We developed a cost-based methodology to assess the value of forested watersheds to improve water quality in public water supplies. The developed methodology is applicable to other source watersheds to determine ecosystem services for water quality.
A growing trend towards increased urbanization emphasizes the role of suburban parks in wildlife conservation. Spatial planning aimed at maintaining biological diversity and functionality must consider how changes at landscape and more local scales will influence the biotic structure of urban areas.
The green vegetation fraction (GVF) and surface albedo are important land surface parameters often used for validation of climate and land surface models that are influenced largely by environmental gradients and human activities.
Most species face multiple anthropogenic disruptions. Few studies have quantified the cumulative influence of multiple threats on species of conservation concern, and far fewer have quantified the potential relative value of multiple conservation interventions in light of these threats.
This study analyzes land use dynamics, land fragmentation, variation of ecosystem service value (ESV), and the underlying driving forces in the context of rapid urbanization in Taizhou city, China.
Native animals are affected differently by urbanization. Some species respond favorably and thrive in human-dominated landscapes, but others are extirpated. Raptors are often sensitive to changes in land cover and prey abundance.
Anthropogenic forces that alter the physical landscape are known to cause significant soil erosion, which has negative impact on surface water bodies, such as rivers, lakes/reservoirs, and coastal zones, and thus sediment control has become one of the central aspects of catchment management planning.
In this study, we investigated the relationship between watershed characteristics and hydrology using high spatial resolution impervious surface area (ISA), hydrologic simulations and spatial regression. We selected 20 watersheds at HUC 12 level with different degrees of urbanization and performed hydrologic simulation using a distributed object-oriented rainfall and runoff simulation model.
In this study, ideal but realistic numerical experiments are performed to explore the relative effects of changes in land use and emission distribution on air quality in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in winter.
In a closed landfill, we investigated the diversity and ecological characters of carabid beetles to understand the ecological importance of closed landfills that have the potential as a multi-functional habitat for improving biodiversity in urbanized areas.
Estuaries in the southeastern USA have experienced increased loading of contaminants from nonpoint source runoff as well as changes in habitat (e.g., loss of wetlands) due to urbanization. These changes may pose significant risks to estuarine fauna, including crustaceans. Several studies have shown relationships between land use classification and levels of stress in estuarine populations.
The Tampa Bay estuary is a unique and valued ecosystem that currently thrives between subtropical and temperate climates along Florida’s west-central coast. The watershed is considered urbanized (42� % lands developed); however, a suite of critical coastal habitats still persists.