Watershed Management Principles as Components of Larger - scale Basin Improvement for Ecological and Economical Sustainability

摘要

Maintaining the healthy ecological condition of an entire river basin poses considerable challenges to resource managers as they deal with multiple demands for land and water. Ultimately, to ensure ecosystem health and sustainability, a basin must be managed with a coordinated suite of proven scientific/management principles. The Water Quality and Ecology Research Unit of the Agricultural Research Service/United States Department of Agriculture is tasked with providing tools and guidance for watershed - level land and water management. Suggestions for oversight of large river drainages, including the Yellow River Basin, include watershed scale structural and non - structural protective practices, adequate levels and appropriate types of monitoring, and a decision - making framework which provides guidance for land and water use. To address concerns of water conservation, water quality and environmentally supportive flows, we provide proven examples of upland water retention/control and routing measures that provide both short — term retention for local uses, water quality improvement and long - term ecologically and economically supportive releases downstream. Obtaining sustainable development while protecting a basin — scale environment requires knowledge that can be acquired with a suite of indicator measurements that document current conditions and ecological changes. Dynamic watershed management which is catchment specific and uses all available conservation tools can protect both land and aquatic ecosystems within larger basin scale drainages.