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dc.contributor.authorHassanzadeh, Elmira
dc.contributor.authorElshorbagy, Amin
dc.contributor.authorNazemi, Ali
dc.contributor.authorJardine, Timothy D
dc.contributor.authorWheater, Howard
dc.contributor.authorLindenschmidt, Karl-Erich
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-06T02:54:20Z
dc.date.available2021-10-06T02:54:20Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.identifier.issn1936-0584
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/eco.1824
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/408632
dc.description.abstractFuture climate change and anthropogenic interventions can alter historical streamflow conditions and consequently degrade the health and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. Future ecohydrological threats, however, are difficult to quantify using the cascade of climate and hydrological models due to various uncertainties involved. This study instead uses a fully bottom-up approach to evaluate the ecohydrological vulnerability of the Saskatchewan River Delta (SRD), the largest inland delta in North America, to changing streamflow regime and irrigation expansion. An ensemble of perturbed streamflow sequences, along with scenarios of current and expanded irrigation, was generated and fed into a regional water resource system model. Results show that the streamflow regime in the delta is more sensitive to upstream changes in annual flow volume than peak flow timing and/or irrigation expansion. The sensitivity to changes in flow volume, however, may be intensified when combined with changes in peak timing. Shifts in the upstream peak flow timing can alter the magnitude and timing of peak flow to the delta, with prime importance to aquatic biota that are adapted to historical rhythmicity in peak flows and timing. Irrigation expansion decreases the magnitude and frequency of the peak flows, alters the frequency of average and low flows, and slightly shifts the timing of the mean annual peak flow in the SRD. This can lead to isolation of lakes and wetlands from the main stream. Our results highlight the ecohydrological vulnerability of the SRD under potential changing conditions and can assist in proposing adaptation policies to protect this ecosystem.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sons
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrome1824
dc.relation.ispartofissue4
dc.relation.ispartofjournalEcohydrology
dc.relation.ispartofvolume10
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchAgricultural, veterinary and food sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode41
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode31
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode30
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technology
dc.subject.keywordsLife Sciences & Biomedicine
dc.subject.keywordsPhysical Sciences
dc.subject.keywordsEcology
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironmental Sciences
dc.titleThe ecohydrological vulnerability of a large inland delta to changing regional streamflows and upstream irrigation expansion
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationHassanzadeh, E; Elshorbagy, A; Nazemi, A; Jardine, TD; Wheater, H; Lindenschmidt, K-E, The ecohydrological vulnerability of a large inland delta to changing regional streamflows and upstream irrigation expansion, Ecohydrology, 2017, 10 (4), pp. e1824
dc.date.updated2021-10-06T02:51:53Z
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorJardine, Timothy


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