The Delaware River Basin
Collaborative Environmental Monitoring and
Research Initiative (CEMRI)
USDA Forest Service
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Richard Birdsey
John Hom
Yude Pan
Rachel Riemann
Michael Hoppus
Kevin McCullough
Ken Stolte
Dave Williams
Mike Montgomery
Rakesh Minocha
Walter Shortle
USDI Geological Survey
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Peter Murdoch
Mike McHale
Jeff Fischer
Dalia Varanka
Zhi-Liang Zhu
Jeff Eidenshink
Greg Lawrence
Other Investigators
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Jennifer Jenkins (U. of Vermont)
Richard Evans (National Park
Service)
DRBC Monitoring Advisory Committee Meeting
Trenton, New Jersey: April 10, 2003
The Delaware River Basin
Collaborative
Environmental
Monitoring and Research
Initiative (CEMRI)
Monitoring at Multiple
Scales to Link Processes
and Observations
Intensive Monitoring Sites:
1.
Neversink River Basin
2.
Delaware Water Gap
3.
French Creek State Park
Outline of Presentation
• Overview
• Monitoring design
• Delaware River Basin resource issues:
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forest fragmentation
carbon sequestration
non-native invasive pests
calcium depletion and nitrogen deposition
Integrated effects on water quality
• Products
Overview of Delaware River Basin Pilot
Monitoring Program
• Multi-agency effort to develop an environmental
monitoring framework
– USGS, FS, NPS, NASA, State and local partners
• State-of-the-art application of monitoring technology
at multiple scales
• Issues:
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forest fragmentation
carbon sequestration
non-native invasive pests
calcium depletion and nitrogen deposition
Integrated effects on water quality
Sponsors, Partners, Stakeholders
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USDA Forest Service
US Geological Survey
NASA Earth Sciences
National Park Service
State Departments of Environmental Protection
Delaware River Basin Commission
Environmental education centers
NGOs (e.g. Stroud Center, The Nature Conservancy)
New York City DEP and State DEC
Frost Valley YMCA
Several academic institutions
Pennsylvania DCNR
Summary of Data Sources
• Remote sensing
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MODIS
Landsat TM
AVHRR
Low-altitude CIR aerial photography
• Field data
– Operational USFS forest inventory (FIA/FHM) with
enhancements for ecosystem carbon
– Operational USGS water quality surveys (NAWQA) with
enhancements for water transport of carbon
– National Atmospheric Deposition Network (NADP)
– Historical maps of land use
Summary of Models
• Biome-BGC
– (Steve Running - NPP from MODIS)
• FORCARB estimators
– (Forest Service - forest carbon budgets)
• PnET-CN
– (John Aber - ecosystem processes)
• SPARROW
– (USGS - water quality and carbon transport)
• Data processing and scaling
– Many different statistical estimators
Principal Applications
• Integrate operational land, water, air, and soil
inventories
• Enhance inventory content and accuracy by
using new remote sensing products
• Provide tools for state and local agencies
responsible for planning development
• Pilot study for new monitoring programs (e.g.
North American Carbon Program)
NASA Application Grant Objectives
• Integrate estimates of biomass and NPP from MODIS
and field monitoring
• Characterize patterns of forest fragmentation and land
use change, and associated C losses using Landsat
TM, CIR aerial photography, and field data
• Develop and apply consistent cover type
classifications for MODIS, Landsat TM, and field
samples
• Estimate a complete basin-wide C budget including C
loss by water transport
Multi-tier Monitoring Design
• Tier One – Remote Sensing and
Mapping
 Wall-to-wall coverage; stratification
• Tier Two – Extensive Inventories and
Surveys
Increasing
spatial
resolution
 Representative regional statistical sample
• Tier Three – Condition Sample (new)
 Representative of specified condition classes
• Tier Four –Intensive Areas
 Relatively small number of specific sites
Increasing
temporal
resolution
Illustration of Multi-tier Concept
Example
Variable
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Remote
Sensing
Extensive
Inventory
Condition
Sample
Intensive
Site
Land cover
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Leaf area
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Disturbance
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Litterfall
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Soil CO2 flux
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Methane flux
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DOC
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Live biomass
NEE
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* Designed experiments
MODIS Land Classification for
Delaware River Basin
Forest Type Classification for Delaware
River Basin
Land Cover Classification for Delaware
River Basin
Comparison of land
cover classification
from 3 sources:
• MODIS/AVHRR
• Forest type/AVHRR
• NLCD’92/TM
Tier 2 –
Hydrologic Survey
NAWQA indicator and
integrator sites located
mostly in southern half of
river basin.
