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EPA'S LANDSCAPE SCIENCES RESEARCH: NUTRIENT POLLUTION, FLOODING, AND HABITAT
Citation:
Jones, K B. EPA'S LANDSCAPE SCIENCES RESEARCH: NUTRIENT POLLUTION, FLOODING, AND HABITAT. Presented at Natura 2000, Montpellier, France, October 31, 2002.
Impact/Purpose:
The primary objectives of this research are to:
Develop methodologies so that landscape indicator values generated from different sensors on different dates (but in the same areas) are comparable; differences in metric values result from landscape changes and not differences in the sensors;
Quantify relationships between landscape metrics generated from wall-to-wall spatial data and (1) specific parameters related to water resource conditions in different environmental settings across the US, including but not limited to nutrients, sediment, and benthic communities, and (2) multi-species habitat suitability;
Develop and validate multivariate models based on quantification studies;
Develop GIS/model assessment protocols and tools to characterize risk of nutrient and sediment TMDL exceedence;
Complete an initial draft (potentially web based) of a national landscape condition assessment.
This research directly supports long-term goals established in ORDs multiyear plans related to GPRA Goal 2 (Water) and GPRA Goal 4 (Healthy Communities and Ecosystems), although funding for this task comes from Goal 4. Relative to the GRPA Goal 2 multiyear plan, this research is intended to "provide tools to assess and diagnose impairment in aquatic systems and the sources of associated stressors." Relative to the Goal 4 Multiyear Plan this research is intended to (1) provide states and tribes with an ability to assess the condition of waterbodies in a scientifically defensible and representative way, while allowing for aggregation and assessment of trends at multiple scales, (2) assist Federal, State and Local managers in diagnosing the probable cause and forecasting future conditions in a scientifically defensible manner to protect and restore ecosystems, and (3) provide Federal, State and Local managers with a scientifically defensible way to assess current and future ecological conditions, and probable causes of impairments, and a way to evaluate alternative future management scenarios.
Description:
There is a growing need to understand the pattern of landscape change at regional scales and to determine how such changes affect environmental values. Key to conducting these assessments is the development of land-cover databases that permit large-scale analyses, such as an examination of simple landscape change or the construction of predictive models, to be easily conducted; the latter, for example, provides a model that can be used to assess the consequences of change. This type of approach is needed to extend estimates of ecological conditions and potential environmental risks in areas not directly monitored by field investigations. The Landscape Sciences program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Exposure Research Laboratory has been developing a number of landscape indicators, models, and statistical approaches to evaluate nutrient loading, flooding risks, and changes in habitat quality at a variety of spatial scales over broad geographic areas. This oral presentation highlights research being conducted in these areas and findings to date.