Monitoring Ecological Condition in the Western United States

Monitoring Ecological Condition in the Western United States PDF

Author: Shabeg S. Sandhu

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 9401143439

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The monitoring of point sources by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the states, and the tribes has documented and helped reduce the levels of chemical stressors affecting our ecosystems. With the controls on point sources reducing chemical contamination, new environmental challenges associated with nonpoint sources have emerged. To adequately deal with these new problems, EPA's Office of Research and Development recognized the need to develop an overall under standing of the condition of our ecological resources, the trends in their condition, and the stressors affecting these systems on a broad scale. Toward this end, the En vironmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) was established by EPA and has been strategically developing the scientific tools and techniques to monitor and assess the status and trends of aquatic ecosystems. EMAP scientists have developed new indicators and probability-based de signs to fill data gaps in the development of regional-scale assessments of our aquatic resources, as required in the Clean Water Act. We have a scientifically de fensible approach that allows: 100 percent coverage of the aquatic resources within broad geographic areas and the formulation of reference 'conditions for es tablishing the health of these resources. The use of these indicators and designs were successfully demonstrated in the landscapes, streams, and estuaries of the mid-Atlantic states as part of the Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAlA).

Biological Monitoring of Aquatic Systems

Biological Monitoring of Aquatic Systems PDF

Author: Stanford, L. Loeb

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 1994-01-24

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9780873719100

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With regional, national, and global processes affecting both the structure and function of lakes and rivers, assessment methodology must encompass many attributes to evaluate the impact of these processes on water quality. Many of the changes in biological communities correlate to resource exploitation, nonpoint pollutant interactions, and habitat alteration - factors that can be missed by routine chemical sampling. This creates the need for ecologically-based approaches to this problem. Biological monitoring is a fundamental part of an ecologically-based approach. Biological Monitoring of Aquatic Systems brings together contributions by authors recognized as leaders in the development and utilization of biological monitoring techniques for freshwater ecosystems. It provides a conceptual framework for the use of biological monitoring to assess the environmental health of freshwater resources. Biological monitoring is an important part of any water quality assessment program. Biological Monitoring of Aquatic Systems provides you with an understanding of water resources. It includes discussions concerning historical development, ecological basis, experimental design characteristics, case studies, and future concerns. As efforts to maintain and restore the world's water resources intensify, the need to develop accurate methods to assess the health of these resources becomes critical.

The Ecological Status of European Rivers: Evaluation and Intercalibration of Assessment Methods

The Ecological Status of European Rivers: Evaluation and Intercalibration of Assessment Methods PDF

Author: Mike T. Furse

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-03-20

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 1402054939

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The monitoring of benthic diatoms, macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish will be the backbone of future water management in Europe. This book describes and compares the relevant methodologies and tools, based on a large data set covering rivers in most parts of Europe. The 36 articles presented will provide scientists and water managers with a unique insight into background and application of state-of-the-art monitoring tools and techniques.

Ecological Status Assessment of Transitional Waters

Ecological Status Assessment of Transitional Waters PDF

Author: Chiara FACCA

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2021-04-14

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 3039439731

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Coastal transitional ecosystems include a wide range of morphological features—i.e., lagoons, wetlands, estuaries, deltas, and so on. According to the Ramsar Convention, “they are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems” and are continually “degraded and converted to other uses”. To protect and restore these highly valuable ecosystems, knowledge of their processes and the assessment of their ecological conditions under anthropogenic pressures is of fundamental importance. The present book contains eight original research papers and a review that provide useful tools to understand the structure and function of transitional waters worldwide. The results allow us to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities and inform stakeholders on the actions that can be taken to manage them. The papers in this book provide different ecological approaches to investigate some main impacts: - benthic and nekton communities were studied to assess the impact of eutrophication and salinity changes; - biological processes in carbon dioxide fluxes were assessed in the framework of climate change; - nekton communities were discussed in relation to habitat morphological degradation; - the role of invasive alien species was considered.

