CAREER: Stream Restoration, Ecological Engineering, and Nutrient Retention of Streams in Urban and Agricultural Settings

职业：城市和农业环境中溪流的恢复、生态工程和养分保留

• 批准号: 0548258
• 负责人: Brian Bledsoe
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-02-01 至 2011-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0548258&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Stream; Restoration; Ecological; Engineering

CAREER: Stream restoration, ecological engineering, and nutrient retention of streams in urban and agricultural settings - Brian Bledsoe, Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State UniversityPROJECT SUMMARYHeadwater streams comprise the vast majority of stream reach length in most watersheds and could be important for regulating water quality in large basins. However, the relative influence of various physical, chemical, and biological stream attributes on solute retention remains ambiguous. This research focuses on the nexus of the current lack of a scientific basis for stream restoration, how geomorphic complexity is related to nutrient retention in impacted and restored headwater streams, and the need for an ecological underpinning for stream restoration techniques in water resources engineering curricula. The integrated research and education plan involves: (1) experimentally evaluating the nitrogen retention of impacted and restored streams in urban and agricultural settings as affected by different restoration interventions, (2) translating scientific understanding of linkages between geomorphic complexity, transient storage, and nutrient retention into process-based stream restoration strategies, and (3) establishing an Ecological Engineering concentration at Colorado State University (CSU) that builds on the foundations of the proposed research to provide experiential and collaborative learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.Specifically, we plan to couple intensive geomorphic characterization with field 15N-tracer experiments based on the Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment II (LINX II) protocols to determine the rates and factors controlling nitrate uptake and retention in streams of varying geomorphic complexity and context. These experiments and observations will allow us to test a variety of hypotheses dealing with the impacts of human disturbances and restoration activities on stream geomorphic complexity and nutrient retention to result in an extension of the LINX II database to include restored streams. We will perform experiments to trace the fate of nitrate in three streams spanning 8 geomorphic contexts near the CSU campus and in the Southern Rockies of Colorado: (1) urban channelized vs. urban natural recovery vs. urban restored (using an intensive structural approach), (2) grazed vs. natural recovery, and (3) grazed vs. restored (again using an intensive structural approach). This research should enhance our understanding of the ecological effectiveness of stream restoration and allow us to scale nutrient retention processes to river basins. The educational component will include: (1) creating undergraduate and graduate concentrations in Ecological Engineering emphasizing interdisciplinary, multi-scale, and process-based approaches to aquatic ecosystem restoration, and (2) collaborating with the Women and Minorities in Engineering Program, Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation, City of Fort Collins, and other stakeholders to create outdoor laboratories proximate to the CSU campus. The sites examined (including a new treatment wetland on the CSU campus) will serve as outdoor classroom models for research, environmental education methods development, and short courses. The Ecological Engineering curriculum initiative will enhance recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented groups.

职业：城市和农业环境中河流的河流恢复、生态工程和养分保留 - Brian Bledsoe 博士，科罗拉多州立大学土木工程系项目摘要源头河流构成了大多数流域的绝大多数河流河段长度，对于调节大型流域的水质可能很重要。 然而，各种物理、化学和生物流属性对溶质保留的相对影响仍然不明确。 这项研究的重点是目前缺乏河流恢复的科学依据，地貌复杂性如何与受影响和恢复的源头河流的养分保留相关，以及水资源工程课程中河流恢复技术的生态基础的必要性。 综合研究和教育计划包括：(1) 通过实验评估城市和农业环境中受不同恢复干预措施影响的受影响和恢复河流的氮保留情况，(2) 将对地貌复杂性、瞬时储存和养分保留之间联系的科学理解转化为基于过程的河流恢复策略，以及 (3) 在科罗拉多州立大学 (CSU) 建立生态工程专业 该研究建立在拟议研究的基础上，为本科生和研究生提供体验式和协作式学习机会。具体来说，我们计划将强化地貌表征与基于 Lotic 站间氮实验 II (LINX II) 协议的现场 15N 示踪剂实验相结合，以确定控制不同地貌复杂性和背景的溪流中硝酸盐吸收和保留的速率和因素。 这些实验和观察将使我们能够测试各种假设，这些假设涉及人类干扰和恢复活动对河流地貌复杂性和养分保留的影响，从而扩展 LINX II 数据库以包括恢复的河流。 我们将进行实验来追踪科罗拉多州立大学校园附近和科罗拉多州南落基山脉的三条河流中硝酸盐的命运，这些河流横跨科罗拉多州立大学校园附近的 8 个地貌环境：(1) 城市渠道化与城市自然恢复与城市恢复（使用强化结构方法），(2) 放牧与自然恢复，以及 (3) 放牧与恢复（再次使用强化结构方法）。 这项研究应该增强我们对河流恢复的生态有效性的理解，并使我们能够将养分保留过程扩展到河流流域。 教育部分将包括：(1) 创建生态工程本科生和研究生专业，强调跨学科、多尺度和基于过程的水生生态系统恢复方法，(2) 与工程项目中的女性和少数族裔、科罗拉多州少数族裔参与联盟、柯林斯堡市和其他利益相关者合作，在科罗拉多州立大学校园附近创建室外实验室。 所检查的地点（包括科罗拉多州立大学校园内的一个新的处理湿地）将作为研究、环境教育方法开发和短期课程的户外课堂模型。 生态工程课程计划将加强对代表性不足群体学生的招募和保留。