Start |Author Index | View Uploaded Presentations | Meeting Information

2015 GSA Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, USA (1-4 November 2015)

Paper No. 54-4
Presentation Time: 2:25 PM

COMPARING NUTRIENT INPUTS, LAND USE CHANGES, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ACROSS SPACE AND TIME HELPS EXPLAIN CHANGES IN NUTRIENT LOADS TO CHESAPEAKE BAY


KEISMAN, Jennifer L.D., USGS, Baltimore, United States, MD 20228, BLOMQUIST, Joel D., US Geological Survey, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228, DEVEREUX, Olivia, Devereux Environmental Consulting, Silver Spring, MD 20901, JOHNSTON, Matthew, University of Maryland, Annapolis, MD 21403, LAMOTTE, Andrew, U.S. Geological Survey, Baltimore, MD 21228, SEKELLICK, Andrew J., USGS, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228 and SWEENEY, Jeff, USEPA, Chesapeake Bay Program Office, 410 Severn Ave, Annapolis, MD 21403, jkeisman@usgs.gov

Chesapeake Bay is a eutrophic estuary with periodic hypoxia and anoxia, algal blooms, diminished submerged aquatic vegetation, and degraded stocks of marine life. Efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay include a suite of management strategies implemented across its watershed designed to reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads (best management practices or BMPs) to the estuary. A better understanding of the effectiveness of these strategies is needed to support restoration efforts. We compared long-term patterns of anthropogenically derived N and P inputs and BMP implementation to changes in land use and agricultural practices over time and across sub-basins of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Long-term temporal shifts in agricultural practices (i.e. livestock populations, crop acres, and manure and fertilizer application) and land use change explained changes observed in nutrient inputs. Insights from these comparisons were used to develop hypotheses regarding potential drivers of changes in water quality. Cross-watershed comparison improved the ability to focus analysis and the reporting of results on sub-watersheds with the greatest potential to inform those management strategies designed for nutrient reduction.

Session No. 54

T29. Restoring the Nation’s Largest Estuary: Lessons Learned from Efforts to Address Changes in Water Quality and Ecosystem Structure and Function within the Context of Landscape Change and Climate Variability in the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed
Sunday, 1 November 2015: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
Room 308 (Baltimore Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 47, No. 7, p.174
© Copyright 2015 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.
Back to: T29. Restoring the Nation’s Largest Estuary: Lessons Learned from Efforts to Address Changes in Water Quality and Ecosystem Structure and Function within the Context of Landscape Change and Climate Variability in the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed
<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>