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

Jason H. Knouft, Alejandra Botero-Acosta, Chin-Lung Wu, Barbara Charry, Maria L. Chu, Anthony I. Dell, Damon M. Hall and Steven J. Herrington
Additional contact information
Jason H. Knouft: Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, 3507 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
Alejandra Botero-Acosta: Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, 3507 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
Chin-Lung Wu: Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, 3507 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
Barbara Charry: The Nature Conservancy Missouri Chapter, 3110 Crape Myrtle Drive, Columbia, MO 65203, USA
Maria L. Chu: Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1304 W Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Anthony I. Dell: National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, One Confluence Way, East Alton, IL 62024, USA
Damon M. Hall: School of Natural Resources, Biomedical, Biological, & Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Steven J. Herrington: The Nature Conservancy Missouri Chapter, 3110 Crape Myrtle Drive, Columbia, MO 65203, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-17

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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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