NAWQA is designed to
determine the status and
trends in the Nation’s
groundwater and surfacewater quality, and to
determine the human
induced causes of waterquality degradation.
Tier 2 –
Forest Inventory
Plots measured with a 5year panel system to
characterize forests of
the Delaware River
Basin.
Linked with other
sample phases to provide
regional-scale
monitoring and
understanding of issues.
Forest Inventory Plots in the Delaware
Water Gap Watersheds (Tier 2)
Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area (outlined in red)
Tier 3 – Condition Sample: Design for Soil CO2 Flux
Delaware River Basin
Delaware Water Gap
Intensive Site
Select new
sample sites by
forest type and
moisture class
Establish 12
sample locations on
lines between subplots
FIA
plot
design
Tier 3 – Forest Health
Plots and USGS Gage
Distribution in the
Neversink River
Intensive Area
The two sets of sample
data are used to link
forest health indicators
with water quality
indicators.
Tier 4 –
Intensive Site in the
Delaware Water Gap
Index sites closely
monitor processes for
understanding issues.
Paired hemlock and
hardwood sample sites
with water and forest
intensive sampling
locations.
Issue: Forest
Fragmentation of the
Delaware River Basin
Land cover of
Dingman’s Falls
watershed derived
from various
remote sensors
Neversink
Delaware
Water Gap
Fragmentation Study
Watersheds in the
Delaware River Basin –
Base Map is NLCD’92
from TM Data
• Fragmentation
estimates from
low-altitude CIR aerial
photography
French
Creek
• Water quality data from USGS
NAWQA synoptic sample
• 32 watersheds comprise a
factorial experiment:
urbanization (5 levels) x EPT
richness (3 levels)
Issue: Carbon Sequestration
• Integrate estimates of biomass and productivity from
satellite data and field monitoring
• Characterize patterns of forest fragmentation and land
use change, and associated C losses
• Estimate carbon budgets for representative small
watersheds:
– Neversink
– Delaware Water Gap (3 watersheds)
– French Creek
• Estimate a complete basin-wide C budget including C
loss by water transport
Variables for Estimating Productivity and
Carbon Stocks
Tier 1 Variable
• Area by cover class
Tier 2 Variables
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Tree species
Tree diameter
Tree height
Growth
Removals
Mortality
Tier 3 Variables
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All tier 2 variables
Litterfall
Coarse woody debris
Root production
Biomass (local)
Soil C flux
Dissolved organic C
Sample Intensification
(Tier 3) at 3 Watersheds
in the Delaware River
Basin
French Creek
Intensive Plots
Regional Validation
Plots
Will be used as independent
validation of estimates to
test scaling methods.
The “Three Watershed Study” in the Delaware Water Gap
Some of the Intensive Carbon Cycle Measurements Added to
Forest Inventory Plots
Litterfall collector
Foliar sampling
Soil temperature logger
Dendrometer band
Mapping Net Primary Productivity at Two
Scales of Resolution
Low-resolution mapping
from FIA: 1x1 deg. grid
cells
High-resolution
mapping from FIA
plus remote sensing
Issue: Non-native Invasive Pests of the
Delaware River Basin
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Gypsy Moth
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
Asian Longhorn Beetle (threatening)
Plants – various species of:
– Trees
– Vines
– Shrubs
– Flowers and grasses
Gypsy Moth Defoliation and Susceptible
Forests
History of Hemlock
Wooly Adelgid
Invasion of the
Delaware River Basin
A & B: Hemlock Stands in Two of
the Intensive Study Areas
Hemlock Condition Displayed on a Landsat
Image, Part of Delaware Water Gap, 2001
From Denise Royale
Potential Host Forests
of Asian Longhorn
Beetle
Invasive Plant Tally
All of the various field
crews in the Delaware
Water Gap carry a list of
invasive plants developed
by The Nature
Conservancy and the
Morris Arboretum
(DRIPP).
