Quantifying fragmentation of freshwater systems using a measure of discharge modification (and other applications) David Theobald, John Norman, David Merritt (USFS) Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Dept of Recreation & Tourism, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO USA 26 July 2005
Freshwater fragmentation Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project
Fragmentation and flow modification Deynesius and Nilsson (1994) – 77% of upper 1/3 of northern hemisphere rivers are strongly or moderately affected - F = regulated/total channel length - R = % of VMAD (cumulative reservoir live, gross capacity) Regulated Channel Length (RCL) Total Channel Length (TCL)
Network-based flow modification Degree of modification (F) is ratio of unmodified discharge as a proportion of total annual discharge F = ( Q-S ) / Q - Q is cumulative annual discharge - S is cumulative dam “normal” storage
Predicted discharge Average annual precipitation & temperature, basin area Average annual precipitation & temperature, basin area Vogel et al Vogel et al Vogel
Discharge map of US
National Inventory of Dams ~80,000; >4 m height ~80,000; >4 m height Map of dams Map of dams
Thanks! Comments? Questions? Comments? Questions? Funding/Disclaimer: The work reported here was developed under the STAR Research Assistance Agreement CR awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Colorado State University. This presentation has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed here are solely those of the presenter and STARMAP, the Program (s)he represents. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this presentation. Funding/Disclaimer: The work reported here was developed under the STAR Research Assistance Agreement CR awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Colorado State University. This presentation has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed here are solely those of the presenter and STARMAP, the Program (s)he represents. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this presentation. FLoWS: starmap FLoWS: starmap starmap starmap CR