Next Article in Journal
A Path Model of the Intention to Adopt Variable Rate Irrigation in Northeast Italy
Next Article in Special Issue
Picking Up Where the TMDL Leaves Off: Using the Partnership Wild and Scenic River Framework for Collaborative River Restoration
Previous Article in Journal
Preventive Maintenance Model for National School Buildings in Indonesia Using a Constraint Programming Approach
Previous Article in Special Issue
How to Protect Free Flowing Rivers: The Bita River Ramsar Site as an Example of Science and Management Tools Working Together
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 13
Issue 4
10.3390/su13041877
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Forested Riparian Buffers as Climate Adaptation Tools for Management of Riverine Flow and Thermal Regimes: A Case Study in the Meramec River Basin

by
Jason H. Knouft
1,2,*,
Alejandra Botero-Acosta
1,
Chin-Lung Wu
1,
Barbara Charry
3,
Maria L. Chu
4,
Anthony I. Dell
2,
Damon M. Hall
5 and
Steven J. Herrington
3
1
Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, 3507 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
2
National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, One Confluence Way, East Alton, IL 62024, USA
3
The Nature Conservancy Missouri Chapter, 3110 Crape Myrtle Drive, Columbia, MO 65203, USA
4
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1304 W Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
5
School of Natural Resources, Biomedical, Biological, & Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1877; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041877
Submission received: 31 December 2020 / Revised: 28 January 2021 / Accepted: 3 February 2021 / Published: 9 February 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Durable Protections for Free-Flowing Rivers)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

Ongoing and projected changes in climate are expected to alter discharge and water temperature in riverine systems, thus resulting in degraded habitat. Climate adaptation management strategies are proposed to serve as buffers to changes in air temperature and precipitation, with these strategies potentially providing relatively stable protection for flow and thermal regimes. Using a hydrologic and water temperature modeling approach in the Meramec River basin in eastern Missouri, U.S.A., we examined the ability of forested riparian buffers to serve as a useful climate adaptation strategy against ongoing and projected changes in climate. We developed a multi-scale approach using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic and water temperature models as well as a Stream Network Temperature Model (SNTEMP) with different amounts of simulated riparian vegetation to estimate streamflow and water temperature variation within the Meramec River basin under both contemporary and projected future climate conditions. Our results suggest that riparian buffers offer benefits to mitigating increases in water temperature due to shading effects; however, patterns in discharge did not vary substantially based on simulations. From an ecological perspective, the addition of riparian buffers is also projected to reduce the impacts of climate change on Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) by decreasing the number of days water temperatures exceed the thermal tolerance of this species.
Keywords: climate change; hydrology; water temperature; Smallmouth Bass; hydrologic model; water temperature model; SWAT; SNTEMP climate change; hydrology; water temperature; Smallmouth Bass; hydrologic model; water temperature model; SWAT; SNTEMP

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Knouft, J.H.; Botero-Acosta, A.; Wu, C.-L.; Charry, B.; Chu, M.L.; Dell, A.I.; Hall, D.M.; Herrington, S.J. Forested Riparian Buffers as Climate Adaptation Tools for Management of Riverine Flow and Thermal Regimes: A Case Study in the Meramec River Basin. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1877. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041877

AMA Style

Knouft JH, Botero-Acosta A, Wu C-L, Charry B, Chu ML, Dell AI, Hall DM, Herrington SJ. Forested Riparian Buffers as Climate Adaptation Tools for Management of Riverine Flow and Thermal Regimes: A Case Study in the Meramec River Basin. Sustainability. 2021; 13(4):1877. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041877

Chicago/Turabian Style

Knouft, Jason H., Alejandra Botero-Acosta, Chin-Lung Wu, Barbara Charry, Maria L. Chu, Anthony I. Dell, Damon M. Hall, and Steven J. Herrington. 2021. "Forested Riparian Buffers as Climate Adaptation Tools for Management of Riverine Flow and Thermal Regimes: A Case Study in the Meramec River Basin" Sustainability 13, no. 4: 1877. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041877

APA Style

Knouft, J. H., Botero-Acosta, A., Wu, C.-L., Charry, B., Chu, M. L., Dell, A. I., Hall, D. M., & Herrington, S. J. (2021). Forested Riparian Buffers as Climate Adaptation Tools for Management of Riverine Flow and Thermal Regimes: A Case Study in the Meramec River Basin. Sustainability, 13(4), 1877. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041877

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop