Pub Date : 2024-03-26DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1337907
Simon Bée, André St-Hilaire, Michael van den Heuvel
The degradation of soils and its detrimental consequences on aquatic environments is an important research topic in agricultural regions such as Prince Edward Island (PEI, Canada). Enhanced information related to suspended sediments in watercourses can serve as an effective decision-making tool in agricultural land management. This study aims to compare flow, suspended sediment concentrations (SSC), and loads using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in two watersheds in Prince Edward Island (PEI). The final investigations will focus on the potential variations in hydrological and sedimentary values in the future using a relatively pessimistic climate change scenario. Finally, the projected sediment concentrations and loads will be analyzed, considering their potential impacts on ecosystems. Water level and turbidity were recorded using two water level loggers and two optical backscatter sensors (OBS) deployed in the Tuplin Creek and Spring Valley watersheds. These instruments continuously recorded suspended sediments and flow data from June 2021 to September 2022. The data were used to manually calibrate the hydrological and suspended sediment models. The understanding of sediment loads and the benefits of proposed changes to agricultural practices can be tested with the SWAT model, as it incorporates a land use index that varies spatially and temporally. Calibration and validation of both the hydrological and sediment models were satisfactory, with Kling-Gupta Efficiency coefficients varying between 0.51 and 0.73 and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients varying between 0.61 and 0.73 respectively, indicating successful simulation of both variables in an agricultural context in spite of relatively short calibration and validation periods. Under the selected climate change scenario (RCP 8.5), daily flows and suspended sediment concentrations were simulated until 2,100, showing a slight increase in the average suspended sediment concentration (CSS). For Tuplin Creek, extremely high sediment peaks (>1,500 mg/L) could become significantly more frequent, potentially causing more frequent and severe ecosystem disturbances according to the simulations.
{"title":"Modeling sediment concentrations and loads for two small agricultural watersheds in Prince-Edward-Island (Canada): present conditions and a future scenario","authors":"Simon Bée, André St-Hilaire, Michael van den Heuvel","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1337907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1337907","url":null,"abstract":"The degradation of soils and its detrimental consequences on aquatic environments is an important research topic in agricultural regions such as Prince Edward Island (PEI, Canada). Enhanced information related to suspended sediments in watercourses can serve as an effective decision-making tool in agricultural land management. This study aims to compare flow, suspended sediment concentrations (SSC), and loads using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in two watersheds in Prince Edward Island (PEI). The final investigations will focus on the potential variations in hydrological and sedimentary values in the future using a relatively pessimistic climate change scenario. Finally, the projected sediment concentrations and loads will be analyzed, considering their potential impacts on ecosystems. Water level and turbidity were recorded using two water level loggers and two optical backscatter sensors (OBS) deployed in the Tuplin Creek and Spring Valley watersheds. These instruments continuously recorded suspended sediments and flow data from June 2021 to September 2022. The data were used to manually calibrate the hydrological and suspended sediment models. The understanding of sediment loads and the benefits of proposed changes to agricultural practices can be tested with the SWAT model, as it incorporates a land use index that varies spatially and temporally. Calibration and validation of both the hydrological and sediment models were satisfactory, with Kling-Gupta Efficiency coefficients varying between 0.51 and 0.73 and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients varying between 0.61 and 0.73 respectively, indicating successful simulation of both variables in an agricultural context in spite of relatively short calibration and validation periods. Under the selected climate change scenario (RCP 8.5), daily flows and suspended sediment concentrations were simulated until 2,100, showing a slight increase in the average suspended sediment concentration (CSS). For Tuplin Creek, extremely high sediment peaks (>1,500 mg/L) could become significantly more frequent, potentially causing more frequent and severe ecosystem disturbances according to the simulations.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"28 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140378426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-29DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1325967
S. Lubembe, J. Walumona, B. Hyangya, B. Kondowe, Jean-Diste M. Kulimushi, Giséle A. Shamamba, Alain M. Kulimushi, Belinda H. R. Hounsounou, M. Mbalassa, Frank O. Masese, Mulungula Masilya
In Africa, cage aquaculture has been growing due to its potential to address food insecurity concerns, provide livelihoods, and contribute to local economies. However, there is a need for continued research on the sustainability and potential ecological effects of cage aquaculture in African lakes and reservoirs. Even with an adequate amount of water, lakes and reservoirs cannot provide ecosystem services if their water quality is not properly managed. The current study on Lake Kivu, DRC focuses on understanding the effects of tilapia cage aquaculture on selected water quality physico-chemical parameters in the Bukavu sub-basin, DRC. The research was conducted in both caged and uncaged sampling stations, on the spatial and temporal scale from April to September 2023 at three bays serving as sampling stations: two caged (Ndendere, Honga) and one non-caged (Nyofu). Some physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ, whereas chlorophyll a and nutrients analysis were performed at the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique (I.S.P) laboratory in Bukavu. The parameters were used to calculate three indices water quality indices: the water quality index (WQI) to classify the water quality at the stations, the organic pollution index (OPI) to determine the level of organic pollution, the Carlson's Trophic Status Index (CTSI) to classify the trophic state of the stations. Chlorophyll a concentration was a measure of algal biomass. All physico-chemical parameters, apart from DO, ammonium and temperature showed no significant differences among stations and depths. Interaction between stations and between seasons was only observed on turbidity. The WQI for all the sampling stations ranged from medium to good quality (51–90). The OPI for all stations showed minimal level of pollution (4.6–5.0) hence lake's water still organically unpolluted. CTSI results indicated the sampling stations are in a eutrophic state (50 to 70). Fish cage aquaculture does not yet pose harm to the water quality of the two Lake Kivu stations under consideration, according to the study's findings. However with the anticipated growth of cage fish farming activities to meet the rising fish demand, continuous monitoring of water quality in the Lake should be done to inform management decisions and for sustainable aquaculture.
