Introduction to Riparian or Stream Ecosystems

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Introduction to Riparian or Stream Ecosystems
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Vandalia, IL 2004
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Cave Creek (Lake County, Ohio)
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Jarbridge, northern NV
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Rio Puerco (USGS)
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Fundamental Principles
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Newtons 1st Law of Motion

• The momentum of a body remains constant unless
  the body is acted on by a net force (conservation
  of momentum)

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1st law of Thermodynamics

• Energy is neither created nor destroyed
  (conservation of energy)

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Conservation of Mass

• Mass is neither created nor destroyed

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Conservation Equation

• Derived from the Newtons first law of Motion
  (applied to momentum), first law of
  thermodynamics (applied to energy), and the
  conservation of mass
• Conservation equation can be expressed in a
  number of ways, but can be simplified to

amount in amount out change in storage
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Water Balance Equation

• P Gin (Q ET Gout) ?S
• Where
• P precipitation (liquid and solid)
• Gin ground water in
• Q stream outflow
• ET evapotranspiration
• Gout groundwater out
• ?S change in storage

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Assumptions

• Make Gin negligible
• Runoff can then be viewed as the residual between
  two climatically determined quantities (P and ET)

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ET
P
Gin
Gout
Qout
Gout
Modified from FISRWG, 1998
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Runoff and Base Flow

• Runoff represents water potentially available for
  use, forms the basis for regional water
  management
• Runoff represents the sum of overland flow,
  interflow, and storm flow, and occurs when the
  soils infiltration capacity is exceeded
• Base flow is the sole source of water sustaining
  river flow in periods between storms

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VICAIRE,2007
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Starkey Farms, 2008
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IUPUI, 2007
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Williams Creek, 2005
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Williams Creek, 2005
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Variability

• Inputs, storage, and outputs are all
  time-distributed variables
• Long-term averages become significant
• Differences in soil and topography result in
  significant spatial variation

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USGS
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The Watershed, Basin Drainage Patterns, and
Stream Order
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• The watershed can be viewed as a natural
  landscape unit, integrated by the water flowing
  through the system
• The watershed is viewed as the fundamental unit
  for effective management of water quality and
  quantity
• Location of the stream cross section that defines
  the watershed is determined by the purpose of the
  analysis

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FISRWG, 1998
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(Pidwirny, 2007)
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Strahler Stream Order
FISRWG, 1998
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Drainage Basin Analysis

• Horton analysis

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(Pidwirny, 2007)
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Drainage density

• a measure of the length of stream channel per
  unit area of drainage basin. It can be expressed
  as
• Drainage Density (Dd) Stream Length / Basin
  Area
• measurement of drainage density provides a a
  useful numerical measure of landscape dissection
  and runoff potential

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• On a highly permeable landscape, with small
  potential for runoff, drainage densities are
  sometimes less than 1 kilometer per square
  kilometer.
• On highly dissected surfaces densities of over
  500 kilometers per square kilometer are often
  reported.
• A number of factors collectively influence stream
  density. These factors include climate,
  topography, soil infiltration capacity,
  vegetation, and geology.

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Bifurcation ratio

• The ratio between the number of stream segments
  in one order and the next, called the bifurcation
  ratio, is consistently around three. Horton
  called this association the law of stream
  numbers.

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Law of basin areas

• There is a linear relationship between mean basin
  area and successive ordered streams.

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The Hydrologic Cycle
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FISRWG, 1998
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Indianas Hydrologic Cycle

• Precipitation 38
• Evaporation / Transpiration 26
• Ground Water Infiltration 3-3.6
• Surface Runoff 8.4-9
• (Values in inches of water per year)

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www.worldbook.com
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www.worldbook.com
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Indianas Physical Setting
Tipton Till Plain Recently Deglaciated (lt20,000
yrs)
Glacial Maximums
Older Glacial Terrain (and non-glaciated)
(Source Data USGS DEM)
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Henry H. Gray, 2001, Map of Indiana Showing
Physiographic Divisions, IGS Misc. Map 69
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Indiana Ground Water Resources
Legend
IDNR
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Natural Regions of Indiana (Homoya, 1993)
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Modification of Indianas Hydrologic Cycle
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Approximate location of virgin old-growth
forest
Meyer, 1995
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On the Banks of Fall Creek
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Deam, 1922
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Wetland Loss from Time of European Settlement
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Indiana Wetland Loss
3.5 of surface area 813,000 acres
James Robb IDEM 2002
24.1 of surface area 5.6 million acres
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Agricultural Drainage System

• 75-80 of the agricultural areas in central
  Indiana are tile drained
• In these areas, riparian buffer strips are
  short-circuited by tile drains

Miller, BES
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The Urban Hydrologic Systeminfrastructure driven
pathways
Impervious Surfaces
Stormdrains
Water Supply Pipes
Septic Systems
Groundwater Flow Paths
Artificial Channels
Wastewater Conduits
Miller, BES
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IndianaLand Use/Cover

• Indiana is Dominated by Agricultural Land Cover
• Glaciated Landscapes (Till and Outwash) Dominant
  in North and Central Areas
• Central and Southern Portions of State More
  Forested with Deeply Incised Valleys

US EPA 1994
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