Upper Scioto River Watershed

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Upper Scioto River Watershed
By Michelle Stipetich, Christine Hwang,
Brittney McIntyre
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Watersheds

• What is a watershed?
• 93 watersheds in Ohio.

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Riparian Zone

• Riparian Zone- type of wetland between the stream
  and upland habitat, 90 meters on each side of the
  river.

• Bad Riparian Zone

• Good Riparian Zone

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Important Terms

• Nutrient Enrichment The presence of too many
  nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) in
  the water. Usually causes eutrophication.
• Eutrophication Addition of excessive nutrients
  (nitrates and phosphates) to a body of water,
  leading to overgrowth of aquatic plants (such as
  algae).The overgrowth usually kills the animal
  life in the water.

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Water Quality Evaluation Terms

• IBI- The diversity of fish species
• ICI- The diversity of macroinvertebrates
• QHEI- The quality of the habitat

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Description of Our Watershed
Counties Hardin, Logan, Union, Marion.
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Watershed Land Use
Bucyrus
Kenton
Marion

• Mostly row crops, some pasture/hay and
  deciduous forests
• Three main urban areas

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Causes of Impairment
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Hypothesis 1

• Best management practices leads to increased
  biodiversity.

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Hypothesis 2

• Increased eutrophication leads to decreased
  biodiversity.

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Hypothesis 3

• As the amount of forested riparian zone is
  decreased, the quality of the habitat is
  decreased.
• As the amount of urban riparian zone is
  increased, the quality of the habitat is
  decreased.

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Conclusions

• All hypotheses were supported by the data
• Area needs better land use management
• Stop cutting down forest riparian zones
• Farmers need to be educated about runoff and how
  to prevent fertilizer from entering waterways
• Urbanization needs regulation to control water
  quality problems