Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of the immense consequences of these massive dams and their role in fundamentally alter-
ing large rivers, the ubiquity of these smaller dams suggests an equally large impact on
running waters that we are only just now beginning to quantify. Put another way, this
accounting of the dams in Wisconsin waterways emphasized how effective human engi-
neering has been at reconfiguring flowing water systems, and how we as ecologists are
still coming to terms with the actual structure of streams and rivers—not necessarily a lin-
ear feature in the landscape, but an interrupted series of channels and pools connected
together to form complex networks that change shape over time.
Doyle et al. (2008)
took
this analysis a step further to demonstrate that the amount of infrastructure across the
United States, including dams and railroads, has grown rapidly since World War II, and is
now aging; these structures are increasingly in need of repair or removal. The intersection
of aging and environmental degradation may present an opportunity to kill two birds
with one stone—that is, strategic removal of aging infrastructure may provide an excellent
opportunity for ecosystem restoration (
Doyle et al. 2008
).
I think much of our success in studying dam removal, and providing some useful
information to managers and stakeholders faced with the decision to keep or remove
a dam, reflects the openness of ecosystem science to include anything, and the practical
lesson that ecosystems are often best studied by collaborations of researchers from differ-
ent disciplines. Finally, despite the fact that our research was strongly influenced by the
need for practical answers to a pressing management problem, drawing on basic ecosys-
tem concepts and blending physical and ecological perspectives provided the foundation
for our best successes.
References
Doyle, M.W., Selle, A.R., Stofleth, J.M., Stanley, E.H., Harbor, J.M., 2003a. Predicting the depth of erosion follow-
ing dam removal using a bank stability model. Int. J. Sediment Res. 18, 128
134.
Doyle, M.W., Stanley, E.H., Harbor, J.M., 2003b. Hydrogeomorphic controls on phosphorus retention in streams.
Water Resour. Res. 39, 1147. doi: 10.1029/2003WR002038.
Doyle, M.W., Stanley, E.H., Havlick, D., Kaiser, M.J., Steinbach, G., Graf, W., et al., 2008. Aging infrastructure and
ecosystem restoration. Science 319, 286
287.
Fisher, S.G., Gray, L.J., Grimm, N.B., Busch, D.E., 1982. Temporal succession in a desert stream ecosystem follow-
ing flash flooding. Ecol. Monogr. 52, 93
110.
Grimm, N.B., 1987. Nitrogen dynamics during succession in a desert stream. Ecology 68, 1157
1170.
Heffernan, J.B., 2008. Wetlands as alternative stable state in a desert stream. Ecology 88, 1261
1271.
Kaushal, S.S., Groffman, P.M., Mayer, P.M., Striz, E., Gold, A.J., 2008. Effects of stream restoration on dentrifica-
tion in an urbanizing watershed. Ecol. Appls. 18, 789
804.
Lewis, D.B., Schade, J.D., Huth, A.K., Grimm, N.B., 2006. The spatial structure of variability in a semi-arid, fluvial
ecosystem. Ecosystems 9, 386
397.
Newbold, J.D., Elwood, J.W., O'Neill, R.V., Van Winkle, W., 1981. Measuring nutrient spiraling in streams. Can. J.
Fish. Aquat. Sci. 38, 860
863.
Orr, C.H., Rogers, K.L., Stanley, E.H., 2006. Channel morphology and P uptake following removal of a small dam.
J. N. Am. Bentholog. Soc. 25, 556
568.
Stanley, E.H., Fisher, S.G., Grimm, N.B., 1997. Ecosystem expansion and contraction in streams. BioScience 47,
427
435.
Stanley, E.H., Doyle, M.W., 2002. A geomorphic perspective on nutrient retention following dam removal.
BioScience 52, 693
701.
