Using Hydrogeomorphic Templates in Aquatic Ecosystem Science and Management: Examples from the Rocky Mountain West
Location
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu/
Start Date
3-26-2004 8:00 AM
End Date
3-26-2004 8:15 AM
Description
A hydrogeomorphic template describes the landscape position where an aquatic ecosystem (i.e. aquifer, wetland, stream, or lake) occurs, its extent, form, and substrates, and its dominant water sources and flow paths—which together are thought to drive a variety of ecosystem functions (e.g. water quality maintenance). These ideas come from wetland science and are currently being implemented by the U.S. government as the Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) approach, which integrates ecosystem functions into wetland mitigation. Similar ideas are emerging from geomorphology, hydrogeology, and limnology. In practice, the hydrogeomorphic template concept has long been applied informally by many aquatic scientists because it provides a process-based context to designing and interpreting studies. A more formal characterization and classification of hydrogeomorphic templates coupled with rigorous process studies may provide useful models for scientists and managers to better understand, assess, and protect functions that impact water and land resources. In this talk I will explore how hydrogeomorphic templates might be conceptualized, quantified, and applied using examples from the Rocky Mountain West. First I will describe the HGM approach and its present limitations from experience with studying sediment retention by riparian wetlands in the Yampa River Watershed, Colorado. A set of peatlands in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado will provide an example of how hydrogeomorphology can explain fine-scale variation in ecosystem structure and functions and is applied in monitoring and assessment. The case of eutrophication in Utah’s Great Salt Lake will illustrate how a hydrogeomorphic template might help guide communication and management. Finally, I will use examples of on-going research on stream-lake interactions in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho to show how hydrogeomorphic templates integrate connected lake, stream, and groundwater systems and the functions these systems provide.
Using Hydrogeomorphic Templates in Aquatic Ecosystem Science and Management: Examples from the Rocky Mountain West
Space Dynamics Laboratory
A hydrogeomorphic template describes the landscape position where an aquatic ecosystem (i.e. aquifer, wetland, stream, or lake) occurs, its extent, form, and substrates, and its dominant water sources and flow paths—which together are thought to drive a variety of ecosystem functions (e.g. water quality maintenance). These ideas come from wetland science and are currently being implemented by the U.S. government as the Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) approach, which integrates ecosystem functions into wetland mitigation. Similar ideas are emerging from geomorphology, hydrogeology, and limnology. In practice, the hydrogeomorphic template concept has long been applied informally by many aquatic scientists because it provides a process-based context to designing and interpreting studies. A more formal characterization and classification of hydrogeomorphic templates coupled with rigorous process studies may provide useful models for scientists and managers to better understand, assess, and protect functions that impact water and land resources. In this talk I will explore how hydrogeomorphic templates might be conceptualized, quantified, and applied using examples from the Rocky Mountain West. First I will describe the HGM approach and its present limitations from experience with studying sediment retention by riparian wetlands in the Yampa River Watershed, Colorado. A set of peatlands in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado will provide an example of how hydrogeomorphology can explain fine-scale variation in ecosystem structure and functions and is applied in monitoring and assessment. The case of eutrophication in Utah’s Great Salt Lake will illustrate how a hydrogeomorphic template might help guide communication and management. Finally, I will use examples of on-going research on stream-lake interactions in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho to show how hydrogeomorphic templates integrate connected lake, stream, and groundwater systems and the functions these systems provide.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2004/AllAbstracts/36