Relationship between Visitors’ Sense of Place, Recreation Behavior, and Acceptability of Resource Allocation Strategies at a Reservoir Facing a Water Crisis

Municipal drawdowns at public reservoirs can negatively impact recreational uses on site. Therefore, sustaining recreation requires understanding how users relate themselves with the reservoir and the resource therein, and how they will respond to circumstances and policies impacting the resource. Researchers use placedbased theory, particularly sense of place (SOP), to assess the user community’s perspective on the natural resource or recreation site of interest. This study utilized visitor survey data (n=282) from Canton Reservoir in Oklahoma to assess visitors’ sense of place (SOP), and to evaluate the relationship of SOP with their acceptability of alternative water allocation strategies and future intention of visiting the reservoir under depleted water conditions. Visitors had a high level of SOP with the reservoir and supported protective water allocation strategies that either favor the retention of water on-site or ensure a fair distribution between recreation and municipal use. Results suggest a positive relationship between visitors' SOP and their intended trips to the reservoir even under depleted water conditions. The findings highlight the psychological, functional, and emotional benefits associated with the recreational use of the Canton Reservoir, which will in turn help managers make more informed and balanced decisions about water conservation and allocation. Insights from this study will also contribute in literature on the sense of place and protective norms and offers several implications for the management of public reservoirs.

Water Needs of Willow (Salix L.) in Western Poland

Willows are one of the plants which can be used to produce biomass for energy purposes. Biomass production is classified as a renewable energy source. Increasing the share of renewable sources is one of the priority actions for European Union countries due to the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve the best possible growth of the willow and increase its biomass for fuel, it is crucial to provide optimal water conditions for its growth. The aim of the study was to determine the water requirements of willows under the conditions of the western Polish climate and to verify whether this area is potentially favourable for willow cultivation. The novelty of this paper lies in its multi-year climatic analysis in the context of willow water needs for the area of three voivodships: Lubusz, Lower Silesian, and West Pomeranian. This is one of the few willow water-needs analyses for this region which considers the potential for widespread willow cultivation and biomass production in western Poland. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was determined by the Blaney-Criddle equation and then, using plant coefficients, water needs for willow were determined. Calculations were carried out for the growing season lasting from 21 May to 31 October. The estimated water needs during the vegetation season amounted on average to 408 mm for the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, 405 mm for the Lubusz Voivodeship, and 402 mm for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The conducted analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that these needs do not differ significantly between the voivodeships. Therefore, it can be concluded that the water requirements of willows in western Poland do not differ significantly, and the whole region shows similar water conditions for willow cultivation. Furthermore, it was found that water needs are increasing from decade to decade, making rational water management necessary. This is particularly important in countries with limited water resources, such as Poland. Correctly determining the water requirements of willow and applying them to the cultivation of this plant should increase the biomass obtained. With appropriate management, willow cultivation in Poland can provide an alternative energy source to coal.

Diurnal Change of the Photosynthetic Light-Response Curve of Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), an Emergent Aquatic Plant

Understanding plant physiological responses to high temperature is an important concern pertaining to climate change. However, compared with terrestrial plants, information about aquatic plants remains limited. Since the degree of midday depression of photosynthesis under high temperature depends on soil water conditions, it is expected that emergent aquatic plants, for which soil water conditions are always saturated, will show different patterns compared with terrestrial plants. We investigated the diurnal course of the photosynthetic light-response curve and incident light intensity for a freshwater emergent plant, buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata L.; Menyanthaceae) in a cool temperate region. The effect of midday depression was observed only on a very hot day, but not on a moderately hot day, in summer. The diurnal course of photosynthetic light-response curves on this hot day showed that latent morning reduction of photosynthetic capacity started at dawn, preceding the apparent depression around the midday, in agreement with results reported in terrestrial plants. We concluded that (1) midday depression of emergent plants occurs when the stress intensity exceeds the species’ tolerance, and (2) measurements of not only photosynthetic rate under field conditions but also diurnal course of photosynthetic light-response curve are necessary to quantify the effect of midday depression.

The structure community of zooplankton and environmental conditions of the Kalimireng River estuary, Gresik, East Java

Water quality monitoring is a key component in the management of these important water resources and ecosystems. Biological indicators can be monitored continuously and are easy instructions for monitoring the occurrence of pollution. One of the biological parameters that can be used as a marker of environmental conditions is plankton. zooplankton can be used as study material to determine the quality and water productivity. The method used in this research is descriptive to determine the water quality condition in the estuary of the Kalimireng river biologically through the identification and characterization of zooplankton. Observations of plankton identification, plankton abundance, dominance index, and characterization of zooplankton were analyzed by fluorescence microscope observation. Three species of zooplankton were found in the waters of the Kalimireng estuary, Leptodiaptomus sp., Canthocamptus staphylinus, and Diaphanosoma bracyurum. Zooplankton is more abundant in water conditions at high tide compared to water conditions at low tide. At high tide, the highest abundance value was obtained at the station I at week 3, 843 ind/mL. At low tide, the highest abundance value was obtained at the station I at week 2,251 ind/L. The highest Dominance Index (D) at tidal water conditions is shown at station 2. This indicates that there is a community that dominates at that station.