在非洲,网箱水产养殖一直在增长,因为它具有解决粮食不安全问题、提供生计和促进当地经济发展的潜力。然而,有必要继续研究非洲湖泊和水库中网箱养殖的可持续性和潜在生态影响。即使水量充足,如果湖泊和水库的水质管理不当,它们也无法提供生态系统服务。目前对刚果(金)基伍湖的研究侧重于了解罗非鱼网箱养殖对刚果(金)布卡武分流域选定水质物理化学参数的影响。这项研究于 2023 年 4 月至 9 月在三个海湾(两个网箱(Ndendere、Honga)和一个非网箱(Nyofu))作为取样站,同时在网箱和非网箱取样站进行时空尺度研究。一些物理化学参数在现场测量,而叶绿素 a 和营养物质分析则在布卡武的高等师范学院(I.S.P)实验室进行。这些参数用于计算三个水质指数:水质指数(WQI)用于对各站的水质进行分类;有机污染指数(OPI)用于确定有机污染的程度;卡尔森营养状态指数(CTSI)用于对各站的营养状态进行分类。叶绿素 a 浓度是衡量藻类生物量的指标。除溶解氧、氨氮和温度外,所有物理化学参数在不同站点和深度之间均无显著差异。只有在浑浊度方面观察到了不同站点和不同季节之间的相互影响。所有采样站的水质指数(WQI)从中等到良好(51-90)不等。所有站点的 OPI 均显示污染程度极低(4.6-5.0),因此湖水仍未受到有机污染。CTSI 结果表明,采样站处于富营养化状态(50 至 70)。研究结果表明,网箱养鱼尚未对基伍湖两个取样站的水质造成危害。然而,随着网箱养鱼活动的预期增长,为满足不断增长的鱼类需求,应对基伍湖的水质进行持续监测,以便为管理决策和可持续水产养殖提供信息。
{"title":"Environmental impacts of tilapia fish cage aquaculture on water physico-chemical parameters of Lake Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo","authors":"S. Lubembe, J. Walumona, B. Hyangya, B. Kondowe, Jean-Diste M. Kulimushi, Giséle A. Shamamba, Alain M. Kulimushi, Belinda H. R. Hounsounou, M. Mbalassa, Frank O. Masese, Mulungula Masilya","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1325967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1325967","url":null,"abstract":"In Africa, cage aquaculture has been growing due to its potential to address food insecurity concerns, provide livelihoods, and contribute to local economies. However, there is a need for continued research on the sustainability and potential ecological effects of cage aquaculture in African lakes and reservoirs. Even with an adequate amount of water, lakes and reservoirs cannot provide ecosystem services if their water quality is not properly managed. The current study on Lake Kivu, DRC focuses on understanding the effects of tilapia cage aquaculture on selected water quality physico-chemical parameters in the Bukavu sub-basin, DRC. The research was conducted in both caged and uncaged sampling stations, on the spatial and temporal scale from April to September 2023 at three bays serving as sampling stations: two caged (Ndendere, Honga) and one non-caged (Nyofu). Some physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ, whereas chlorophyll a and nutrients analysis were performed at the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique (I.S.P) laboratory in Bukavu. The parameters were used to calculate three indices water quality indices: the water quality index (WQI) to classify the water quality at the stations, the organic pollution index (OPI) to determine the level of organic pollution, the Carlson's Trophic Status Index (CTSI) to classify the trophic state of the stations. Chlorophyll a concentration was a measure of algal biomass. All physico-chemical parameters, apart from DO, ammonium and temperature showed no significant differences among stations and depths. Interaction between stations and between seasons was only observed on turbidity. The WQI for all the sampling stations ranged from medium to good quality (51–90). The OPI for all stations showed minimal level of pollution (4.6–5.0) hence lake's water still organically unpolluted. CTSI results indicated the sampling stations are in a eutrophic state (50 to 70). Fish cage aquaculture does not yet pose harm to the water quality of the two Lake Kivu stations under consideration, according to the study's findings. However with the anticipated growth of cage fish farming activities to meet the rising fish demand, continuous monitoring of water quality in the Lake should be done to inform management decisions and for sustainable aquaculture.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"2009 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140416273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-29DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1327651
J. Samuel, C. A. Rama Rao, Pushpanjali, C. N. Anshida Beevi, B. Raju, A. Amarender Reddy, R. Nagarjuna Kumar, A. G. K. Reddy, V. K. Singh, M. Prabhakar, G. S. Siva, Raju G. Teggelli
The variability in climate affects the agricultural production especially in drylands. It is necessary to understand and quantify the impacts of resilient technologies as well as effects of extreme events. Keeping these in view, the primary data on household characteristics and the farm income was collected from a sample of 60 farmers each from National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) program adopted village and a comparable control village in the district. The sample was also post classified into small, medium and large farmer to bring out the economic impact across land classes. The impact was estimated following the difference-in-differences (DiD) model as the data allows us to use effectively the data across time and regions. The results show us that the average income of a farm household in the NICRA village is more than 40 percent than non-adopted village and during a drought situation the farmers under NICRA intervention where better off by 19.5 percent. The income from crops and livestock production in adopted village was significantly higher than the control village. The DiD model output showed the farm income of adopted village was 40 percent higher showing that better climate smart interventions improved the farm incomes. The estimate showed that the treated farm household had higher income of Rs. 54,717 than the control during a drought year. Better knowledge and quantification of impact of technology adoption on farm income specially during drought will help to effectively design technological and policy interventions for better drought management in drylands.
