Ecohydrologically Driven Catchment Evaluation and Prioritization

Raghavan  Srinivasan; Sivarajah  Mylevaganam; Vijay P.  Singh

doi:10.4236/ojapps.2015.57033

Sivarajah Mylevaganam¹^*, Raghavan Srinivasan¹, Vijay P. Singh²

Abstract: This study develops information based on index, and termed hydro-ecological-index, to represent the need of a riverine ecosystem characterized through a biologically relevant flow regime. The flow regime is defined by a set of parameters, called Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. These parameters are predicted at the catchment scale by a hydrologic model, called Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Then the Maximum Entropy Ordered Weighted Averaging method is employed to aggregate non-commensurable biologically relevant flow regimes to develop hydro-ecological- index at the catchment scale. The resulting index reflects the variability of the need of the riverine ecosystem at catchment scale and thus different catchments can be evaluated and compared.

Keywords: Entropy, Principle of Maximum Entropy, Riverine Ecosystem, Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration, Maximum Entropy Ordered Weighted Averaging, Soil and Water Assessment Tool

Cite this paper: Mylevaganam, S. , Srinivasan, R. and Singh, V. (2015) Ecohydrologically Driven Catchment Evaluation and Prioritization. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 5, 325-334. doi: 10.4236/ojapps.2015.57033.

References

[1] Dyson, M., Berkamp, G. and Scanlon, J. (2003) Flow: The Essentials of Environmental Flows, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2003.WANI.2.en

[2] Tharme, R.E. (2003) A Global Perspective on Environmental Flow Assessment: Emerging Trends in the Development and Application of Environmental Flow Methodologies for Rivers. River Research and Applications, 19, 397-442. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rra.736

[3] Naiman, R.J., Bunn, S.E., Nilsson, C., Petts, G.E., Pinay, G. and Thompson, L.C. (2002) Legitimizing Fluvial Ecosystems as Users of Water: An Overview. Environmental Management, 30, 455-467. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-002-2734-3

[4] Postel, S. and Richter, B.D. (2003) Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature. Island Press, Washington DC.

[5] Lytle, D.H. and Poff, N.L. (2004) Adaptation to Natural Flow Regimes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19, 94-100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2003.10.002

[6] Poff, N.L., Allan, J.D., Bain, M.B., Karr, J.R., Prestegaard, K.L., Richter, B.D., Sparks, R.E. and Stromberg, J.C. (1997) The Natural Flow Regime: A Paradigm for River Conservation and Restoration. BioScience, 47, 769-784. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1313099

[7] Richter, B.D., Baumgartner, J.V., Powel, J. and Braun, D.P. (1996) A Method for Assessing Hydrologic Alteration within Ecosystems. Conservation Biology, 10, 1163-1174.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041163.x

[8] Singh, V.P. (1995) Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology. Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, 1130 p.

[9] Singh, V.P. and Frevert, D.K. (2002) Mathematical Models of Small Watershed Hydrology and Applications. Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, 950 p.

[10] Singh, V.P. and Frevert, D.K. (2002) Mathematical Models of Large Watershed Hydrology. Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, 891 p.

[11] Singh, V.P. and Frevert, D.K. (2006) Watershed Models. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 653 p.

[12] Gassman, P.W., Reyes, M.R., Green, C.H. and Arnold, J.G. (2007) The Soil and Water Assessment Tool: Historical Development, Applications, and Future Research Directions. Transactions of the ASABE, 50, 1211-1250. http://dx.doi.org/10.13031/2013.23637

[13] Singh, V.P. (1998) The Use of Entropy in Hydrology and Water Resources. Hydrological Processes, 11, 587-626.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199705)11:6<587::AID-HYP479>3.0.CO;2-P

[14] Yager, R.R. (1999) Induced Ordered Weighted Averaging Operators. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 29, 141-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/3477.752789