18.01.2013 Views

watervulnerability

watervulnerability

watervulnerability

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Chequamegon-­‐Nicolet National Forest Watershed Vulnerability Assessment, Eastern Region (R9)<br />

Figure 14. Relative vulnerability of groundwater recharge to climate change for HUC-6 watersheds on<br />

Chequamegon-Nicolet NF<br />

Runoff from the groundwater watersheds is dominated by groundwater discharge and they were<br />

considered to have low vulnerability. There were 50 HUC-6s classified as groundwater runoff. They were<br />

located predominantly in outwash sands on Lakewood/Laona RD, northern Eagle River/Florence RD, and<br />

western Great Divide RD. The estimated average annual future and historic potential groundwater<br />

recharge for these watersheds was 10.1 and 9.4 inches, resulting in an average increase of 0.7 inches<br />

(Table 4). These watersheds are most likely to provide refugia for groundwater-dependent resources such<br />

as brook trout and other cold water stream fish. They may be an area to focus adaptive management for<br />

these resources.<br />

Runoff from mixed watersheds includes a combination of groundwater and surface water and these<br />

watersheds were considered to have moderate vulnerability. There were 59 mixed HUC-6s located on<br />

Park Falls units, eastern Great Divide RD, and Eagle River/Florence RD. The estimated average annual<br />

future and historic potential groundwater recharge for these watersheds was 8.6 and 8.1 inches, resulting<br />

in an average increase of 0.6 inches (Table 4). Some of these watersheds may have a few cold water<br />

streams in local areas where soil and topography provide adequate groundwater recharge and discharge<br />

and these streams may be vulnerable yet important potential refugia.<br />

Runoff from surface watersheds is dominated by surface runoff processes and these watersheds were<br />

considered to be most vulnerable. There were 37 watersheds classified as surface runoff; 30 were<br />

252 Assessing the Vulnerability of Watersheds to Climate Change

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!