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING -Volume II

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING -Volume II PDF

Author: Hilary I. Inyang

Publisher: EOLSS Publications

Published: 2009-10-16

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 1905839766

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Environmental Monitoring theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Environmental Monitoring is largely concerned with strategies in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, as well as in many circumstances in which human activities carry a risk of harmful effects on the natural environment.. All monitoring strategies and programmes on environment have reasons and justifications which are often designed to establish the current status of an environment or to establish trends in environmental parameters. The content of the Theme provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues that are great relevance to our world with respect to environmental monitoring. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs

Chinese Water Systems

Chinese Water Systems PDF

Author: Max Dohmann

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2021-11-02

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 9783030802332

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This open-access book addresses latest Sino-German results of the joint research efforts within Major Water Program of the Chinese Government supported by German research funding. The Major Water Program aims at the restoration of polluted water environments and sustainable management of water resources in China. The joint BMBF-CLIENT project SINOWATER deals with three most significant and strongest polluted Chinese waters, the river Liao and the Dian-lake as well as Tai-lake in the area of the metropolises Shenyang, Kunming and Suzhou, respectively. The project was conducted by the Research Institute for Water and Waste Management at RWTH Aachen (FiW) e.V., Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection, Technical University of Munich, RWTH Aachen University, German and Chinese companies (Martin Membrane Systems AG, Steinhardt GmbH Wassertechnik, GuHong, JT-elektronik, bluemetric, Huawang Water, EVU Group, Atemis GmbH, i+f process GmbH) in close cooperation with Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, Tongji University, and the Dianchi Lake Management Authorities. Overall, the joint Sino-German research project SINOWATER provided solutions for the improvement of the water quality in the mentioned water bodies as well as development and optimization of Good Water Governance. These objectives could be achieved through the implementation of innovative German water technologies and the optimization of water management elements in the fields of industrial and municipal wastewater treatment as well as river and shallow lake management.

Ecological Indicators for the Nation

Ecological Indicators for the Nation PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-05-12

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 0309068452

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Environmental indicators, such as global temperatures and pollutant concentrations, attract scientists' attention and often make the headlines. Equally important to policymaking are indicators of the ecological processes and conditions that yield food, fiber, building materials and ecological "services" such as water purification and recreation. This book identifies ecological indicators that can support U.S. policymaking and also be adapted to decisions at the regional and local levels. The committee describes indicators of land cover and productivity, species diversity, and other key ecological processesâ€"explaining why each indicator is useful, what models support the indicator, what the measured values will mean, how the relevant data are gathered, how data collection might be improved, and what effects emerging technologies are likely to have on the measurements. The committee reviews how it arrived at its recommendations and explores how the indicators can contribute to policymaking. Also included are interesting details on paleoecology, satellite imagery, species diversity, and other aspects of ecological assessment. Federal, state, and local decision-makers, as well as environmental scientists and practitioners, will be especially interested in this new book.

Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystems

Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystems PDF

Author: David J. Rapport

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-06-29

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 3642794645

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Ecosystem health offers a fresh perspective on the management of natural resources and the environment. While some of the root concepts can surely be traced back to Aldo Leopold and even earlier, it is only in the recent decade that a substantial body of work has emerged on this topic. There is no question that a novel approach which is by its nature cross disciplinary, bridging the health and biological sciences, will initially raise a number of questions particularly pertaining to the use of metaphors and the validity of the analogy. This volume however goes beyond merely the philosophical dimensions of the subject by covering a number of case studies which have given rise to the development of promising quantitative methods for diagnosis and rehabilitation of ecosystems under stress. The focus of most studies is on regional ecosystems i.e. ecosystems of large scale. As such, the methods and approaches should have wide appeal to government agencies charged with the responsibility of sustainable development of regional ecosystems and natural resources. Health is one of those difficult concepts that everyone thinks they can define, until they come to try. We all have personal knowledge about health and illness and this makes the ecosystem analogy so potentially powerful. Yet it is also clear that the uncritical application of the concept could lead to overly simplistic approaches to analysis and management of ecosystem health.