{"title":"Enhancing farm income resilience through climate smart agriculture in drought-prone regions of India","authors":"J. Samuel, C. A. Rama Rao, Pushpanjali, C. N. Anshida Beevi, B. Raju, A. Amarender Reddy, R. Nagarjuna Kumar, A. G. K. Reddy, V. K. Singh, M. Prabhakar, G. S. Siva, Raju G. Teggelli","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1327651","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1327651","url":null,"abstract":"The variability in climate affects the agricultural production especially in drylands. It is necessary to understand and quantify the impacts of resilient technologies as well as effects of extreme events. Keeping these in view, the primary data on household characteristics and the farm income was collected from a sample of 60 farmers each from National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) program adopted village and a comparable control village in the district. The sample was also post classified into small, medium and large farmer to bring out the economic impact across land classes. The impact was estimated following the difference-in-differences (DiD) model as the data allows us to use effectively the data across time and regions. The results show us that the average income of a farm household in the NICRA village is more than 40 percent than non-adopted village and during a drought situation the farmers under NICRA intervention where better off by 19.5 percent. The income from crops and livestock production in adopted village was significantly higher than the control village. The DiD model output showed the farm income of adopted village was 40 percent higher showing that better climate smart interventions improved the farm incomes. The estimate showed that the treated farm household had higher income of Rs. 54,717 than the control during a drought year. Better knowledge and quantification of impact of technology adoption on farm income specially during drought will help to effectively design technological and policy interventions for better drought management in drylands.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"11 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140413711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-27DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1363039
Solange Uwamahoro, Tie Liu, V. Nzabarinda, Zheng yang Li, Adeline Umugwaneza, Albert Poponi Maniraho, P. M. Kayumba, A. Gulakhmadov, Anming Bao, Farkhod Abdullaev
Lake Issyk-Kul is an endorheic lake in arid Central Asia that is vital to the region's ecological sustainability and socio-economic development. Climate change and anthropogenic water consumption led to fluctuations in the lake's water level, which affected the water resource. The goal of this study was to examine the impacts of climate change and human activities on the Issyk-Kul water balance by combining the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) scenarios with hydrological modeling. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to incorporate signals of future precipitation and temperature changes. According to the scenarios, the total discharge of the three catchments showed an overall increasing trend with a maximum value of 28.02%. The snow and ice-melt water from March to August was revealed, and the increasing trends only occurred from March to May, with the snow and ice melting peak variations ranging from 0.5% to 2%. The high increase in change appeared in northern catchment of the lake. There was an exceptional upward precipitation trend over the northern catchment, with annual increases ranging from 0.7 to 14.5%, and an average annual temperature of 1.72°C. With slight similarities, the total runoff would increase for all catchments, with an average annual value of 10.6%. The northern catchment was significantly more sensitive to precipitation and warming than the southeastern catchments. Under land use land cover change, average annual discharge decreased with agricultural expansion, with discharge differences ranging from −0.005 to −1.06 m3/s. The findings are useful for decision-makers addressing the challenges of climate change mitigation and local water resource management.