There is also a special
study to census invasive
plants including rare
plants in the Delaware
Water Gap (orange
triangles).
Issue: Calcium Depletion and Nitrogen
Deposition
 What is the threshold of calcium availability below
which trees show stress characteristics?
 Is there a spatial or elevational gradient of calcium
depletion?
 How does Ca depletion affect tree growth and
adjacent aquatic ecosystems?
 What combination of soil characteristics, deposition
rates, and forest conditions result in nitrate leaching
from forest soils?
 How much nitrate is exported from forests of the
Delaware River Basin?
The Calcium Cycle in a Forest Ecosystem
NYC
water
supply
Nitrogen Deposition to
the Delaware River
Basin
Used to estimate inputs of
N compounds from
regional air pollution
Can be overlaid with
vegetation cover to
estimate quantity of N
released to streams
Carbon/Nitrogen ratios
determined from soil
samples collected at FIA
plots.
Contours depict areas
sensitive to N loss to aquatic
systems (red = sensitive).
This information helps land
use planners understand
impacts of disturbance on
water quality.
Issue: Integrated Effects of Disturbance on
Water Quality and Carbon Sequestration
• SPARROW model
– Integrate data at different scales
– Assess the influence of landscape condition (fragmentation,
infestation by pests, reduced forest health, acid deposition)
on downstream water quality and water yield
– Estimate erosion and sedimentation transport of carbon
• PnET model
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Integrating data at different scales
Incorporate regional stresses such as Ca Depletion
Estimate nitrate export from forests
Provide regional (mapped) estimates of biomass,
productivity, and carbon
Net Primary Productivity from 5 PnET Model Scenarios
Forest Biomass from 5 PnET Model Scenarios
Nitrogen Leaching from 5 PnET Model Scenarios
Published Estimates of N Deposition, Retention, and Output from
DRB Watersheds
Atmospheric inputs and stream N losses
in or near the Delaware River Basin
Watershed
Mean
stream
output
N
N
Deposition Retentio
n
(kgN/ha-yr) (kgN/ ha-yr)
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Benner Run, PA
0.73
15.6
95
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Rober Run, PA
0.64
15.2
96
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Linn Run, PA
1.97
15.3
98
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Balswin Ck, PA
1.97
15.5
87
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Delaware Bay
1.83
12.65
86
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Delaware Bay
2.96
12.65
77
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Delaware Inland
0.16
11.56
98
Model Results
1.47- 2.93 8.85-11.08
1. Gardner et al., 1996
2. Alexander et al. 2000
3. Turner et al. 2000
71-86
Outcome: Improved Water Quality
• Identification of areas that are sensitive to
additional vegetation disturbance
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Deposition level
Soil characteristics
Vegetation health
Fragmentation
• Analysis tools for use by land use planners
Expected Results and Products
• Integrated data sets: vegetation/soils/air/water from ground
and space
• Analytical tools: models for scenario analysis
• “Carbonshed” budgets at several scales
• Improved operational inventories
• Environmental trend analysis related to identified issues
• Process models to link across scales
• Project evaluation – has collaborative monitoring delivered
better information?
• Conservation education
• Comparison of estimates from MODIS with ground data
• Science applications meeting with Delaware River Basin
Commission
Integrated Regional Assessment of Effects of Disturbance on
Vegetation, Soil, and Water in Forested Landscapes
Forest
Soil
FIA, FHM
Air
Climate and Human
Disturbances
Water
NAWQA, WRD
District QW Survey
FIA/FHMUSGS Soil
survey
Conclusions
• The Delaware River Basin collaborative
monitoring project is “State-of-the-art”
• Link with process research is a major advance and
may pave the way for future expansion
• Some regional monitoring needs are met
• Interagency collaboration facilitates an integrated
approach to ecosystem monitoring
• New techniques can be readily implemented by
ongoing programs (FIA & FHM; NAWQA; State
programs)