Richard H' Moore, OSU

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOCAL WATERSHED ECOLOGY In
North Central Ohio and NE Japan

• Richard H. Moore, OSU
• Interim Director,
• OSU Environmental Science Graduate Program
• Moore.11_at_osu.edu

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Assumptions of Climate Change in Ohio

• Increase in temperature by 2-3 degrees C
• Increase in harmful radiation
• Increased rainfall 20- more?
• Decrease in underground water storage
• Increase in weather events (floods, droughts)
• Increased use of coal ---increase in acid rain

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Global Precipitation (IPCC,2008 report)
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Moores 3 Research Sites

• Nakada, Miyagi, Japan Watershed---rice belt--
• OhioSugar Creek Watershedmixed animals and
  crops
• Ohio---Upper Scioto Watershedcorn and soybeans

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History of Water Use in the Nakada Watershed,
Japan last 100 years

• Increased the levee height to avoid flooding
• Increase of paddy size from 10 ares to 1 hectare
  size
• Destruction of wetlands (conversion to rice
  paddies in 1908)
• Direct irrigation and drainage to rice paddies
• Increase in crop varieties that respond well to
  chemical fertilizers. Decrease in heirloom
  varieties which are more generalized.

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History of Water Use in the Sugar Creek Watershed
and Upper Sciotothe last 100 years

• Tile drainage systems designed to get water off
  farms as quickly as possible
• Straightening of streams by farmers
• Destruction of wetlands
• Underground storage of water has
  decreasedsprings are not flowing as much as 50
  years ago.
• Dams created to prevent flooding of Ohio River
  creation of conservancy districts
• Decrease of fallow cycle, decrease of crop
  rotations, increase in use of chemical
  fertilizersdrying of the soil, more runoff
• Increase in crop varieties that respond well to
  chemical fertilizers. Decrease in heirloom
  varieties which are more generalized.

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Beach City Dam (nonfunctional)
Ohio EPA Watershed Map of Sugar Creek Source SC
TMDL
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• SUGAR CREEK WATERSHED PROJECT
• OEPAs Ohio model for building community support
• Transforming Ohios second most impaired
  watershed
• through environmental value-adding

Upper Sugar CreekFarmer Partners
Few Amish
GFF
North ForkCommunity leaders task force Green
Field Farms Cooperative
Half Amish
Middle ForkAlpine Cheese Nutrient Trading
Project
P
Mostly Amish
South ForkAlpine Cheese Nutrient Trading
Project
Conservation Measures Implemented 4 miles grass
waterways 4 miles cows fenced out 6 miles
conservation buffer, 44 acres filter strips 430
acres conservation cropping 443 acres no-till
107 acres cover crops.
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105 SITES WQ BIWEEKLY
30 SITES Headwater Habitat summer only
Continous ISCO Flow Monitor /Sampler
2008 HHEI Survey of 88 sites on 36 streams In
Upper SCe started here in 2000
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Landscape patterns at the watershed level
(English)
East Branch Of the South Fork of Sugar Creek
Alex Joannon, INRA 2007
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Landscape patterns at the watershed level
(Amish)
corn
South Fork Subwatershed Stream 23
Alex Joannon, INRA 2007 --not for replication
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Upper Sugar Creek Watershed
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Typical Stream Map
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Upstream 23B Score 93
Drainage tiles
2006 Manure Spill
Downstream 23A Score 65
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Interns found a (aquatic?) firefly larvae
underneath a rock . We are in the process of
identifying what it is. The stream unexpectedly
had the lowest temperature of all of our streams
(16 degrees C) due to numerous springs. Site 7I
had total N of 18 and total P 0.23.
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Salamanders
Macro inverts
Two very strong indicators of a healthy, Class
III stream are the presence of salamander larvae
and a high level of macro invertebrate
diversity Something about that zone on the map
must be influencing the one or both of the
biological indicators Perhaps physical
characteristics of the landscape, such as
headwater drainage area or average stream
gradient?
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SUGAR CREEK METHODheadwaters and participatory
focus

• NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS TEAMED TOGETHER
• RESEARCHERS TEAMED WITH FARMERS (SELF-SELECTED)
• FARMERS INQUIRY RESULTED IN NEW INQUIRY BY
  RESEARCHERS
• FARM LEVEL DATA RESULTED IN FARMERS BECOMING
  CO-INVESTIGATORS

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Fireflies
Lampyridae
Photinus
Pizza party if you Find these in stream
Photuris
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