{"title":"Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on the water balance of Issyk-Kul Lake through its main catchments","authors":"Solange Uwamahoro, Tie Liu, V. Nzabarinda, Zheng yang Li, Adeline Umugwaneza, Albert Poponi Maniraho, P. M. Kayumba, A. Gulakhmadov, Anming Bao, Farkhod Abdullaev","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1363039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1363039","url":null,"abstract":"Lake Issyk-Kul is an endorheic lake in arid Central Asia that is vital to the region's ecological sustainability and socio-economic development. Climate change and anthropogenic water consumption led to fluctuations in the lake's water level, which affected the water resource. The goal of this study was to examine the impacts of climate change and human activities on the Issyk-Kul water balance by combining the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) scenarios with hydrological modeling. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to incorporate signals of future precipitation and temperature changes. According to the scenarios, the total discharge of the three catchments showed an overall increasing trend with a maximum value of 28.02%. The snow and ice-melt water from March to August was revealed, and the increasing trends only occurred from March to May, with the snow and ice melting peak variations ranging from 0.5% to 2%. The high increase in change appeared in northern catchment of the lake. There was an exceptional upward precipitation trend over the northern catchment, with annual increases ranging from 0.7 to 14.5%, and an average annual temperature of 1.72°C. With slight similarities, the total runoff would increase for all catchments, with an average annual value of 10.6%. The northern catchment was significantly more sensitive to precipitation and warming than the southeastern catchments. Under land use land cover change, average annual discharge decreased with agricultural expansion, with discharge differences ranging from −0.005 to −1.06 m3/s. The findings are useful for decision-makers addressing the challenges of climate change mitigation and local water resource management.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"10 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140424731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-27DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1253921
K. D. Musetsho, Emmanuel Mwendera, T. Madzivhandila, R. Makungo, T. Volenzo, N. S. Mamphweli, K. A. Nephawe
Water, energy, and food and their interactions (commonly referred to as the WEF nexus) are critical pillars to resolving the intractable global challenges such as poverty, hunger, malnutrition, poor sanitation, climate, and health crises. The nexus approach, practices, and innovations at the household level are critical determinants of whether resource use efficiency, co-benefits, basic rights to water and food, and sustainability governance are attained. In particular, smart WEF innovations can contribute to the current generations' economic, social, and environmental needs without compromising the needs of the future generation. The study aimed to identify smart innovations, practices, and factors influencing their adoption to inform policy and decision-making processes. The study intends to support scaling up the adoption of innovations and practices that enhance sustainability and resource security in support of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews (KII) supplemented with observational checklists were used to identify the WEF nexus smart technologies, innovations, and practices in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data were collected from a sample size of 128 households in the study area. Our findings revealed synergistic smart innovation practices across WEF resource use and management practices. Though indigenous knowledge (IK) practices were widely evident in the study area, non-existent WEF smart knowledge support systems existed in the study area. Indigenous knowledge practices were the most elicited innovation by 99.2% of households, suggesting it is critical to advancing WEF smart innovations and practices and needs to be integrated into any policy and governance interventions. A proportion of households recycle water (27%), whilst 53% use untreated water. Furthermore, the knowledge systems on smart WEF innovations were fragmented despite their potential to synergize sustainability objectives. Exploring innovation platforms (IPs) as vehicles for dissemination, innovation, and extension and advisory service delivery, as well as validation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), has the potential to contribute to the diffusion, uptake, and scaling of existing innovation and practices with significant spill-over effects on WEF resource security and sustainability outcomes both at local and extra local scales.
