measures and approaches throughout the mine life cycle, taking into account multiple stakeholder perspectives. In 2021, the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) published the Tailings Management: Good Practice Guide intended to support safe, responsible management of tailings across the global mining industry, providing guidance on good governance and engineering practices to support continual improvement in tailings storage facility (TSF) management and help foster and strengthen the safety culture of mining companies. The Tailings Management Handbook is important and timely because there is no other comprehensive resource rooted in these new fundamentals and global principles for tailings management. Tailings management requires interdisciplinary and cross-functional understanding and support, which is apparent throughout this handbook. Dive into the wealth of information contributed by more than 100 world-renowned experts, beautifully crafted into a full-color handbook that focuses on the basics, life-cycle planning, site and tailings characterization, TSF design and construction, as well as systems and operations of TSFs. The inclusion of 42 case studies is an added plus with real-world successes and lessons learned.

Ecohydrology of the Andes Páramo Region

Ecohydrology of the Andes Páramo Region
Author: Veronica G. Minaya Maldonado
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1351652648

In the Andes mountainous region of South America grasslands known as páramos provide important ecosystem services like sustaining biodiversity, securing carbon sequestration and providing water storage. However, many páramos regions are subject to land use change due to expanding agriculture, intensified grazing and land burning. These are usually caused by socio-economic factors driving local communities to increase their income generation. Trying to achieve a better understanding of the páramos is often restricted to exploring specific details and does not follow an integrated approach or a comprehensive ecosystem analysis. In this research the focus is on better understanding the dominant ecohydrological processes and their interactions. An integrated approach is followed using in-situ measurements, field experiments, laboratory analyses, and numerical modelling. Also, different hydroinformatics tools are used to identify and quantify the ecosystem services provided by the páramos. Moreover, a framework is developed that allows a more realistic quantification and mapping of the main ecosystem services. The approach was carried out for a test site in an Ecological area in North Ecuador. The findings show a clear difference in ecosystem services depending on their altitudinal range and type of vegetation. These results can be used to further develop environmental management and landscape planning strategies, in order to better meet the social goals. This research is aligned with the priorities advocated in the IPCC Report (2007) 'to improve representation of the interactive coupling between ecosystems and the climate system', and with SDG #15: Life on Land 'By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services'.

Emerging Issues in Groundwater Resources

Emerging Issues in Groundwater Resources
Author: Ali Fares
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2016-08-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319320084

This book discusses how emerging groundwater risks under current and potential climate change conductions reduce available groundwater resources for domestic use, and agriculture and energy production. The topics discussed throughout this book are grouped into five sections; (i) Sea Level Rise, Climate Change, and Food Security, (ii) Emerging Contaminants, (iii) Technologies and Decision Support Systems, (iv) Surface Water-Groundwater Interactions, and (v) Economics, and Energy Production and Development. This book is unique and different from other groundwater hydrology books in that it uses a holistic approach in investigating the risks related to groundwater resources. This book will be of interest to a wide audience in academia, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and environmental entities. This book will greatly contribute to a better understanding of the emerging risks to groundwater resources and should help responsible stakeholders make informed decisions in this regard.

Compendium of Forest Hydrology and Geomorphology in British Columbia

Compendium of Forest Hydrology and Geomorphology in British Columbia
Author: Robin G. Pike
Publisher: University of British Columbia Press
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2010
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

Over the last two decades, hydrologists and geomorphologists have often discussed the need to document the history, scientific discoveries, and field expertise gained in watershed management in British Columbia. Several years ago, a group of watershed scientists from FORREX, academia, government, and the private sector gathered at the University of British Columbia to discuss the idea of a provincially relevant summary of hydrology, geomorphology, and watershed management. Through this meeting, the Compendium of Forest Hydrology and Geomorphology was born. As a synthesis document, the Compendium consolidates current scientific knowledge and operational experience into 19 chapters. To ensure reliable, relevant, and scientifically sound information, all chapters were extensively peer reviewed employing the standard double-blind protocol common to most scholarly journals. Chapters in the Compendium summarize the basic scientific information necessary to manage water resources in forested environments, explaining watershed processes and the effects of disturbances across different regions of the province. In short, the Compendium is about British Columbia and is primarily intended for a British Columbian audience, giving it a uniquely regional focus compared to other hydrology texts. At over 800 pages, the Compendium showcases the rich history of forest hydrology, geomorphology, and aquatic ecology research and practice in British Columbia and sets forth the foundation for the future by showing us how much more we have yet to learn.

Forest Hydrology

Forest Hydrology
Author: Devendra Amatya
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2016-09-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1780646607

Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes.

Forests & Water Guidelines

Forests & Water Guidelines
Author: Great Britain. Forestry Commission
Publisher:
Total Pages: 40
Release: 1993
Genre: Acid rain
ISBN:

This work advises owners and managers how woodlands and forests influence the freshwater ecosystem, and gives guidance on how operations should be carried out in order to protect and enhance the water environment. The guidelines apply equally to forest enterprises and the private sector.

Treatise on Geomorphology

Treatise on Geomorphology
Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 6392
Release: 2013-02-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080885225

The changing focus and approach of geomorphic research suggests that the time is opportune for a summary of the state of discipline. The number of peer-reviewed papers published in geomorphic journals has grown steadily for more than two decades and, more importantly, the diversity of authors with respect to geographic location and disciplinary background (geography, geology, ecology, civil engineering, computer science, geographic information science, and others) has expanded dramatically. As more good minds are drawn to geomorphology, and the breadth of the peer-reviewed literature grows, an effective summary of contemporary geomorphic knowledge becomes increasingly difficult. The fourteen volumes of this Treatise on Geomorphology will provide an important reference for users from undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic. Information on the historical development of diverse topics within geomorphology provides context for ongoing research; discussion of research strategies, equipment, and field methods, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations reflect the multiple approaches to understanding Earth’s surfaces; and summaries of outstanding research questions highlight future challenges and suggest productive new avenues for research. Our future ability to adapt to geomorphic changes in the critical zone very much hinges upon how well landform scientists comprehend the dynamics of Earth’s diverse surfaces. This Treatise on Geomorphology provides a useful synthesis of the state of the discipline, as well as highlighting productive research directions, that Educators and students/researchers will find useful. Geomorphology has advanced greatly in the last 10 years to become a very interdisciplinary field. Undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic will find the answers they need in this broad reference work which has been designed and written to accommodate their diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding Editor-in-Chief, Prof. J. F. Shroder of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is past president of the QG&G section of the Geological Society of America and present Trustee of the GSA Foundation, while being well respected in the geomorphology research community and having won numerous awards in the field. A host of noted international geomorphologists have contributed state-of-the-art chapters to the work. Readers can be guaranteed that every chapter in this extensive work has been critically reviewed for consistency and accuracy by the World expert Volume Editors and by the Editor-in-Chief himself No other reference work exists in the area of Geomorphology that offers the breadth and depth of information contained in this 14-volume masterpiece. From the foundations and history of geomorphology through to geomorphological innovations and computer modelling, and the past and future states of landform science, no "stone" has been left unturned!