PARENT SESSION
Symposium 7: When the Rivers Run Dry: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Societal Responses to Drought and Ecosystem Impacts
Organized by: A Covich and C Pringle
Tuesday, August 5. 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM, SITCC Oglethorpe Auditorium.
Thirsty landscapes: Drought and the vulnerability of aquatic resources in protected areas in southeastern USA.
Pringle, Catherine*,1, Blood, Elizabeth2, Johnson, Lucinda3, Berish, Cory4, Feldt, John5, DeVivo, Joe6, Farley, Jaqueline1, 1 Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA2 Joseph Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, GA, USA3 Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN, USA4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta, GA, USA5 Southeast River Forecast Center, Atlanta, GA, USA6 National Park Service, Atlanta, GA, USA
ABSTRACT- Human population growth combined with drought and regional climate change are threatening the biological integrity of many remaining natural areas in the world. It is imperative that efforts to protect these natural areas incorporate a regional hydrologic perspective. Protected areas (both public and private) are vulnerable to hydrologic alterations well outside of their boundaries. While this issue has received some attention in arid regions, it is now emerging as a major concern in wetter regions of the world. As an example, the southeastern U.S. (50 inches of annual rainfall) harbors globally-significant biodiversity but is experiencing some of the most rapid population growth in North America. Multi-year regional droughts occur approximately every 20-25 years and during these periods there is even greater human demand for surface and groundwater, which can affect protected areas in a variety of ways. Effects range from decreased base flows in rivers and increased incidence of fires resulting from groundwater withdrawals - to extirpation of aquatic biota and changes in biogeochemical cycling in rivers fragmented by new dams and reservoirs. Here we use the recently created Southeastern Ecological Framework (SEF) as a basis to examine the vulnerability of aquatic resources in both public and private protected areas in the southeastern U.S. The SEF Project is a GIS-based analysis that identifies ecologically significant areas and connectivity in eight southeastern states. We use the SEF as a tool to identify protected areas where freshwater resources are vulnerable to regional drought based on overall geography and location with respect to river drainages and underlying aquifers. Our analysis is designed to aid land managers, involved in the stewardship of protected areas in the southeastern U.S., in making science-based management decisions which require a regional hydrologic perspective.
Key words: hydrologic alterations, protected areas, landscape, drought