{"title":"Assessing and mapping water-energy-food nexus smart innovations and practices in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa","authors":"K. D. Musetsho, Emmanuel Mwendera, T. Madzivhandila, R. Makungo, T. Volenzo, N. S. Mamphweli, K. A. Nephawe","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1253921","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1253921","url":null,"abstract":"Water, energy, and food and their interactions (commonly referred to as the WEF nexus) are critical pillars to resolving the intractable global challenges such as poverty, hunger, malnutrition, poor sanitation, climate, and health crises. The nexus approach, practices, and innovations at the household level are critical determinants of whether resource use efficiency, co-benefits, basic rights to water and food, and sustainability governance are attained. In particular, smart WEF innovations can contribute to the current generations' economic, social, and environmental needs without compromising the needs of the future generation. The study aimed to identify smart innovations, practices, and factors influencing their adoption to inform policy and decision-making processes. The study intends to support scaling up the adoption of innovations and practices that enhance sustainability and resource security in support of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews (KII) supplemented with observational checklists were used to identify the WEF nexus smart technologies, innovations, and practices in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data were collected from a sample size of 128 households in the study area. Our findings revealed synergistic smart innovation practices across WEF resource use and management practices. Though indigenous knowledge (IK) practices were widely evident in the study area, non-existent WEF smart knowledge support systems existed in the study area. Indigenous knowledge practices were the most elicited innovation by 99.2% of households, suggesting it is critical to advancing WEF smart innovations and practices and needs to be integrated into any policy and governance interventions. A proportion of households recycle water (27%), whilst 53% use untreated water. Furthermore, the knowledge systems on smart WEF innovations were fragmented despite their potential to synergize sustainability objectives. Exploring innovation platforms (IPs) as vehicles for dissemination, innovation, and extension and advisory service delivery, as well as validation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), has the potential to contribute to the diffusion, uptake, and scaling of existing innovation and practices with significant spill-over effects on WEF resource security and sustainability outcomes both at local and extra local scales.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"39 26","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140425578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-26DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1269717
María Esther Leyva Ollivier, Alice Newton, H. Kelsey
The concern with preserving natural resources for the future has been capturing global attention due to the state of decline of productive ecosystems. Chesapeake Bay, a large estuary located on the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States of America is such a productive ecosystem supporting thousands of animal and plants species, and the surrounding human population. Despite the concept of sustainable development, there has been continued pressure on the natural resources and the ecosystem services of the Bay. Institutional restoration and management efforts have been extensive, generating organizations, agreements, regulations and projects, among others. This research assesses Chesapeake Bay’s sustainability in four domains: environment, social, economy, and governance, using the Circles of Coastal Sustainability methodology. Each of the four domains has five categories, and each category is evaluated by the authors’ expert judgment using indicators related to the socio-ecological system and the definition of sustainable development. The article proposes a global sustainability score developed by a literature review of sustainability evaluated through the expert judgment of the authors. The results from the framework gave a “Satisfactory” score to the overall system; the environment and economic domains obtained the “Satisfactory” score, whilst the government and social domains obtained “Good” and “Poor” scores, respectively. The categories ranged between “Excellent” and “Poor” scores. The “Excellent” score was obtained by organization. The “Poor” score was obtained by five categories across the domains including social benefits, demographic, identity, security, and economic wellbeing. The assessment showed that the system has degradation problems, but the results have provided a general foundation for management bridges and barriers for sustainable development, with the barriers used to discuss new bridges towards holistic management proposals. The framework is a tool in progress to communicate to various actors the current sustainability development with the available information, provide a holistic system view, and find knowledge gaps in the research of a system. Similarly, the framework and assessment can be complemented, adapted, refined, and improved with each application as part of an adaptive management iterative cycle.
{"title":"Assessment of the Chesapeake Bay watershed socio-ecological system through the Circles of Coastal Sustainability framework","authors":"María Esther Leyva Ollivier, Alice Newton, H. Kelsey","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1269717","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1269717","url":null,"abstract":"The concern with preserving natural resources for the future has been capturing global attention due to the state of decline of productive ecosystems. Chesapeake Bay, a large estuary located on the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States of America is such a productive ecosystem supporting thousands of animal and plants species, and the surrounding human population. Despite the concept of sustainable development, there has been continued pressure on the natural resources and the ecosystem services of the Bay. Institutional restoration and management efforts have been extensive, generating organizations, agreements, regulations and projects, among others. This research assesses Chesapeake Bay’s sustainability in four domains: environment, social, economy, and governance, using the Circles of Coastal Sustainability methodology. Each of the four domains has five categories, and each category is evaluated by the authors’ expert judgment using indicators related to the socio-ecological system and the definition of sustainable development. The article proposes a global sustainability score developed by a literature review of sustainability evaluated through the expert judgment of the authors. The results from the framework gave a “Satisfactory” score to the overall system; the environment and economic domains obtained the “Satisfactory” score, whilst the government and social domains obtained “Good” and “Poor” scores, respectively. The categories ranged between “Excellent” and “Poor” scores. The “Excellent” score was obtained by organization. The “Poor” score was obtained by five categories across the domains including social benefits, demographic, identity, security, and economic wellbeing. The assessment showed that the system has degradation problems, but the results have provided a general foundation for management bridges and barriers for sustainable development, with the barriers used to discuss new bridges towards holistic management proposals. The framework is a tool in progress to communicate to various actors the current sustainability development with the available information, provide a holistic system view, and find knowledge gaps in the research of a system. Similarly, the framework and assessment can be complemented, adapted, refined, and improved with each application as part of an adaptive management iterative cycle.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"86 5‐6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140429152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Water Flow Diagram (WFD) is a novel advocacy and communication tool that presents urban water supply and management in a simple visualization. Rapid urbanization, growing populations, and the climate crisis increase the pressure on water resources, particularly in urbanized areas. The WFD aims to foster a dialogue around conflict of interests and opportunities among different stakeholders, and trigger actions toward more sustainable urban water management (UWM), as well as a water secure future.The WFD is produced from data on water abstraction, water use of different sectors, water treatment, water recycling and contamination risks. The data were obtained from government services, wastewater and water utilities, large industries, universities and reports of intergovernmental organizations. If these sources did not have data, reports from NGOs or consultants, comparable contexts, default values or expert judgements were considered. The annual water flows are presented in a Sankey Diagram. An intuitive color code highlights the flows as “problematic” or “appropriate” and points to areas where UWM practices should be improved.The final diagrams are a concise instrument that identifies challenges of UWM in the four application cases presented in this article. Key challenges that became evident included: pollution from agricultural production, the lack of wastewater and sanitation infrastructure, high water losses in the distribution networks, water exports leading to a lack in local supply and sewer overflows during heavy rainfalls. Opportunities identified were the need to: invest in sanitation and wastewater to protect resources, create coordination bodies to align conflict of interests, and/or invest in blue-green infrastructure for rainwater retention. The WFD triggered local actions, such as in-depth discussions between relevant actors, the formation of integrated water use committees and the interest of the national ministry in Senegal to replicate the diagram for other locations. This article presents the methodology, discusses the four case studies and deliberates on the prospective use of the WFD.
