The Role of Natural Landscape Features in the Fate and Transport of Nutrients and Sediment
This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to consider whether there is a scientific basis for changing how the Chesapeake Bay Program's Watershed Model assigns nutrient and/or sediment loading rates of natural landscape features based on their ecological health/condition, management status and/or landscape position.
Description
In response to a request from the Maintain Healthy Watersheds Goal Implementation Team, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) sponsored a workshop on March 7-8, 2012, to consider whether there is a scientific basis for changing how the Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model assigns nutrient and/or sediment loading rates of natural landscape features based on their ecological health/condition, management status and/or landscape position. The workshop agenda included plenary sessions with expert panels on the fate and transport of nutrients and sediments by natural landscape features, one panel on landscape ecology and one presentation on how the current Watershed Model estimates nutrient and sediment loading rates. Workshop participants then dispersed into breakout groups, one for each landscape feature, to discuss the following questions: What changes could be made to the existing Watershed Model to better simulate the functioning of natural landscapes? What functions should be considered in any future modeling effort? What questions need to be addressed by the scientific community before any model or tool can appropriately simulate or account for natural landscape functions?
Category: Report