Identifying non-reference sites to guide stream restoration and long-term monitoring

Ryan A. McManamay; John G. Smith; Robert T. Jett; Teresa J. Mathews; Mark J. Peterson

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.107

Identifying non-reference sites to guide stream restoration and long-term monitoring

Ryan A. McManamay, John G. Smith, Robert T. Jett, Teresa J. Mathews, Mark J. Peterson

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

The reference condition paradigm has served as the standard for assessing the outcomes of restoration projects, particularly their success in meeting project objectives. One limitation of relying solely on the reference condition in designing and monitoring restoration projects is that reference conditions do not necessarily elucidate impairments to effective restoration, especially diagnosing the causal mechanisms behind unsuccessful outcomes. We provide a spatial framework to select both reference and non-reference streams to guide restoration planning and long-term monitoring through reliance on anthropogenically altered ecosystems to understand processes that govern ecosystem biophysical properties and ecosystem responses to restoration practices. We then applied the spatial framework to East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC), Tennessee (USA), a system receiving 30 years of remediation and pollution abatement actions from industrialization, pollution, and urbanization. Out of > 13,000 stream reaches, we identified anywhere from 4 to 48 reaches, depending on the scenario, that could be used in restoration planning and monitoring for specific sites. Preliminary comparison of fish species composition at these sites compared to EFPC sites were used to identify potential mechanisms limiting the ecological recovery following remediation. We suggest that understanding the relative role of anthropogenic pressures in governing ecosystem responses is required to successful, process-driven restoration.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1208-1223
Number of pages	16
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	621
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.107
State	Published - Apr 15 2018

Funding

The study was authored by employees of UT-Battelleunder contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. This research was sponsored by the Environmental Compliance Department of the Y-12 National Security Complex and by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Environmental Protection Services Division's Water Quality Programs. We thank Allison Fortner and two anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy.The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). The study was authored by employees of UT-Battelleunder contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. This research was sponsored by the Environmental Compliance Department of the Y-12 National Security Complex and by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Environmental Protection Services Division's Water Quality Programs. We thank Allison Fortner and two anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Keywords

Anthropogenic disturbance
Contamination
Fish communities
Landscape alteration
Restoration
Stream

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.107

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abstract = "The reference condition paradigm has served as the standard for assessing the outcomes of restoration projects, particularly their success in meeting project objectives. One limitation of relying solely on the reference condition in designing and monitoring restoration projects is that reference conditions do not necessarily elucidate impairments to effective restoration, especially diagnosing the causal mechanisms behind unsuccessful outcomes. We provide a spatial framework to select both reference and non-reference streams to guide restoration planning and long-term monitoring through reliance on anthropogenically altered ecosystems to understand processes that govern ecosystem biophysical properties and ecosystem responses to restoration practices. We then applied the spatial framework to East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC), Tennessee (USA), a system receiving 30 years of remediation and pollution abatement actions from industrialization, pollution, and urbanization. Out of > 13,000 stream reaches, we identified anywhere from 4 to 48 reaches, depending on the scenario, that could be used in restoration planning and monitoring for specific sites. Preliminary comparison of fish species composition at these sites compared to EFPC sites were used to identify potential mechanisms limiting the ecological recovery following remediation. We suggest that understanding the relative role of anthropogenic pressures in governing ecosystem responses is required to successful, process-driven restoration.",

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Identifying non-reference sites to guide stream restoration and long-term monitoring

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Keywords

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