{"title":"The water flow diagram","authors":"Lukas Bouman, Dorothee Spuhler, Marc-André Bünzli, Amancio Melad, Lamine Diop, Osmar Coelho, R. Meierhofer","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1360515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1360515","url":null,"abstract":"The Water Flow Diagram (WFD) is a novel advocacy and communication tool that presents urban water supply and management in a simple visualization. Rapid urbanization, growing populations, and the climate crisis increase the pressure on water resources, particularly in urbanized areas. The WFD aims to foster a dialogue around conflict of interests and opportunities among different stakeholders, and trigger actions toward more sustainable urban water management (UWM), as well as a water secure future.The WFD is produced from data on water abstraction, water use of different sectors, water treatment, water recycling and contamination risks. The data were obtained from government services, wastewater and water utilities, large industries, universities and reports of intergovernmental organizations. If these sources did not have data, reports from NGOs or consultants, comparable contexts, default values or expert judgements were considered. The annual water flows are presented in a Sankey Diagram. An intuitive color code highlights the flows as “problematic” or “appropriate” and points to areas where UWM practices should be improved.The final diagrams are a concise instrument that identifies challenges of UWM in the four application cases presented in this article. Key challenges that became evident included: pollution from agricultural production, the lack of wastewater and sanitation infrastructure, high water losses in the distribution networks, water exports leading to a lack in local supply and sewer overflows during heavy rainfalls. Opportunities identified were the need to: invest in sanitation and wastewater to protect resources, create coordination bodies to align conflict of interests, and/or invest in blue-green infrastructure for rainwater retention. The WFD triggered local actions, such as in-depth discussions between relevant actors, the formation of integrated water use committees and the interest of the national ministry in Senegal to replicate the diagram for other locations. This article presents the methodology, discusses the four case studies and deliberates on the prospective use of the WFD.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"45 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140431274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1353394
Mikhail Tsypin, M. Cacace, Björn Guse, A. Güntner, M. Scheck‐Wenderoth
This study investigates the decades-long evolution of groundwater dynamics and thermal field in the North German Basin beneath Brandenburg (NE Germany) by coupling a distributed hydrologic model with a 3D groundwater model. We found that hydraulic gradients, acting as the main driver of the groundwater flow in the studied basin, are not exclusively influenced by present-day topographic gradients. Instead, structural dip and stratification of rock units and the presence of permeability contrasts and anisotropy are important co-players affecting the flow in deep seated saline aquifers at depths >500 m. In contrast, recharge variability and anthropogenic activities contribute to groundwater dynamics in the shallow (<500 m) freshwater Quaternary aquifers. Recharge fluxes, as derived from the hydrologic model and assigned to the parametrized regional groundwater model, reproduce magnitudes of recorded seasonal groundwater level changes. Nonetheless, observed instances of inter-annual fluctuations and a gradual decline of groundwater levels highlight the need to consider damping of the recharge signal and additional sinks, like pumping, in the model, in order to reconcile long-term groundwater level trends. Seasonal changes in near-surface groundwater temperature and the continuous warming due to conductive heat exchange with the atmosphere are locally enhanced by forced advection, especially in areas of high hydraulic gradients. The main factors controlling the depth of temperature disturbance include the magnitude of surface temperature variations, the subsurface permeability field, and the rate of recharge. Our results demonstrate the maximum depth extent and the response times of the groundwater system subjected to non-linear interactions between local geological variability and climate conditions.