Impacts D’une Technique De Restauration De Terre Dégradée Sur La Survie Et La Croissance Des Plants De Quatre Espèces De Combretaceae En Zone Sahélienne Du Niger

Les banquettes sylvopastorales constituent l’une des techniques les plus utilisées au Niger pour restaurer les terres dégradées de plateaux. La présente expérimentation a été réalisée sur un plateau dégradé de Simiri dans l’Ouest nigérien où des banquettes sylvopastorales ont été installées. L’objectif est d’évaluer la survie et la croissance des plants de quatre essences locales de Combretaceae, Combretum glutinosum, Combretum micranthum, Combretum nigricans et Guiera senegalensis. Les méthodes utilisées ont consisté d’abord à délimiter un espace sur le plateau dégradé où 40 banquettes sont confectionnées et un autre espace sans banquette pour servir de témoin. Dans les banquettes, 200 plants de chaque espèce ont été plantés à raison de 20 plants/banquette. Deux mois après la plantation un suivi périodique de l’humidité du sol et des paramètres dendrométriques des plants a été effectué durant 30 mois. Les paramètres dendrométriques mesurés sont le taux de survie, la hauteur et le diamètre au collet du grand axe caulinaire, le nombre de rejets et de feuilles. Les résultats obtenus ont montré d’une part que les banquettes améliorent les conditions hydriques du sol de 18,19 % par rapport à la zone non traitée (sans banquette) et d’autre part que les meilleurs taux de survie et de croissance ont été observés au niveau des espèces Guiera senegalensis, Combretum. glutinosum et Combretum. micranthum. Ainsi, les espèces Guiera senegalensis, Combretum glutinosum et Combretum micranthum peuvent être utilisées dans le reboisement de sites aménagés avec des banquettes sylvopastorales pour restaurer les terres de plateaux au Niger Silvopastoral banquettes are one of the techniques mostly used in Niger to restore degraded plateau lands. The present experiment was carried out on a degraded Simiri plateau in western Niger where silvopastoral banquettes have been installed. The objective is to assess the survival and growth of plants of four local species of Combretaceae, Combretum glutinosum, Combretum micranthum, Combretum nigricans, and Guiera senegalensis. The methods used consisted first of delimiting a space on the degraded plateau where 40 banquettes are made and another space without a banquette to serve as a control zone. In the banquettes, 200 plants of each species were planted at 20 plants/banquette. Two months after planting, periodic monitoring of soil moisture and dendrometric parameters of the plants was carried out for 30 months. The dendrometric parameters measured are the survival rate, the height and the collar diameter of the stem axis, the number of suckers and leaves. The results obtained showed on the one hand that the banquettes improve the water conditions of the soil by 18.19% compared to the untreated zone (without banquettes) and on the other hand that the best survival and growth rates were observed at the level of the species Guiera senegalensis, Combretum. glutinosum and Combretum. micranthum. Thus, Guiera senegalensis, Combretum glutinosum, and Combretum micranthum species can be used in the reforestation of sites developed with silvopastoral banquettes to restore plateau lands in Niger.

Bridge Abutment Protection against Scouring for Unsteady Flow Conditions

The bridge abutment is one of the main parts of a bridge and significantly contributes to bridge stability. This study experimentally investigated the effect of the unsteadiness characteristics of hydrographs on the scouring phenomenon around the bridge abutment under clear water conditions. The ability of the permeable and impermeable spur dikes and their distances from the abutment at its upstream on the control of scouring around the bridge abutment was also investigated. The experimental observations imply that the effect of unsteady flow on the scouring process is relatively similar to the steady flow conditions. The results showed that the base time of hydrographs, the type of spur dikes, and the distance of spur dikes from the bridge abutment were the dominant parameters among the considered parameters in this study on the scouring process around the abutment. The results also revealed that the impermeable spur dike was able to completely eliminate scouring around the bridge abutment for two distances of 2L and 3L (where L is the abutment length) for both steady and unsteady flow conditions.

Is Drought Increasing in Maine and Hurting Wild Blueberry Production?

A few severe drought events occurred in the Northeast (NE) USA in recent decades and caused significant economic losses, but the temporal pattern of drought incidents and their impacts on agricultural systems have not been well assessed. Here, we analyzed historical changes and patterns of drought using a drought index (standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI)), and assessed drought impacts on remotely sensed vegetation indices (enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) and production (yield) of the wild blueberry fields in Maine, USA. We also analyzed the impact of short- and long-term water conditions of the growing season on the wild blueberry vegetation condition and production. No significant changes in the SPEI were found in the past 71 years, despite a significant warming pattern. There was also a significant relationship between the relatively long-term SPEI and the vegetation indices (EVI and NDVI), but not the short-term SPEI (one year). This suggests that the crop vigor of wild blueberries is probably determined by water conditions over a relatively long term. There were also significant relationships between 1-year water conditions (SPEI) and yield for a non-irrigated field, and between 4-year-average SPEI and the yield of all fields in Maine. The vegetation indices (EVI and NDVI) are not good predictors of wild blueberry yield, possibly because wild blueberry yield does not only depend on crop vigor, but also on other important variables such as pollination. We also compared an irrigated and a non-irrigated wild blueberry field at the same location (Deblois, Maine) where we found that irrigation decoupled the relationship between the SPEI and NDVI or EVI.