سیستم پشتیبانی تصمیم برای سازگاری ​​مدیریت زمان واقعی تالاب های فصلی در کالیفرنیا

This paper describes the development of a comprehensive flow and salinity monitoring system and application of a decision support system (DSS) to improve management of seasonal wetlands in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates salinity discharges from non-point sources to the San Joaquin River using a procedure known as the total maximum daily load (TMDL) to allocate the assimilative capacity of the river for salt among watershed sources. Management of wetland sources of salt load will require the development of monitoring systems, more integrative management strategies and coordination with other entities. To obtain local cooperation, the Grassland Water District (GWD), whose primary function is to supply surface water to private duck clubs and manage wetlands, needs to communicate to local landowners the likely impacts of salinity regulation on the long-term health and function of wildfowl habitat. The project described in this paper will also provide this information. The models that form the backbone of the DSS, develop salinity balances at both a regional and local scale. The regional scale concentrates on deliveries to and exports from the GWD while the local scale focuses on an individual wetland unit where more intensive monitoring is being conducted. The design of the DSS is constrained to meet the needs of busy wetland managers and is being designed from the bottom up utilizing tools and procedures familiar to these individuals.

The Grassland Water District (GWD) together with the adjacent State and Federal refuges constitute the largest contiguous wetland in the State of California (Fig. 1). The GWD comprises two interconnected units—the northern and southern GWD units—which together provides water to more than 20,000 ha of privately owned wetlands, mostly used as over-wintering habitat for wildfowl on the Pacific Flyway. The Northern GWD (NGWD) is larger in area than the Southern GWD and contains discrete drainage outlets, which provide drainage to distinct subbasins within the NGWD (Fig. 2). For this reason, the NGWD was chosen as the subject of the study described in this paper.

Information obtained through this project will likely be transferable and of significant value to all wetlands in the grassland ecological area including those wetlands managed by State and Federal wildlife agencies. The successful implementation of this combined monitoring, experimentation and evaluation program will provide the basis for adaptive management of wetland drainage throughout the entire 70,000 ha grassland ecological area. The project will involve local landowners, duck club operators, and managers of State and Federal refuges in the Grassland Basin. Although this pilot project has concentrated on the 20,000 ha that comprise the GWD, the goal of the project is to disseminate the findings of the project more widely. The GWD has a successful history of local involvement through the district newsletter, published monthly; high school and college-level educational outreach programs; and through ‘Wild on Wetland’ days, which help to educate the public about the benefits and techniques of wetland management.