{"title":"Modeling the influence of climate on groundwater flow and heat regime in Brandenburg (Germany)","authors":"Mikhail Tsypin, M. Cacace, Björn Guse, A. Güntner, M. Scheck‐Wenderoth","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1353394","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1353394","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the decades-long evolution of groundwater dynamics and thermal field in the North German Basin beneath Brandenburg (NE Germany) by coupling a distributed hydrologic model with a 3D groundwater model. We found that hydraulic gradients, acting as the main driver of the groundwater flow in the studied basin, are not exclusively influenced by present-day topographic gradients. Instead, structural dip and stratification of rock units and the presence of permeability contrasts and anisotropy are important co-players affecting the flow in deep seated saline aquifers at depths >500 m. In contrast, recharge variability and anthropogenic activities contribute to groundwater dynamics in the shallow (<500 m) freshwater Quaternary aquifers. Recharge fluxes, as derived from the hydrologic model and assigned to the parametrized regional groundwater model, reproduce magnitudes of recorded seasonal groundwater level changes. Nonetheless, observed instances of inter-annual fluctuations and a gradual decline of groundwater levels highlight the need to consider damping of the recharge signal and additional sinks, like pumping, in the model, in order to reconcile long-term groundwater level trends. Seasonal changes in near-surface groundwater temperature and the continuous warming due to conductive heat exchange with the atmosphere are locally enhanced by forced advection, especially in areas of high hydraulic gradients. The main factors controlling the depth of temperature disturbance include the magnitude of surface temperature variations, the subsurface permeability field, and the rate of recharge. Our results demonstrate the maximum depth extent and the response times of the groundwater system subjected to non-linear interactions between local geological variability and climate conditions.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"28 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140443419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-21DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1354477
Zenande Mbana, N. I. Sinthumule
Aligned to Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which recognizes water to be a basic human right, the democratic government from 1994 adopted policies, legislation and programmes that encourage universal access to basic water services. Although some progress has been made in urban areas concerning access to potable water supply, South Africa still faces serious problems in providing basic water services in rural areas. This study aims to understand sources of drinking water, how water is accessed by local communities, and determine the barriers associated with access to potable water and management in the rural villages of Madiba and Enqabeni.To fulfil the aim of this study, semi-structured interviews, interviewer-administered questionnaires, and field observations were employed as data collection tools. Data obtained from interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis, while the questionnaires were assessed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.The study found that the majority of people still rely on untreated water from open water bodies. The study also identified corruption, and infrastructural and institutional problems as barriers affecting water service delivery to communities. These institutional problems mean that water resource management and access are unfair, inequitable and unjust, and constitute water injustice. The basic human right of access to water by communities is thereby violated and this has devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of community members. Despite democracy, the legacy of apartheid's unequal water policy is still influencing water services and South Africa remains far from achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6.
{"title":"What is there to drink? Water (in)justice in the democratic South Africa","authors":"Zenande Mbana, N. I. Sinthumule","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1354477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1354477","url":null,"abstract":"Aligned to Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which recognizes water to be a basic human right, the democratic government from 1994 adopted policies, legislation and programmes that encourage universal access to basic water services. Although some progress has been made in urban areas concerning access to potable water supply, South Africa still faces serious problems in providing basic water services in rural areas. This study aims to understand sources of drinking water, how water is accessed by local communities, and determine the barriers associated with access to potable water and management in the rural villages of Madiba and Enqabeni.To fulfil the aim of this study, semi-structured interviews, interviewer-administered questionnaires, and field observations were employed as data collection tools. Data obtained from interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis, while the questionnaires were assessed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.The study found that the majority of people still rely on untreated water from open water bodies. The study also identified corruption, and infrastructural and institutional problems as barriers affecting water service delivery to communities. These institutional problems mean that water resource management and access are unfair, inequitable and unjust, and constitute water injustice. The basic human right of access to water by communities is thereby violated and this has devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of community members. Despite democracy, the legacy of apartheid's unequal water policy is still influencing water services and South Africa remains far from achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"12 42","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140442665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-19DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1286968
Antonio Elves Barreto da Silva, H. M. Queiroz, Daniel Pontes de Oliveira, G. N. Nóbrega, Tamara Maciel Pereira, Paulo de Freitas Lima, Diego Barcellos, Carla Ferreira Rezende, Tiago Osório Ferreira
Several studies on intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) have focused on the ecology of populations and communities, and very few explored the biogeochemistry and bioavailability of key elements, such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). In this study, we aimed to explore the role of environmental seasonality on P bioavailability in an intermittent river in Northeastern Brazil and the implications for nutrient dynamics to downstream ecosystems, such as the estuaries. The study was performed at the Cruxati River, located in the Litoral Hydrographic Basin on the coast of Ceará State, Brazil. We sampled riverine sediments during three hydroperiods (i.e., dry, rewetting, and flow) according to the theoretical model for research in intermittent rivers. We performed a geochemical fractionation of different P forms and determined the physicochemical parameters, particle size distribution, mineralogy, and total organic carbon of the sediments. Mean values were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric statistical test (p-value < 0.05) and by discriminant function analysis. We observed that the predominant fractions of P were associated with Fe-oxides, silicates, and refractory organic matter, but there were no statistical differences among these fractions for all hydroperiods. The exchangeable-P form was higher in the dry and flow periods than in the rewetting period. On the opposite side, P associated with humic acids and carbonates was lower in the dry and flow periods but higher in the rewetting period. We concluded that seasonality influences the bioavailability of P in intermittent rivers, being strongly influenced by the organic fraction, including the humic acid fraction and the refractory organic matter, which are important sources of P in the aquatic system. Furthermore, the IRES may act as a source or a sink of nutrients throughout the cycles of wetting and drying, which may release P from the sediments to the aquatic environment. Hence, IRES plays an important role in transporting nutrients to estuaries and maintaining their ecosystem services.
