Citation:

Salls, W., J. Iiames, M. Mehaffey, M. Nash, J. Christensen, AND B. Schaeffer. Landscape Influences on Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms. Great Plains and Midwest Harmful Algal Blooms Workshop, Overland Park, KS, February 04 - 05, 2020.

Impact/Purpose:

This study seeks to reveal the landscape factors that are most strongly related to cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) in order to inform mitigation efforts. We used a model to rank the importance of several landscape factors in influencing CyanoHABs.

Description:

Cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) have emerged as a threat to human and ecological health. In an effort to inform management priorities and decisions seeking to mitigate CyanoHABs, we employed a model to rank the importance of several landscape factors based on their influence on CyanoHABs. Specifically, we investigated 88 factors and their relationship with CyanoHAB abundance measured using satellite remote sensing. The model revealed that a variety of factors were important, including nutrient applications (positive correlation with CyanoHABs) and natural vegetation (negative correlation). We also found that the relative importance of factors varied spatially, underscoring the importance of adopting unique management strategies specific to an area of interest.

URLs/Downloads:

Record Details: