Root reinforcement and extracellular products reduce streambank fluvial erosion

A detailed understanding of the factors that impact bank erodibility is necessary to effectively model changes in channel form. This study evaluated the combined contributions of roots and soil microorganisms to soil resistance against fluvial erosion. To do this, three flume walls were constructed to simulate unvegetated and rooted streambanks. Unamended and organic material (OM) amended soil treatments with either no-roots (bare soil), synthetic (inert) roots, or living roots (Panicum virgatum) were created and tested with the corresponding flume wall treatment. OM stimulated the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and appeared to increase the applied stress required to initiate soil erosion. Synthetic fibers alone provided a base reduction in soil erosion, regardless of the flow rate used. When used in combination, synthetic roots and OM-amendments reduced erosion rates by 86 % or more compared to bare soil; this reduction was identical to the live rooted treatments (95 % to 100 %). In summary, a synergistic relationship between roots and organic carbon inputs can significantly reduce soil erosion rates due to fiber reinforcement and EPS production. These results indicate that root-biochemical interactions, like root physical mechanisms, play an important role in influencing channel migration rates due to reductions in streambank erodibility.

Long-Term Impacts of Bacteria-Sediment Interactions in Watershed-Scale Microbial Fate and Transport Modeling

Elevated levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) remain the leading cause of surface water-quality impairments in the United States. Under the Clean Water Act, basin-specific total maximum daily load (TMDL) restoration plans are responsible for bringing identified water impairments in compliance with applicable standards. Watershed-scale model predictions of FIB concentrations that facilitate the development of TMDLs are associated with considerable uncertainty. An increasingly cited criticism of existing modeling practice is the common strategy that assumes bacteria behave similarly to "free-phase" contaminants, although many field evidence indicates a nontrivial number of cells preferentially associate with particulates. Few attempts have been made to evaluate the impacts of sediment on the predictions of in-stream FIB concentrations at the watershed scale, with limited observational data available for model development, calibration, and validation. This study evaluates the impacts of bacteria-sediment interactions in a continuous, watershed-scale model widely used in TMDL development. In addition to observed FIB concentrations in the water column, streambed sediment-associated FIB concentrations were available for model calibration. While improved model performance was achieved compared with previous studies, model performance under a "sediment-attached" scenario was essentially equivalent to the simpler "free-phase" scenario. Watershed-specific characteristics (e.g., steep slope, high imperviousness) likely contributed to the dominance of wet-weather pollutant loading in the water column, which may have obscured sediment impacts. As adding a module accounting for bacteria-sediment interactions would increase the model complexity considerably, site evaluation preceding modeling efforts is needed to determine whether the additional model complexity and effort associated with partitioning phases of FIB is sufficiently offset by gains in predictive capacity.

Hydrometeorological and physicochemical drivers of fecal indicator bacteria in urban stream bottom sediments

High levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) are the leading cause of surface water quality impairments in the United States. Watershed-scale models are commonly used to identify relative contributions of watershed sources and to evaluate the effectiveness of remediation strategies. However, most existing models simplify FIB transport behavior as equivalent to that of dissolved-phase contaminants, ignoring the impacts of sediment on the fate and transport of FIB. Implementation of sediment-related processes within existing models is limited by minimal available monitoring data on sediment FIB concentrations for model development, calibration, and validation purposes. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate FIB levels in the streambed sediments as compared to those in the water column and to identify environmental variables that influence water and underlying sediment FIB levels. Concentrations of and enterococci in the water column and sediments of an urban stream were monitored weekly for 1 yr and correlated with a variety of potential hydrometeorological and physicochemical variables. Increased FIB concentrations in both the water column and sediments were most strongly correlated with increased antecedent 24-h rainfall, increased stream water temperature, decreased dissolved oxygen, and decreased specific conductivity. These observations will support future efforts to incorporate sediment-related processes in existing models through the identification of key FIB relationships with other model inputs, and the provision of sediment FIB concentrations for direct model calibration. In addition, identified key variables can be used in quick evaluation of the effectiveness of potential remediation strategies.