Vegetation for Restoring Ecosystems &
Treating Stormwater
Learning Center Website http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/StreamVeg.html
Eve Brantley, Ph.D. – Auburn
Kathy DeBusk - NCSU
Karen Hall, NCSU
Wendi Hartup - NCSU
Frank Henning, EPA-SRWP
Bill Hunt, Ph.D., PE, NCSU
Fouad Jaber, Ph.D. – TAMU
Greg Jennings, Ph.D., PE, NCSU
Amanda Abnee Gumbert - UK
Ashley Osborne – UK
Mark Risse, Ph.D.,PE - UGA
Calvin B. Sawyer, Ph.D – Clemson
Dotty Woodson, Ed.D - TAMU
Mitch Woodward - NCSU
Jason Wright, NCSU
Watersheds, Water Quality,
and Vegetation
(So many functions, so little time)
Eve Brantley, PhD
Department of Agronomy and Soils
Auburn University, AL
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Overview Watershed Vegetation and
Streamside Forests
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Introduction to Watersheds
Changing Hydrology
Vegetation and Ecosystem Services
Invaders
Know the rules
Meet Your Watershed
Watersheds are the platforms
A Watershed is an area of land
that drains to a single outlet.
Center for Watershed Protection
Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.
Infiltration and Runoff
Surface runoff occurs when rainfall intensity exceeds infiltration capacity.
Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices.
1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.
Stream Order
From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices
Stream Order
Stream Order
From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices
Stream Order
From Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices
Stream Orders
• 1st – 3rd Orders = Headwaters and smaller
streams
• 4th – 6th Orders = Mid-size rivers
• > 6th Order = Large rivers
Ecosystem Services
– Floodwater storage / retention
– Pollutant transformation
– Sediment storage
– Groundwater recharge
– Stream channel
stabilization
– Habitat
Point Source
• Single identifiable
source of pollution
– Wastewater treatment
plant
– Industry
• Usually permitted
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Polluted Runoff is the #1 Water Quality
Problem in the U.S.*
• Comes from many
different sources
– Not one person (or
animal) to blame
• Caused by rainfall or
snowmelt moving
over and through the
ground
* USEPA
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Land Use
• Existing, past, and future land use are key factors to
current and future water quality and quantity
• Different land uses have different impacts on water
quality
Land Use examples:
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Urban
Suburban
Transitional
Agriculture
Forest / Silviculture
Urban Land
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Heavy metals
Oil
Grease
Toxic chemicals
Suburban Land
• Fertilizers
• Herbicides
• Pet Waste
Washington Dept of Ecology, King County
Transitional Land
• Sediment
Agricultural / Rural Land
• Fertilizer
• Sediment
• Pathogens from
untreated animal waste
Forest / Silviculture
• Sediment
• Pathogens (wildlife)
Current and Past Legacies
Arthur Rothstein, WPA
Arthur Rothstein, WPA
Development Impacts on the
Water Cycle
10%
50%
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
55%
15%
Impervious Surfaces
Materials like cement, asphalt, roofing,
and compacted soil that prevent
percolation of runoff into the ground.
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Changing Hydrology
Changing Hydrology
• In Urban Areas
– Water arrives at streams faster
– Greater amounts of water
– Transporting lots of pollutants
More Runoff
Arriving Faster
Courtesy NEMO, Univ. of CT
Changing Hydrology
What are we losing?
• Ecosystem Services
• Shift in the hydrologic cycle – potential reduction in
infiltration, evapotranspiration, and storage
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Modification of streams
Decrease in groundwater recharge
Increased flooding
Decreased pollutant transformation
Increased erosion
Degradation of habitat
Picture Credit Dan Ballard
Impervious surfaces have been linked to degradation of
stream water quality and habitat quality
Stream Condition Related to Impervious Surface
Good
Protected
Fair
Impaired
Poor
From Schueler, 2002
Degraded
Urban
Drainage
Network
Which is healthier?
