Journal article
Qc threshold departs from theoretical Qc in urban watersheds: The role of streambed mobility data in managing the urban disturbance regime
RJ Hawley, KL Russell, LJ Olinde
Freshwater Science | UNIV CHICAGO PRESS | Published : 2022
DOI: 10.1086/720939
Abstract
The threshold discharge (Qc) for streambed mobilization is both biologically and geomorphically relevant to stream ecosystems. Excess streambed mobilization can disturb benthic organisms and initiate cycles of channel instability. The mechanistic relevance of Qc gives it great utility for aquatic ecosystem studies, stormwater man-agement, and stream restoration design. However, field and laboratory data document considerable variability in Qc across hydrogeomorphic settings, underscoring the importance of using field data to calibrate the Qc estimate for a given stream or region. This paper shows how both high-and low-tech monitoring protocols can be used to con-strain a Qc estimate, dependi..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank funding agencies and staff who helped to collect and analyze data and fabricate, install, and perfect the monitoring equipment, etc., including but not limited to: Nora Korth, Kurt Cooper, Shelby Acosta, Katie MacMannis, Liz Fet, Matt Wooten, Mark Jacobs, Peter Poelsma, Rob James, Tony Lovell, Genevieve Hehir, Ying Quek, Mike Sammonds, Chris Walsh, Ryan Burke, and Jeff Selucky, among others.Kentucky data was funded in part by Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky. Data collection in Victoria was funded by Melbourne Water under the Melbourne Waterway Research-Practice Partnership (https://mwrpp.org/), and flow monitoring of some sites was supported by Australian Research Council project LP130100295. Texas data was funded in part by the City of Austin Department of Watershed Protection.The authors also thank the organizers of the 5th Symposium on Urbanization and Stream Ecology (https://www.urbanstreamecology.org/), which brought this international collaboration together, along with the organizers, contributors, editors, and reviewers of this special issue. We also thank the Associate Editor and 2 anonymous reviewers for their highly constructive reviews that substantially improved the paper. Finally, we thank Brooke Cassell, Kate Eyster, and Charles Hawkins for their thoughtful edits that clarified and strengthened the paper.