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The role of ecosystem ecology in estuarine ecosystem managment. Mike Piehler UNC-CH Institute of Marine SciencesUNC Coastal Studies Institute. “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein. Watershed Approach. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The role of ecosystem ecology in estuarine ecosystem managment
Mike Piehler
UNC-CH Institute of Marine Sciences UNC Coastal Studies Institute
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein
A.Partnerships -- Those people most affected by management decisions are involved throughout and shape key decisions.
B.Geographic Focus -- Activities are directed within specific geographic areas, typically the areas that drain to surface water bodies or that recharge or overlay ground waters or a combination of both.
C.Sound Management Techniques based on Strong Science and Data
i.assessment and characterization of the natural resources and the communities that depend upon them; ii.goal setting and identification of environmental objectives based on the condition or vulnerability of resources and the needs of the aquatic ecosystem and the people within the community; iii.identification of priority problems; iv.development of specific management options and action plans; v.implementation; and vi.evaluation of effectiveness and revision of plans, as needed.
Watershed Approach
Watershed conservation, restoration and rehabilitation
•Terrestrial•Land-water margin•Aquatic•Atmospheric
Sources
Transport
Transformation
Water management
• Minimize consumptive uses
• Remove obstructions• Maintain natural
connectivity between aquatic and terrestrial systems
• Consider flow management where tenable
Nutrient management
• Identify limiting nutrients• Identify sources of the
limiting nutrients in the watershed
• Identify a tenable and effective reduction target
• Manage point sources where possible
• Manage non-point sources as appropriate
Application of ecosystem ecology
• Are BMPs really the best?
• Can estuarine nutrient management exacerbate eutrophication?
• Is the application of ecological threshold theory of value to estuarine nutrient management?
A cap on nitrogen load and a 30% loading reduction have been mandated for the Neuse River Estuary (NRE) watershed
NeuseRiverEstuary
• Includes rules for wastewater, urban stormwater, agriculture and general nutrient management
• Utilization of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) is among the alternatives for agricultural operations in the NRE to become compliant under the Neuse Rules
• Understanding the effectiveness of BMPs such as constructed wetlands is critical to guiding the process and eventually assessing the success of the nutrient reduction efforts
“The Neuse Rules”
Open Grounds Farm
• ~45,000 acre row crop farm• Crops include corn, soybeans,
wheat and cotton• Constructed wetland built in
1999 on 20 acre site• Significant proportions of the
runoff from OGF enters the South River and then the NRE
Monitoring and Analyses
NH4 NO3 PO4 DON0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000Load inLoad out
mo
les
32%
46%
34%
The bottom line…
Open Grounds Farm – 2001
•Dry much of the year
•Watershed of the wetland was planted in corn
•Fertilizer spill 4-4-01
~200-300 gallons
50% UAN
50% 11-37-0 (N-P-K)
J F M A M J J A S O N D-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
NH4 load inNH4 load out
J F M A M J J A S O N D-200
0200400600800
10001200140016001800
NO3 load inNO3 load out
J F M A M J J A S O N D-20
020406080
100120140
PO4 load inPO4 load out
kilo
gra
ms
Wetland Nutrient Loading
Jan
uar
y
Feb
ruar
y
Mar
ch
Ap
ril
May
Jun
e
July
Au
gu
st
Sep
tem
ber
Oct
ob
er
No
vem
ber
Dec
emb
er
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Nitrate removedDenitrification
kg N
- N
O3
Nitrate removal and Denitrification - 2001
Jan
Feb
Mar
Ap
r
May
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep Oct
No
v
Dec
Jan
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
44.5
5
Nitrate
Jan
Feb
Mar
Ap
r
May
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep Oct
No
v
Dec
Jan
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Ammonium
Jan
Feb
Mar
Ap
r
May
Jun
Jul
Au
g
Sep Oct
No
v
Dec
Jan
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Phosphate
Bridge
mg
/l
Jan-01Feb-01
Mar-01Apr-01
May-01Jun-01
Jul-01Aug-01
Sep-01Oct-01
Nov-01Dec-01
0
50
100
150
200
250
160165180
Jan-01Feb-01
Mar-01Apr-01
May-01Jun-01
Jul-01Aug-01
Sep-01Oct-01
Nov-01Dec-01
050
100150200250300350400450500
Legend160165180
Jan-01Feb-01
Mar-01Apr-01
May-01Jun-01
Jul-01Aug-01
Sep-01Oct-01
Nov-01Dec-01
0102030405060708090
160165180
ug
l-1
nitrate
ammonium
phosphate
Neuse River Estuary
Jan-01
Feb-01Mar-01
Apr-01May-01
Jun-01Jul-01
Aug-01Sep-01
Oct-01Nov-01
Dec-01Jan-02
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
160165180
Bottom DO
mg
l-1
Jan-01Feb-01
Mar-01Apr-01
May-01Jun-01
Jul-01Aug-01
Sep-01Oct-01
Nov-01Dec-01
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Legend160165180
Chlorophyll a
ug
l-1
Neuse River Estuary
Why worry about stimulating estuarinemicrobial N2 fixation?
•Many N2 fixing species are nuisance organisms, and their proliferation may decrease water quality
•Biological fixation of N2 may circumvent engineered N loading reductions
•Selection for N2 fixing organisms may cause trophic disruption by increasing abundances of less palatable or less nutritious phytoplankton
10 m
a.
f.d.c.
b.
e.
Anabaena aphanizomenoides (a)
Anabaenopsis sp. (b)
Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (c,
d) Anabaena compacta (e, f)
Dilution Bioassay Setup
Control30%
Dilution
10L Neuse River
7L Neuse River Water 3L Major Ion Solution
30%Dilution
water
+P
Marker 15 N & Preduced
Nreduced
N:Preduced
July 1997
control 30% dilution 30%+P0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
Anabaena aphanizomenoides
salinity NOx NH4 PO4 DIN:DIP
(ppt) (uM) (uM) (uM)
0.3 0.4 0.9 1.7 0.7
Control 30% Dilution 30% Dilution + P0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Ace
tyle
ne
Red
uct
ion
/ ch
loro
ph
yll a
(nm
ol C
2H
4 l-1
g
Ch
l a-1 h
-1)
Assim
ilation
Nu
mb
er(m
g C
mg
Ch
l a-1 h
-1)
Assimilation NumberAcetylene Reduction
July 1998
control 20% 20%+P 30% 30%+P 40% 40%+P 50% 50%+P0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000Anabaena aphanizomenoidesAnabaenopsis sp.Anabaena compacta
salinity NOx NH4 PO4 DIN:DIP
(ppt) (uM) (uM) (uM)
2.2 0.0 0.5 2.3 0.2
0
5
10
15
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Ace
tyle
ne
Red
uct
ion
/ ch
loro
ph
yll a
(nm
ol C
2H
4 l-1
g
Ch
l a-1 h
-1)
Assim
ilation
Nu
mb
er(m
g C
mg
Ch
l a-1 h
-1)
Assimilation NumberAcetylene Reduction
August 1998
control 30% dilution 30%+P0
200
400
600
800
1000 Anabaena aphanizomenoides
salinity NOx NH4 PO4 DIN:DIP
(ppt) (uM) (uM) (uM)
4.4 0.1 0.8 2.7 0.3
Control 30% Dilution 30% Dilution + P0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Ace
tyle
ne
Red
uct
ion
/ ch
loro
ph
yll a
(nm
ol C
2H
4 l-1
g
Ch
l a-1 h
-1)
Assim
ilation
Nu
mb
er(m
g C
mg
Ch
l a-1 h
-1)
Assimilation NumberAcetylene Reduction
02468
1012141618
0100200300400500600700800
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
7-Ja
n-97
15-A
pr-9
7
22-J
ul-9
720
-Aug
-97
14-O
ct-9
7
22-D
ec-9
721
-Jan
-98
16-M
ar-9
8
20-M
ay-9
815
-Jun
-98
17-A
ug-9
8
2-N
ov-9
81-
Dec
-98
3-Fe
b-99
29-M
ar-9
926
-Apr
-99
1-Ju
l-99
24-A
ug-9
920
-Sep
-99
4-N
ov-9
9
7-Ja
n-97
21-J
an-9
8
1-D
ec-9
8
20-S
ep-9
9
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Sal
inity
(ppt
)N
O3
- (u
g/l)
NH
4+
(ug/
l)P
O4
+ (u
g/l)
What is the potential importance of N2 fixation to the NRE N budget?
7x107 m2
1.25 x 10-5 mol N m-3 y-1120 d y-112 h d-12 m deep3.5X104 kg Nas much as 3% of riverine DINload to NRE
Evolving scientific basis for management
Ecological thresholds
•Ecosystem responses to forcing are often discontinuous and non-linear
•Threshold - A critical value of a pressure beyond which a state indicator shifts to a different regime
UltimateDriver
ProximalDriver
StatusIndicator
= f
Ecologicalgoods and services
e.g. nutrient concentrations and/or
flow regime
e.g. landuse
350N 350N
770W
770W
UpperNRE
Middle NRE
Lower NRE
SW PSSE PS
Neuse RiverEstuary
PamlicoSound
AtlanticOcean
NorthCarolina
350N 350N
770W
770W
UpperNRE
Middle NRE
Lower NRE
SW PSSE PS
Neuse RiverEstuary
PamlicoSound
AtlanticOcean
NorthCarolina
TP
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
Year
TP
(µ
M)
TP
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
Year
Chl
orop
hyll a
(µ
g L-1
)
Chl a350N 350N
770W
770W
UpperNRE
Middle NRE
Lower NRE
SW PSSE PS
Neuse RiverEstuary
PamlicoSound
AtlanticOcean
NorthCarolina
350N 350N
770W
770W
UpperNRE
Middle NRE
Lower NRE
SW PSSE PS
Neuse RiverEstuary
PamlicoSound
AtlanticOcean
NorthCarolina
nitrogen load
phytoplankton
estuarine ecosystem services
TMDL for nitrogen in the Neuse River Estuary
0123456789
101
97
81
97
91
98
01
98
1
19
82
19
83
19
84
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
Year
DIN
Lo
ad
(to
ns
N d
-1)
05
1015202530354045
19
78
19
79
19
80
19
81
19
82
19
83
19
84
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
Year
Ch
loro
ph
yll
a (
ug
l-1)
350N 350N
770W
770W
UpperNRE
Middle NRE
Lower NRE
SW PSSE PS
Neuse RiverEstuary
PamlicoSound
AtlanticOcean
NorthCarolina
350N 350N
770W
770W
UpperNRE
Middle NRE
Lower NRE
SW PSSE PS
Neuse RiverEstuary
PamlicoSound
AtlanticOcean
NorthCarolina
Riverine DIN and mid-estuary chlorophyll a