Chiropteran chatter in Chautauqua, NY (USA): Using acoustic sampling and geographic information systems to create a baseline bat habitat dataset.

Understanding bat habitat use and how bat activity changes in response to differing habitats across time and space is critical in developing and implementing effective bat conservation actions. To investigate the utility of geographic information systems (GIS) in studying bat habitat interactions, habitat delineations and bioacoustic sampling were conducted along two transects in Chautauqua County, NY (USA) from mid-May until the end of August 2013. Surveys were vehicular, and driven between 29 and 32 kmph in order to match bats' flying speed. They were conducted starting 30 min after sunset on nights where the temperature was greater than 13 °C. In total, twenty surveys were completed, and 1248 bat calls were identified to species. Mixed models regression analysis revealed significant interactions among all of the species of bat analyzed in the model. The model was supported with a secondary analysis comparing bat call density with land cover. This study supports the hypothesis that bats forage in different habitats at the species level and indicates the importance of forested areas to bats. Additionally, the methodology for this study has the potential to gather large data sets in a short period of time, while collecting data on several species of bat at once and has been shown to be useful in identifying important habitat features for bats using bioacoustics and geospatial analysis. Since the data has been collected following state guidelines, the dataset and its analysis establish a baseline for future data collection campaigns and in performing a similar analysis for other regions within the state of New York or areas worldwide.

Long-term, process-based, continuous simulations for a small, nested rangeland watershed near Tombstone, AZ (USA): Extending model validity to include soil redistribution.

Soil or sediment redistribution prediction along hillslopes and within small watersheds is considered to be a great challenge for the application of watershed erosion models in predicting the impact of soil and water conservation measures as well as for the redistribution of pollution such as radioactive fallout. In this study, long-term soil loss and deposition were estimated for two nested semi-arid watersheds within the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in Southeastern Arizona using the process-based Geo-spatial interface of WEPP (GeoWEPP). While soil parameters were previously parametrized and validated through watershed outlet runoff and sediment yields, the channel parameters were adjusted and validated based on reference values of soil redistribution generated from fallout radionuclide 137Cs samples within the watersheds. Two methods were applied for the soil redistribution analysis by comparing observed and simulated soil loss/deposition rates (a) at single pixels and reference values at the specific location of each 137Cs sample site; and (b) for average values of a 5 m radius around each 137Cs sample site to compensate for measurement and model uncertainties. Surprisingly, soil redistribution predictions improved as topographic data resolution increased from 5 m to 3 m and were best at 1 m without changing key model parameters that were originally derived at the watershed scale.

Long-term, process-based, continuous simulations for a cluster of six smaller, nested rangeland watersheds near Tombstone, AZ (USA): Establishing a baseline for event-based runoff and sediment yields.

Accurately predicting long-term, process-based runoff and sediment yields measured at the outlet of even small watersheds can be challenging. The assessments following careful parameter determination enable establishing a baseline for local land management to assess policy implementations and rehabilitation especially under climate or land use/cover changes. Process-based, continuous models have demonstrated their advantage of representing event-based hydrological responses at smaller spatial and temporal scales. In this study, the Geospatial interface for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) is validated for a series six, neighboring, nested subwatersheds (101 to 106) at Lucky Hills, Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), Tombstone, Arizona (USA). The primary objective of this study is to assess short-term parameterization and long-term verification and simulation validation of GeoWEPP based on 55 years of runoff and sediment yields for six subwatersheds. The effective hydraulic conductivity (Keff) parameter is adjusted based on runoff observed in watershed 101 using a research-grade 1 m-Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The performance of runoff simulated generated by an aggregated 5 m-resolution DEM lead to better results in contrast to using the original 1 m- or aggregated 3 m-resolution. Since there are no sediment yield observations for that watershed, the similar sized, neighboring watershed 102 and a publicly available DEM were used to parameterize critical shear. The short-term verification of Keff as well as the long-term verification of Keff and critical shear stress indicate that both parameters generated based on one subwatershed can be used to accurately predict the runoff in all other watersheds in the study area. However, the results have a tendency to slightly over-estimate runoff, and become more significant with the distance from the rainfall and runoff gauges for the watershed that was used for the Keff parameter estimation. For sediment yields, the results indicate that the short-term parameterization of shear stress based on one watershed can potentially lead to significantly different results for neighboring watersheds. The results are the baseline for spatially distributed shear stress and channel erosion parameter validation and impact assessment for future climate and land use changes.

Climate and land use change effects on soil erosion in two small agricultural catchment systems Fugnitz - Austria, Can Revull - Spain.

Soil erosion represents one of the most important processes of land degradation in the world and is considered a serious threat to the provision of food supply, to human health and to terrestrial ecosystems. In Europe, soil erosion by water and tillage is responsible for the loss of fertile topsoil and therefore productive land. Under Global Change scenarios climate and land use are expected to impact soil loss and sediment discharge rates distinctly in contrasting climatic regions, further influenced by tillage practices. Soil erosion modeling is a valuable tool to estimate future changes and elucidate opportunities to mitigate future threats to soil loss and crop yield, ultimately leading to the development of Best Management Practices (BMPs). In this study, future change of soil erosion processes under the IPCC Representative Concentration Pathways RCP2.6 and RCP6.0, as well as a conventional tillage (CT) and a reduced tillage (RT) practice are investigated in two small agricultural catchments in Europe under contrasting climate; Can Revull in Spain and Fugnitz in Austria. We applied GeoWEPP, the Geospatial Interface for the Water Erosion Prediction Project, to model these two agricultural catchments at a fine spatial resolution. We demonstrate that tillage practice, precipitation and runoff are driving factors for soil erosion at both locations. Furthermore, we illustrate that tillage practices have a greater effect on soil erosion than climate change scenarios. RT could reduce soil erosion by more than 75% compared to CT practices. Under RCP6.0, future changes in runoff, hillslope soil loss and sediment discharge would be greater compared to RCP2.6, with different responses depending on the investigated climatic region. Linking soil erosion models on a fine spatial scale and with different management practices to downscaled global circulation models, can provide valuable input for the development of future BMPs to reduce soil loss in agricultural landscapes.