关于间歇性河流和短时溪流(IRES)的一些研究主要集中在种群和群落生态学方面,很少有研究探讨磷(P)和氮(N)等关键元素的生物地球化学和生物利用率。在这项研究中,我们旨在探索环境季节性对巴西东北部一条间歇性河流中磷的生物利用率的作用,以及对下游生态系统(如河口)营养动态的影响。这项研究在位于巴西塞阿拉州海岸 Litoral 水文流域的 Cruxati 河进行。根据间歇性河流研究的理论模型,我们在三个水文期(即干涸期、复湿期和流动期)对河流沉积物进行了取样。我们对不同形态的 P 进行了地球化学分馏,并测定了沉积物的物理化学参数、粒度分布、矿物学和总有机碳。使用 Kruskal-Wallis 非参数统计检验(p 值小于 0.05)和判别函数分析比较了平均值。我们观察到,主要的磷组分与铁氧化物、硅酸盐和难溶性有机物有关,但在所有水文周期中,这些组分之间没有统计学差异。在干旱期和流动期,可交换态磷的含量高于复湿期。相反,与腐殖酸和碳酸盐相关的磷在干旱期和水流期较低,但在复湿期较高。我们得出的结论是,季节性会影响间歇性河流中磷的生物利用率,并受到有机组分的强烈影响,包括腐殖酸组分和难溶性有机物,它们是水生系统中磷的重要来源。此外,在湿润和干燥的整个周期中,IRES 可充当营养源或营养汇,从而将 P 从沉积物中释放到水生环境中。因此,IRES 在向河口输送营养物质和维持河口生态系统服务方面发挥着重要作用。
{"title":"Effects of hydrological dynamics in controlling phosphorus bioavailability in intermittent rivers and implications for estuaries","authors":"Antonio Elves Barreto da Silva, H. M. Queiroz, Daniel Pontes de Oliveira, G. N. Nóbrega, Tamara Maciel Pereira, Paulo de Freitas Lima, Diego Barcellos, Carla Ferreira Rezende, Tiago Osório Ferreira","doi":"10.3389/frwa.2024.1286968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1286968","url":null,"abstract":"Several studies on intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) have focused on the ecology of populations and communities, and very few explored the biogeochemistry and bioavailability of key elements, such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). In this study, we aimed to explore the role of environmental seasonality on P bioavailability in an intermittent river in Northeastern Brazil and the implications for nutrient dynamics to downstream ecosystems, such as the estuaries. The study was performed at the Cruxati River, located in the Litoral Hydrographic Basin on the coast of Ceará State, Brazil. We sampled riverine sediments during three hydroperiods (i.e., dry, rewetting, and flow) according to the theoretical model for research in intermittent rivers. We performed a geochemical fractionation of different P forms and determined the physicochemical parameters, particle size distribution, mineralogy, and total organic carbon of the sediments. Mean values were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric statistical test (p-value < 0.05) and by discriminant function analysis. We observed that the predominant fractions of P were associated with Fe-oxides, silicates, and refractory organic matter, but there were no statistical differences among these fractions for all hydroperiods. The exchangeable-P form was higher in the dry and flow periods than in the rewetting period. On the opposite side, P associated with humic acids and carbonates was lower in the dry and flow periods but higher in the rewetting period. We concluded that seasonality influences the bioavailability of P in intermittent rivers, being strongly influenced by the organic fraction, including the humic acid fraction and the refractory organic matter, which are important sources of P in the aquatic system. Furthermore, the IRES may act as a source or a sink of nutrients throughout the cycles of wetting and drying, which may release P from the sediments to the aquatic environment. Hence, IRES plays an important role in transporting nutrients to estuaries and maintaining their ecosystem services.","PeriodicalId":504613,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Water","volume":"11 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140450525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}