Which is healthier?
Which is healthier?
What were the unhealthy streams missing?
What were the unhealthy streams missing?
• TREES!
• Natural Habitats
• Good Water Quality
Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices, 10/98, by the
Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group (FISRWG)."
What Should We Do?
• Resource Based Planning for Growth
• Stormwater Management
• Urban Forest Enhancement
• Streamside Forest Protection and Restoration
How does watershed vegetation
influence ecosystem health?
Watershed Vegetation
• Shading
• Temperature
• Food sources for
aquatic animals
• Woody debris
• Bank stability
• Filtering nutrients
and sediments
• Wildlife Corridor
Shading-Temperature
Cool it.
• Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen
than cooler waters
Cool it.
• Warmer water increases metabolic rate of
aquatic animals
Cool it.
No shade means more stress.
Food sources for aquatic animals
• Aquatic macroinvertebrates
(aka critters)
• Feeding Groups
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Shredders
Filter Feeders
Grazers
Predators
Some Photos by M. Clapp www.bgsd.k12.wa.us
Food Source
Shredder
Filter Feeder
http://aslo.org/photopost/
Coarse particulate organic matter
Fine particulate organic matter
Large woody debris
Large woody debris
• aka logs
• Habitat diversity
(structure)
• Flow diversity
Filtering
nutrients and
sediments
Pollutant Processing
Leaves
Intercept rainfall
Stems
Slow overland flow
Roots and soil microbes
Transform pollutants
University of MN SULIS
Bank stability – Erosion Minimization
Bank stability
Erosion Minimization
STEMS!
ROOTS!
Stable banks and roots provide habitat
Undercut bank
Roots in water
Habitat and Wildlife Corridors
Streamside Vegetation
• Shading
• Temperature
• Food sources for
aquatic animals
• Woody debris
• Bank stability
• Filtering nutrients
and sediments
• Wildlife Corridor
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
• Kudzu
• Chinese privet
• Japanese Honeysuckle
• Japanese Climbing
Fern
• Stilt Grass
(Microstegium)
• Wisteria
• Cogon Grass
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with
native vegetation
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with
native vegetation
• Low habitat value
http://www.duke.edu/web/butterflies/df-habitats.htm
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with
native vegetation
• Low habitat value
• May not be providing
erosion control
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with
native vegetation
• Low habitat value
• May not be providing
erosion control
• May alter processes like
native plant regeneration,
decomposition, and nutrient
cycling
www.tytyga.com
Invasive,
Nonnative Plants
• Remove and replace with
native vegetation
• Low habitat value
• May not be providing
erosion control
• May alter processes like
native plant regeneration,
decomposition, and nutrient
cycling
• Streams act as watershed
conveyer belts
Invasive removal
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Physical removal
Foliar Application
Basal spray
Cut and paint
Invasive, Nonnative Resources
• Southeast Invasive Pest Plant Council
• http://www.se-eppc.org/index.cfm
• Let me help you get started:
– Privet Pull
– Mimosa Maim
– Kudzu Kill
– Honeysuckle Hound
Streamside Forest Width
• Depends on your goals
– Temperature Control
– Streambank Stability
– Minimize Human /
Livestock Impacts
– Pollutant Removal
– Wildlife Habitat
Streamside Forest Width
• Depends on regulations
– Buffer Ordinances
Rupprecht, et al. Riparian and Wetland Buffers for Water-Quality Protection, Stormwater, November-December 2009
Get to know your buffer rules
• Local or State
– What is minimum width?
– What are allowable disturbances?
Watershed Vegetation
• Shading
• Temperature
• Food sources for
aquatic animals
• Woody debris
• Bank stability
• Filtering nutrients
and sediments
• Wildlife Corridor
Please Complete the Program Evaluation!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PN7X9R9
Stream Vegetation Learning Center
www.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/StreamVeg.html