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Papers by Linda Staponites

Ecological Indicators

As freshwater environments become increasingly threatened, the need for efficient and effective p... more As freshwater environments become increasingly threatened, the need for efficient and effective protection grows more urgent. Yet quantitative evidence of management effectiveness within freshwater protected areas is limited, inhibiting our ability to infer the practicality and efficacy of practices. Herein, we employ linear mixedeffects models and time series models to evaluate the connection between catchment-scale management actions and surface water quality within a freshwater protected area, over the past three decades. Within the study area, all croplands were restored to traditional grasslands resulting in a landscape dominated by meadows and forests. The extent of land use change and time frame needed for water quality improvements were investigated and management effectiveness appraised. Results indicate that the complete grassing of croplands was approximately three times more effective at reducing concentrations of nitrate than electrical conductivity and calcium. Significant improvements in water quality occurred within nine years of management implementation, with mean annual nitrate concentrations decreasing from 5.5 to 1.9 mg/L following the grassing of all croplands covering 3.1% of the study area, whereas gradual improvements continued over the next 20 years, ultimately resulting in nitrate concentrations below 1.0 mg/L. The results of this study provide valuable insights on how land use conversions in small headwater catchments can influence stream water quality and helps to establish expectations for outcomes when planning conservation strategies.

Scientific Reports

Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding... more Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding land use-water quality interactions is essential for the development and prioritization of management strategies and, thus, the improvement of water quality. Weighting schemes for land use have recently been employed as methods to advance the predictive power of empirical models, however, their performance has seldom been explored for various water quality parameters. In this work, multiple landscape composition metrics were applied within headwater catchments of Central Europe to investigate how weighting land use with certain combinations of spatial and topographic variables, while implementing alternate distance measures and functions, can influence predictions of water quality. The predictive ability of metrics was evaluated for eleven water quality parameters using linear regression. Results indicate that stream proximity, measured with Euclidean distance, in combination with slope...

Water

Determining an optimal calibration strategy for hydrological models is essential for a robust and... more Determining an optimal calibration strategy for hydrological models is essential for a robust and accurate water balance assessment, in particular, for catchments with limited observed data. In the present study, the hydrological model Bilan was used to simulate hydrological balance for 20 catchments throughout the Czech Republic during the period 1981–2016. Calibration strategies utilizing observed runoff and estimated soil moisture time series were compared with those using only long-term statistics (signatures) of runoff and soil moisture as well as a combination of signatures and time series. Calibration strategies were evaluated considering the goodness-of-fit, the bias in flow duration curve and runoff signatures and uncertainty of the Bilan model. Results indicate that the expert calibration and calibration with observed runoff time series are, in general, preferred. On the other hand, we show that, in many cases, the extension of the calibration criteria to also include runo...

Scientific Reports, 2019

Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding... more Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding land use-water quality interactions is essential for the development and prioritization of management strategies and, thus, the improvement of water quality. Weighting schemes for land use have recently been employed as methods to advance the predictive power of empirical models, however, their performance has seldom been explored for various water quality parameters. In this work, multiple landscape composition metrics were applied within headwater catchments of central europe to investigate how weighting land use with certain combinations of spatial and topographic variables, while implementing alternate distance measures and functions, can influence predictions of water quality. the predictive ability of metrics was evaluated for eleven water quality parameters using linear regression. Results indicate that stream proximity, measured with Euclidean distance, in combination with slope or log-transformed flow accumulation were dominant factors affecting the concentrations of pH, total phosphorus, nitrite and orthophosphate phosphorus, whereas the unweighted land use composition was the most effective predictor of calcium, electrical conductivity, nitrates and total suspended solids. Therefore, both metrics are recommended when examining land use-water quality relationships in small, submontane catchments and should be applied according to individual water quality parameter. It has been widely acknowledged that the ecological integrity of streams and rivers is intrinsically linked to the surrounding landscape 1-3. Riverine systems are amongst the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems 4 , yet extreme anthropogenic pressure has threatened the essential goods and services provided by tributaries 5. The protection of freshwater resources and ecosystems requires an understanding of the impacts from the encompassing landscape. Although land use-water quality interactions have been extensively researched, a comprehension of such relationships remains a complex endeavor. To discern the effects of land use on water quality, initial investigations frequently employed land use composition (i.e., the proportion of each land use category) as a predictor of stream condition (e.g. 6,7). While the composition of land use plays a crucial role on water quality, this rudimentary measure assumes that each proportion imposes an equal influence 8. Recently, the importance of spatial scale and topography has been corroborated in the contemporary understanding of land use-water quality interactions 8,9. Nevertheless, the intricate patterns and natural gradients of a terrestrial landscape, as well as scale-dependent mechanisms, make it difficult for empirical models to be assessed 2. The integration of spatially-explicit landscape features and processes with land use data is crucial for providing more accurate information on how land use can impact concentrations of water quality parameters (WQP). With the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, broadly-applicable weighting schemes have been established as methods to consider the spatial and topographic components of individual land use types on stream condition. Under the assumption that land located close to the stream generally has a larger influence on water quality than land located further away 8,10-14 , distance-weighted metrics have been implemented into studies to account for the spatial proximity of land use 10,11,15-18. In this method, a distance decay function is used, assigning weights to observations based on the hydrologic distance to the stream or sampling

