The need for conservation of natural springs in drying climate

Date:
June 3, 2020
Source:
Northern Arizona University
Summary:
Researchers have described the importance of springs in a drying
climate.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A Northern Arizona University professor co-authored a paper on the
importance of springs in a drying climate that is in the inaugural
climate change refugia special edition of Frontiers in Ecology and
the Environment.


==========================================================================
The issue focuses on refugia, which refers to areas that are relatively buffered from current climate change and shelter valued wildlife,
ecosystems and other natural resources. Abe Springer, a professor of hydrogeology and ecohydrology in the School of Earth and Sustainability
whose research focuses on springs and aquifer health, collaborated on
"Oases of the future? Springs as potential hydrological refugia in drying climates." The collaborators, which included the U.S. Geological Survey,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
the Nature Conservancy, Sky Island Alliance, Hampshire College, the
Museum of Northern Arizona and National Park Service and Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area, reviewed relevant published studies on the
role of springs as refuges to support plants and animals in drying
climates. They created a conceptual model that takes into account the
response of springs to drying events and what investigations researchers
must do to identify and classify a spring's potential to be a refuge.

Springer contributed results and implications on springs as refugia from
his research group's springs ecohydrology research with the Springs
Stewardship Institute at the Museum of Northern Arizona. His role in
developing a geomorphological-based classification system for springs ecosystems helped the team characterize and prioritize different types
of refugia.

The results, while not surprising, do serve as a call to action to
researchers and citizen scientists alike. Springs have served as refuges
for some species through previous climatic changes, and that's likely
to become even more true in the future. However, scientists still can't
say with certainty what effects a drying climate can have on these
delicate ecosystems.

"Springs importance of refugia may increase with future predicted
drying in such places as the southwestern United States," Springer
said. "Inventories of the richness and diversity of life at springs
are still too limited to provide adequate knowledge of their response
to drying events." They can, however, make some educated guesses
with the available data. Springer said springs serve as wet refuges
for certain plants and animals; these refuges are fed by groundwater
stored in large aquifers, which can offset the drying events somewhat,
offering a long-term buffer to such short-term, climate- influenced
events. But as aquifers dry up from human pumping, springs are at risk
of drying up, affecting entire ecosystems and even putting species at
risk of extinction.

These risks are what led to the special edition of the journal, edited by
Toni Lyn Morelli, a research ecologist at the USGS's Northeast Climate Adaptation Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Morelli
said she hoped bringing the issue of refugia to the fore would spur
action and innovation among researchers and conservationists.

Northern Arizona, already an arid climate, is at particular risk as
climate change leads to even more drying. Springer has studied aquifers
and springs in this region for years, including how the Grand Canyon
gets its water (perhaps counterintuitively, it's not from the Colorado
River), and has previously assessed the condition and risk of 200
springs in the Coconino and Kaibab national forests. This research led
to conservation priorities among these springs, which forest managers
have implemented. They include a range of various springs geomorphology
to include the range of necessary refugia.

"All climatic and human-induced changes to hydrologic systems influence
the aquifers that supply waters to springs," Springer said. "Our
regional studies about the hydrological influences of forest management
is important for sustaining processes to buffer groundwater storage from
drying climate."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Northern_Arizona_University. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jennifer M Cartwright, Kathleen A Dwire, Zach Freed, Samantha
J Hammer,
Blair McLaughlin, Louise W Misztal, Edward R Schenk, John R Spence,
Abraham E Springer, Lawrence E Stevens. Oases of the future? Springs
as potential hydrologic refugia in drying climates. Frontiers in
Ecology and the Environment, 2020; 18 (5): 245 DOI: 10.1002/fee.2191 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603132548.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603132548.htm

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