Journal article
A systematic approach for modelling quantitative lake ecosystem data to facilitate proactive urban lake management
Environmental Systems Research, Vol.2(3), pp.1-12
2013
Abstract
Background: The management of the health of urban lake systems is often reactive and is instigated in response to poor aesthetic quality or physicochemical measurements, rather than from an overall assessment of ecosystem health. Interpreting physicochemical monitoring data in isolation is problematic for two main reasons: the suite of parameters that are monitored may be limited; and the contribution that any single parameter has towards water quality or health varies considerably depending on the nature of the system of interest. Extending monitoring programs to include flora and fauna results in a better dataset of ecosystem status, but also increases the complexity in interpreting whether the status is good or poor. Results: This paper details a process by which a large set of quantitative biological, physical, chemical and social indicators may be transformed into a simple, but informative, numerical index that represents the overall ecosystem health, while also identifying the likely source and scale of pressure for remedial management action. The flexibility of the proposed approach means that it can be readily adapted to other lake systems and environments, or even to include or exclude different indicators. A case study is presented in which the model is used to assess a comprehensive longitudinal dataset that resulted from monitoring a constructed urban lake in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Conclusions: The sensitivity analysis and case study indicate that the model identifies how changes in individual monitoring parameters result in changes in overall ecosystem health, and thus illustrates its potential as a lake management tool.
Details
- Title
- A systematic approach for modelling quantitative lake ecosystem data to facilitate proactive urban lake management
- Authors
- Aaron Wiegand (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringChristopher Walker (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringPeter F Duncan (Author) - Bangor University, United KingdomAnne H Roiko (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringNeil W Tindale (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publication details
- Environmental Systems Research, Vol.2(3), pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date published
- 2013
- DOI
- 10.1186/2193-2697-2-3
- ISSN
- 2193-2697
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2013 Wiegand et al.; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering; School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450209802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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