Groundwater-dependent biodiversity and associated threats: a statewide screening methodology and spatial assessment of Oregon

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To address technical issues regarding preserving groundwater-dependent ecosystems (an important source of water for sustaining both ecological and human communities), The Nature Conservancy has developed a new GIS-based screening tool to map the distribution and diversity of groundwater-dependent ecosystems and species as well as the type and location of potential threats to their groundwater supply. The results from this analysis will be used to prioritize areas for conservation of groundwater-dependent biodiversity and to guide the development of targeted conservation strategies to reduce threats to groundwater quantity and quality. The analysis will also help to identify areas where future conservation efforts may require additional scientific studies to better understand groundwater processes and the links between groundwater and aquatic ecosystems. We began this work by developing and implementing these methods in Oregon; however, many states and countries have similar challenges, as groundwater contamination and depletion are common issues and data and information are generally lacking. Thus, the general approach and methods described in this report can provide a framework for similar assessments in other locations. This report provides background on groundwater-dependent ecosystems and threats, a general description of the analysis methods, and a summary of results for Oregon. (Appendices provide an atlas containing maps of each data layer compiled and developed, detailed description of the methods used in this analysis, and tables of the data used in the analysis.)

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Ecology

Report but not its appendices are available at https://www.conservationgateway.org/Documents/OR-Groundwater-Main-low-re.... Appendices can be requested via http://conserveonline.org.

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Brown J, Wyers A, Bach L, Aldous A. 2009. Groundwater-dependent biodiversity and associated threats: a statewide screening methodology and spatial assessment of Oregon. Portland (OR): The Nature Conservancy. 79 p. [accessed 2016 Feb 9]. https://www.conservationgateway.org/Documents/OR-Groundwater-Main-low-re....

Additional information if needed: Support was received from the Northwest Conservation Fund of the Priscilla Bullitt Collins Trust and the Salmon Habitat Fund