Despite significant investments in watershed‐scale restoration projects, evaluation of their impacts on salmonids is often limited by inadequate experimental design. This project aimed to strengthen study designs by identifying and quantifying sources of temporal and spatial uncertainty while assessing population‐level salmonid responses in Before‐After‐Control‐Impact (BACI) restoration experiments. To evaluate sources of temporal uncertainty, meta‐analysis of 32 annual BACI experiments from the Pacific Northwest, USA was conducted. Experimental error was determined to be a function of the total temporal variation of both restoration and control salmonid population metrics and the degree of covariation, or synchrony, between these metrics (
Air pollution has posed health and environmental threats since the Industrial Revolution. Technological solutions present major expenses for industry, yet nature's ecosystems also provide pollution uptake. In the pursuit of techno‐ecological sustainable design, this work presents a framework for spatially‐explicit industrial site design that determines where and when ecological restoration should be considered. The framework considers land use changes and identifies the cheapest balance between technological and ecological uptake for industrial landscapes, including the impacts of long term ecological growth dynamics. This work presents the framework's construction along with a case study conducted for a coal‐fired power station in Ohio. The results provide spatial maps of proposed restoration areas, projected savings values, and spatial‐temporal maps that consider annual budget constraints. The results demonstrate a significant sensitivity to land use restoration costs and highlights ecological advantages, like simultaneous uptake of different chemical species.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1804943
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10449191
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- AIChE Journal
- Volume:
- 67
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 0001-1541
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract r 2 = 1). However, synchrony was both weak ( = 0.18) and unrelated to experimental error (r = 0.01) while temporal variability was found to account for 91% of this error. Because synchrony did not reduce experimental error, we conclude that BACI designs will not normally exhibit greater power over uncontrolled Before‐After (BA) designs. To evaluate spatial uncertainty, hierarchical BACI designs were simulated. It was found that spatial variability of hypothetical steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss ) growth values within watersheds can cause mis‐estimation of the restoration effect and reduce power. While hierarchical BACI designs can examine both reach and watershed‐scale restoration effects simultaneously, due to probable mis‐estimation of the restoration effect size, these scales should be examined separately. Paired‐reach designs such as Extensive Post‐Treatment (EPT) provide powerful replicated local‐scale restoration experiments, which can build understanding of restoration‐ecological mechanisms. Knowledge gained from reach‐scale experiments should then be implemented on watershed‐scales and monitored within a non‐hierarchical framework. -
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