You are here:
Urban Stream Ecology
Citation:
Roy, A. H., M. J. Paul, AND S. J. Wenger. Urban Stream Ecology. Chapter 16, J. Aitkenhead-Peterson and A. Volder (ed.), Urban Ecosystem Ecology. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, WI, , 341-352, (2010).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Urban watersheds characteristically have high impervious surface cover, resulting in high surface runoff and low infiltration following storms. In response, urban streams experience “flashy” stormflows, reduced baseflows, bank erosion, channel widening, and sedimentation. Urban watersheds also typically exhibit high nutrient, total ion, and contaminant concentrations. This harsh physical and chemical environment tends to produce biotic assemblages of low diversity dominated by tolerant and nonnative species. Ecosystem processes in urban streams also differ from non-urban streams, with fast leaf breakdown rates, reduced nutrient uptake, and high respiration rates, although these responses are not universal. The ecology of urban streams is variable among systems, depending on the natural environment (e.g., climate, geology, vegetation) and anthropogenic stresses (e.g., age, type, and extent of development; riparian deforestation; stormwater piping). Thus, management efforts must be geared toward urban stressors specific to each ecosystem if more diverse assemblages and more natural ecosystem processing are desired.
