Darius J. Semmens

The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool

A toolkit for distributed hydrologic modeling at multiple scales using two independent models within a geographic information system is presented. This open-source, freely available software was developed through a collaborative endeavor involving two Universities and two government agencies. Called the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (AGWA), this software is written for the ArcView GIS platform and is distributed as an extension via the Internet. AGWA uses commonly available GIS data layers to fully parameterize, execute, and visualize results from both the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Kinematic Runoff and Erosion model (KINEROS2). These two distributed hydrologic models operate at different time scales and are suitable for application across a range of spatial scales. Descriptions of the GIS framework, hydrologic models, spatial analyses and algorithms that control the modeling process are given. Model requirements, limitations on the model applications and calibration techniques are described with examples of the use of AGWA for watershed modeling and assessment at a range of scales. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SCENARIO ANALYSIS FOR THE SAN PEDRO RIVER, ANALYZING HYDROLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF A FUTURE ENVIRONMENT

Studies of future management and policy options based on different assumptions provide a mechanism to examine possible outcomes and especially their likely benefits and consequences. The San Pedro River in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico is an area that has undergone rapid changes in land use and cover, and subsequently is facing keen environmental crises related to water resources. It is the location of a number of studies that have dealt with change analysis, watershed condition, and most recently, alternative futures analysis. The previous work has dealt primarily with resources of habitat, visual quality, and groundwater related to urban development patterns and preferences. In the present study, previously defined future scenarios, in the form of land-use/land-cover grids, were examined relative to their impact on surface-water conditions (e.g., surface runoff and sediment yield). These hydrological outputs were estimated for the baseline year of 2000 and predicted twenty years in the future as a demonstration of how new geographic information system-based hydrologic modeling tools can be used to evaluate the spatial impacts of urban growth patterns on surface-water hydrology.

The use of scenario analysis to assess future landscape change on watershed condition in the pacific northwest (USA)

The ability to assess, report, and forecast the life support functions of ecosystems is absolutely critical to our capacity to make informed decisions which will maintain the sustainable nature of our environmental services and secure these resources into the future. Scenario analysis combined with land- scape sciences can be used to characterize uncertainties, test possible impacts and evaluate responses, assist strategic planning and policy formulation, and structure current knowledge to scope the range of potential future conditions. In this study, potential impacts from three wide-ranging scenarios in a large regional area in the northwest United States are compared to current conditions (ca. 1990) of the region in terms of a set of processes that are modeled in a geographic information system (GIS). This study presents an integrated approach to identify areas with potential water quality problems as a result of land cover change projected by stakeholders within the basin. Landscape metrics in con- junction with hydrological process models were used to examine the contribution

Environmental quality and landscape-hazard assessment in the Yantra River Basin, Bulgaria

The objective of the present work is to analyze the role of landscape for environmental security in the Yantra River Basin, exploring its relationships with river-water quality and flood hazard. The relationship between landscape and river-water quality is analyzed on the basis of landscape indicators and assessment tools like Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) and Analytical Tools Interface for Landscape Assessment (ATtILA). The relationship between landscape and flood hazard is explored using set of flood- hazard indicators and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The results from ATtILA implementation show that the main sources of nitrogen loading are the agricultural landscapes and the urban areas in the river basin. The SWAT simulation is done for three scenarios in which land cover (forest lands) changes are related to flood hazard. For the most unfavorable scenario, decrea- sing forest lands, a significant increase of the river discharge is predicted. The degree of environmental security depends strongly on the specific spatial patterns of landscape change in the river basin.

Assessment of goods and valuation of ecosystem services (AGAVES) San Pedro River Basin, United States and Mexico

consortium offederal, academic, and nongovernment organi ation (NGO) partners have established a collaborative research enterprise in the San Pedro River Basin to develop methods, standards, and tools to assess and value ecosystem goods and services. The central premise ofecosystem services research is that human condition is intrinsically linked to the environment Human health and well-being (including economic prosper ity) depend on important supporting, regulating, provisioning, and cultural services that we derive from our surrounding ecosystems. The AGA yESproject is intended as a demonstration studyfor incorporating ecosystem services information into resource managementpolicy and decisionmaking. Accordingly, a nestect multiscale project design has been adopted to address a range ofstakeholder information requirements. This design willfurtherfacilitate an evaluation ofhow well methods developed in this project can be transferred to other areas.