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Multi-Scale Assessment of Relationships between Fragmentation of Riparian Forests and Biological Conditions in Streams

Author

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  • Yirigui Yirigui

    (Graduate Program, Department of Environmental Science, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Korea)

  • Sang-Woo Lee

    (Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Korea)

  • A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi

    (Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA)

Abstract

Due to anthropogenic activities within watersheds and riparian areas, stream water quality and ecological communities have been significantly affected by degradation of watershed and stream environments. One critical indicator of anthropogenic activities within watersheds and riparian areas is forest fragmentation, which has been directly linked to poor water quality and ecosystem health in streams. However, the true nature of the relationship between forest fragmentation and stream ecosystem health has not been fully elucidated due to its complex underlying mechanism. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of riparian fragmented forest with biological indicators including diatoms, macroinvertebrates, and fish. In addition, we investigated variations in these relationships over multiple riparian scales. Fragmentation metrics, including the number of forest patches (NP), proportion of riparian forest (PLAND), largest riparian forest patch ratio (LPI), and spatial proximity of riparian forest patches (DIVISION), were used to quantify the degree of fragmentation of riparian forests, and the trophic diatom index (TDI), benthic macroinvertebrates index (BMI), and fish assessment index (FAI) were used to represent the biological condition of diatoms, macroinvertebrates, and fish in streams. PLAND and LPI showed positive relationships with TDI, BMI, and FAI, whereas NP and DIVISION were negatively associated with biological indicators at multiple scales. Biological conditions in streams were clearly better when riparian forests were less fragmented. The relationships of NP and PLAND with biological indicators were stronger at a larger riparian scale, whereas relationships of LPI and DIVISION with biological indicators were weaker at a large scale. These results suggest that a much larger spatial range of riparian forests should be considered in forest management and restoration to enhance the biological condition of streams.

Suggested Citation

  • Yirigui Yirigui & Sang-Woo Lee & A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi, 2019. "Multi-Scale Assessment of Relationships between Fragmentation of Riparian Forests and Biological Conditions in Streams," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-24, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:18:p:5060-:d:267706
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hyung-Il Eum & Slobodan Simonovic, 2010. "Integrated Reservoir Management System for Adaptation to Climate Change: The Nakdong River Basin in Korea," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(13), pages 3397-3417, October.
    2. Echeverria, Cristian & Coomes, David A. & Hall, Myrna & Newton, Adrian C., 2008. "Spatially explicit models to analyze forest loss and fragmentation between 1976 and 2020 in southern Chile," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 212(3), pages 439-449.
    3. Yirigui Yirigui & Sang-Woo Lee & A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi & Matthew R. Herman & Jong-Won Lee, 2019. "Relationships between Riparian Forest Fragmentation and Biological Indicators of Streams," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-24, May.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mi-Young Kim & Sang-Woo Lee, 2021. "Regression Tree Analysis for Stream Biological Indicators Considering Spatial Autocorrelation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Se-Rin Park & Suyeon Kim & Sang-Woo Lee, 2021. "Evaluating the Relationships between Riparian Land Cover Characteristics and Biological Integrity of Streams Using Random Forest Algorithms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Se-Rin Park & Sang-Woo Lee, 2020. "Spatially Varying and Scale-Dependent Relationships of Land Use Types with Stream Water Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Se-Rin Park & Soon-Jin Hwang & Kyungjin An & Sang-Woo Lee, 2021. "Identifying Key Watershed Characteristics That Affect the Biological Integrity of Streams in the Han River Watershed, Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.

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