Ecological Indicators

As freshwater environments become increasingly threatened, the need for efficient and effective p... more As freshwater environments become increasingly threatened, the need for efficient and effective protection grows more urgent. Yet quantitative evidence of management effectiveness within freshwater protected areas is limited, inhibiting our ability to infer the practicality and efficacy of practices. Herein, we employ linear mixedeffects models and time series models to evaluate the connection between catchment-scale management actions and surface water quality within a freshwater protected area, over the past three decades. Within the study area, all croplands were restored to traditional grasslands resulting in a landscape dominated by meadows and forests. The extent of land use change and time frame needed for water quality improvements were investigated and management effectiveness appraised. Results indicate that the complete grassing of croplands was approximately three times more effective at reducing concentrations of nitrate than electrical conductivity and calcium. Significant improvements in water quality occurred within nine years of management implementation, with mean annual nitrate concentrations decreasing from 5.5 to 1.9 mg/L following the grassing of all croplands covering 3.1% of the study area, whereas gradual improvements continued over the next 20 years, ultimately resulting in nitrate concentrations below 1.0 mg/L. The results of this study provide valuable insights on how land use conversions in small headwater catchments can influence stream water quality and helps to establish expectations for outcomes when planning conservation strategies.

Scientific Reports

Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding... more Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding land use-water quality interactions is essential for the development and prioritization of management strategies and, thus, the improvement of water quality. Weighting schemes for land use have recently been employed as methods to advance the predictive power of empirical models, however, their performance has seldom been explored for various water quality parameters. In this work, multiple landscape composition metrics were applied within headwater catchments of Central Europe to investigate how weighting land use with certain combinations of spatial and topographic variables, while implementing alternate distance measures and functions, can influence predictions of water quality. The predictive ability of metrics was evaluated for eleven water quality parameters using linear regression. Results indicate that stream proximity, measured with Euclidean distance, in combination with slope...

Water

Determining an optimal calibration strategy for hydrological models is essential for a robust and... more Determining an optimal calibration strategy for hydrological models is essential for a robust and accurate water balance assessment, in particular, for catchments with limited observed data. In the present study, the hydrological model Bilan was used to simulate hydrological balance for 20 catchments throughout the Czech Republic during the period 1981–2016. Calibration strategies utilizing observed runoff and estimated soil moisture time series were compared with those using only long-term statistics (signatures) of runoff and soil moisture as well as a combination of signatures and time series. Calibration strategies were evaluated considering the goodness-of-fit, the bias in flow duration curve and runoff signatures and uncertainty of the Bilan model. Results indicate that the expert calibration and calibration with observed runoff time series are, in general, preferred. On the other hand, we show that, in many cases, the extension of the calibration criteria to also include runo...

Scientific Reports, 2019

Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding... more Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding land use-water quality interactions is essential for the development and prioritization of management strategies and, thus, the improvement of water quality. Weighting schemes for land use have recently been employed as methods to advance the predictive power of empirical models, however, their performance has seldom been explored for various water quality parameters. In this work, multiple landscape composition metrics were applied within headwater catchments of central europe to investigate how weighting land use with certain combinations of spatial and topographic variables, while implementing alternate distance measures and functions, can influence predictions of water quality. the predictive ability of metrics was evaluated for eleven water quality parameters using linear regression. Results indicate that stream proximity, measured with Euclidean distance, in combination with slope or log-transformed flow accumulation were dominant factors affecting the concentrations of pH, total phosphorus, nitrite and orthophosphate phosphorus, whereas the unweighted land use composition was the most effective predictor of calcium, electrical conductivity, nitrates and total suspended solids. Therefore, both metrics are recommended when examining land use-water quality relationships in small, submontane catchments and should be applied according to individual water quality parameter. It has been widely acknowledged that the ecological integrity of streams and rivers is intrinsically linked to the surrounding landscape 1-3. Riverine systems are amongst the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems 4 , yet extreme anthropogenic pressure has threatened the essential goods and services provided by tributaries 5. The protection of freshwater resources and ecosystems requires an understanding of the impacts from the encompassing landscape. Although land use-water quality interactions have been extensively researched, a comprehension of such relationships remains a complex endeavor. To discern the effects of land use on water quality, initial investigations frequently employed land use composition (i.e., the proportion of each land use category) as a predictor of stream condition (e.g. 6,7). While the composition of land use plays a crucial role on water quality, this rudimentary measure assumes that each proportion imposes an equal influence 8. Recently, the importance of spatial scale and topography has been corroborated in the contemporary understanding of land use-water quality interactions 8,9. Nevertheless, the intricate patterns and natural gradients of a terrestrial landscape, as well as scale-dependent mechanisms, make it difficult for empirical models to be assessed 2. The integration of spatially-explicit landscape features and processes with land use data is crucial for providing more accurate information on how land use can impact concentrations of water quality parameters (WQP). With the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, broadly-applicable weighting schemes have been established as methods to consider the spatial and topographic components of individual land use types on stream condition. Under the assumption that land located close to the stream generally has a larger influence on water quality than land located further away 8,10-14 , distance-weighted metrics have been implemented into studies to account for the spatial proximity of land use 10,11,15-18. In this method, a distance decay function is used, assigning weights to observations based on the hydrologic distance to the stream or sampling