Effects of Mountain Resort Development on Water Quality: Importance of Spatial Location of Landuse / Land Cover Change

人类对地表土地利用/土地覆盖格局的改变是对自然生态系统功能影响最深远的因素之一。了解LULC变化的后果在多个尺度上都是一个关键问题。在流域尺度上，本研究将探讨人类发展的空间组织和地理位置对河流水质空间、季节和时间格局的影响。研究地点位于蒙大拿州西南部，是20世纪70年代美国国家科学基金会（NSF）研究的重点，该研究在广泛开发度假村之前对流域特征和条件进行了详细评估。开发前的NSF研究和正在进行的广泛的LULC变化为探索空间位置LULC对发展中的山区流域河流水质的重要性的新研究奠定了基础。本研究将采用高分辨率地形机载激光测绘（ALSM）数据来绘制流域特征和流动路径。ALSM可以在水平至几分米和垂直至几厘米的空间尺度上描绘地球表面的物理特征，从而开发出West Fork流域的高分辨率dem （2m）。准确的地形信息是刻画流域特征和流道的必要条件，因此对于阐明土地利用变化空间位置和格局对河流水质的影响至关重要。ALSM数据将与高分辨率卫星图像相结合，创建LULC地图，并允许探索这些高分辨率数据集创建的LULC地图的潜在准确性。研究区ALSM数据的获取将为PIS参与数据收集和处理提供教育机会，并为参与研究区的科研人员和土地管理者提供重要的数据集。

Human alteration of the patterns of land use/land cover (LULC) on the earths surface is one of the most profound impacts on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Understanding the consequences of LULC change is a critical issue at multiple scales. At the watershed scale, this research will examine the impact of the spatial organization and geographic location of human development on the spatial, seasonal and temporal patterns of streamwater quality. The study site located in Southwestern Montana was the focus of a 1970s National Science Foundation (NSF) study presenting a detailed assessment of watershed characteristics and condition prior to extensive resort development. The pre-development NSF study and proceeding widespread LULC change sets the stage for new research exploring the importance of spatial location LULC on streamwater quality in a developing mountain watershed. This study will employ high-resolution topographic Airborne LaSer Mapping (ALSM) data to map watershed characteristics and flowpaths. ALSM makes it possible to delineate the physical features of the earth's surface on spatial scales as fine as a few decimeters horizontally and a few centimeters vertically to develop a high-resolutionDEM (2m) of the West Fork watershed. Accurate topographic information is essential to delineating watershed characteristics and flowpaths and thus will be critical to elucidating the impact of spatial location and pattern of LULC on streamwater quality. The ALSM data will be combined with high-resolution satellite imagery to create LULC maps, and allow for exploration of the potential accuracy of these LULC maps created from high-resolution data sets. Acquisition of ALSM data of the study area will provide educational opportunities for the PIS to take part in data collection and processing and provide an important data set for scientific researchers and land managers involved in the study area.