Journal
LAKE AND RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT
Volume 28, Issue 2, Pages 170-175Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/07438141.2012.689798
Keywords
fetch; geographic information systems; macrophyte ecology; shoreline erosion; waves
Categories
Funding
- Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The wind fetch and wave energy of a waterbody are important factors in determining shoreline erosion potential and can influence aquatic community composition. Quantifying and interpreting these variables, however, can be a difficult and time-consuming process without the use of a geographic information system (GIS) coupled with fetch models, such as WAVES (produced by the United States Geological Survey). Examples of the applicability of these tools are limited; therefore, we present a case study to demonstrate the use of these tools in a novel way for understanding lake ecology and guiding lake management. By analyzing hourly wind data, using geospatial methods, and accounting for the abundance of macrophytes, shoreline erosion potential data were generated for Wisconsin's third largest lake, the Chippewa Flowage. GIS-based shoreline erosion potential data showed significant (X-2 = 167.17, p <= 0.001, df = 2), though not complete, correspondence with an inventory of shoreline erosion from all causes conducted in 1971. A high degree of correspondence was found in wind-exposed areas (X-2 = 442, p <= 0.0001, df = 2); 1971 erosion sites considered to be in exposed areas had significantly higher average erosion classification than those in more protected areas (p < 0.0001). These shoreline erosion potential data were used for management recommendations to mitigate shoreline erosion and as a variable in ecological analyses of macrophyte communities. [Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Lake and Reservoir Management to view the supplemental file.]
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available