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EXTENDING AQUATIC CLASSIFICATION TO THE LANDSCAPE SCALE HYDROLOGY-BASED STRATEGIES
Citation:
Detenbeck, N E., M F. Moffett, Greenlee, D. Cincotta, AND J. C. Brazner. EXTENDING AQUATIC CLASSIFICATION TO THE LANDSCAPE SCALE HYDROLOGY-BASED STRATEGIES. Presented at ASLO (American Society of Limnology and Oceanography) Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, February 20-25, 2005.
Description:
Aquatic classification of single water bodies (lakes, wetlands, estuaries) is often based on geologic origin, while stream classification has relied on multiple factors related to landform, geomorphology, and soils. We have developed an approach to aquatic classification based on hydrologic regime that emphasizes the inter-dependence of aquatic resource types in a landscape. Hydrologic response thresholds for stream flashiness and water body retention time, based on watershed storage capacity, can be used to establish the boundaries of watershed classes. When incorporated in probabilistic monitoring designs for coastal (Lake Superior tributaries, Lake Michigan coastal wetlands) and more montane environments (wadeable streams across West Virginia), this classification system has helped to explain differences in sensitivity of water quality, habitat, and fish, macroinvertebrate, and algal communities across gradients of land-use.