Grantee Research Project Results
2010 Progress Report: Elevated Temperature and Land Use Flood Frequency Alteration Effects on Rates of Invasive and Native Species Interactions in Freshwater Floodplain Wetlands
EPA Grant Number: R833837Title: Elevated Temperature and Land Use Flood Frequency Alteration Effects on Rates of Invasive and Native Species Interactions in Freshwater Floodplain Wetlands
Investigators: Richardson, Curtis J. , Qian, Song S. , Ho, Mengchi , Flanagan, Neal
Current Investigators: Richardson, Curtis J. , Flanagan, Neal , Ho, Mengchi
Institution: Duke University , Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: April 1, 2008 through March 31, 2011 (Extended to March 31, 2012)
Project Period Covered by this Report: April 1, 2010 through March 31,2011
Project Amount: $598,107
RFA: Ecological Impacts from the Interactions of Climate Change, Land Use Change and Invasive Species: A Joint Research Solicitation - EPA, USDA (2007) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Aquatic Ecosystems , Climate Change
Objective:
The primary objective is to assess how predicted climate and land use driven changes in hydrologic flux and temperature regimes of floodplain ecosystems affect plant communities in terms of their vulnerability to the establishment and spread of invasive species, and in turn ecosystem functions and services. Future climate scenarios for the southeastern United States predict that surface water temperatures will warm (in concert with air temperature) and that stream flows likely will decrease, with a greater proportion of annual watershed hydrologic yield occurring during major storm events. Land use changes (urban vs. forested, etc.) have been shown also to raise water temperature and increase pulsed water releases during storms.
Progress Summary:
Regional floodplain hydrology and temperature shifts experiments:
We have identified nine synoptic sites located on river flood plains throughout North Carolina and southern Virginia (Roanoke River Basin). These sites are in three categories of water temperature: a) Warm: three sites are located downstream of reservoirs used as flood storage and cooling water supplies for coal-fired or nuclear power plants where regulated outflow is drawn from warmer surface water layers of the reservoir (Cowan’s Ford, Kerr and Gaston Dams); b) Cold: three sites are located downstream of hydroelectric plants where regulated outflow is drawn from deeper (cooler) strata nearer the lake bottom (Catawba, Smith Mountain, and Philpott Dam [VA]); and c) Reference: three sites are located on rivers with no dams and have normal regional water temperatures and rainfall patterns of water flow rates.
Future Activities:
We will continue data collection using our established protocols and applying adaptive management approaches as required. Due to the late funding date for this project, we have asked for and received a 1-year no-cost extension. In year four, we will present the final results at national meetings and prepare manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 9 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
wetlands, watershed, land use, climate change, invasive species, temperature shifts, pulsed water, water quality, altered stable states, nonlinear thresholds, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Hydrology, climate change, Air Pollution Effects, Monitoring/Modeling, Regional/Scaling, Environmental Monitoring, Atmospheric Sciences, Ecological Risk Assessment, Atmosphere, coastal ecosystem, biodiversity, environmental measurement, ecosystem assessment, meteorology, global change, anthropogenic, climate models, UV radiation, greenhouse gases, environmental stress, coastal ecosystems, water quality, habitat diversity, invasive species, ecological models, climate model, Global Climate Change, land use, regional anthropogenic stresses, atmospheric chemistry, stressor response model, climate variabilityRelevant Websites:
Duke University Wetland Center website www.env.duke.edu/wetland Exit .
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.