Steve Apfelbaum, "Emulating Nature"

Applied Ecological Services, Inc.

Water and Ecosystem Restoration

Sustainable Solutions For More Than 35 Years

Historic Landscapes

• DIVERSE• DYNAMIC

• PRODUCTIVE• STINGY

RiversCoastal Environment

Watersheds

Zone of:• Generation /”reservoir”

• Carbonaceous materials• Freshwater-surface and recharge

• Suspended solids• Parent material,

minerals/nutrients• Thermal buffers-baseflow

cooling• Water supply buffers-

modulator/inertia• Water quality buffer--

Zone of:• Mixing (chemistry, water, biology,

energy)• Dilution

• Deposition• Redistribution, assimilation, and

production

Zone of:• Bed/suspended solid origin

• Organic matter breakdown/fractioning• Mobility for life

• Energetics

Larger Relationships-

Rivers Coastal

Environment

Zone of:• Generation /”reservoir”

• Carbonaceous materials• Freshwater-surface and recharge

• Suspended solids• Parent material,

minerals/nutrients• Thermal buffers-baseflow

cooling• Water supply buffers-

modulator/inertia• Water quality buffer--

Zone of:• Mixing (chemistry, water, biology,

energy)• Dilution

• Deposition• Redistribution, assimilation, and

production

Zone of:• Bed/suspended solid origin

• Organic matter breakdown/fractioning• Mobility for life

• Energetics

Watershed and Water Impact

Impervious landscapes, Urban environments, Compaction, Agricultural, Fertilizers, Climate

change, Vulcanism, Forestry practices, livestock grazing,Contaminants, Sanitary

sewage, Dredging/Filling, Planting non-native or invasive plant and animal and disease

species, human design and ingenuity

Stream Degradation and Watershed Development Trends

Historic River in IL Existing River in IL

Nine 100 to 500 yr floods in 15 yrs

0 1 10 50 100 1000

1

0

4

10

100

1000

10000

Des Plaines River Discharge---1899

DIS

CH

AR

GE

(CFS

)

FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

10000

1000

100

10

1.0

0.1

.13 99.8799.5999895908070605040302010521.5

Single Point

Watershed Changes Over Time---Des Plaines River Discharge----1973

780 cfs

Des Plaines RiverDischarge (CFS) at Riverside, Illinois, 1886-1988

-1000

0

1000

1000

2000

3000

0 70605040302010

-200

0

200

400

600

800

0 70605040302010

HIGH FLOWS• High flows have doubled• From 1886-1904, 1.5 high flows/yr• Presently, 3-5 high flows/yr

MEDIAN FLOWS• Median flows are 400 times higher

-100

0

100

200

300

400

0 70605040302010

LOW FLOWS• Low flows are 250 times higher

Annual Hydrographs and Normal Average Water Levels for Restored Wetlands.Designed by Engineers vs. Ecologists

Spring Fall FallSpring

Avg. Avg.

* Unpredictable Swings in Water Levels* Creates Biological Instability* Promotes Habitats for Weeds and Poor Aesthetics* Promotes Poor Water Quality

* Annual Seasonal High and Low* Predictable Hydraulics and Seasonal Trajectory* Promotes Habitat for Stable yet Dynamic Plant Communities (Diversity of Plants and Animals)

File name: C:\DRAWINGS\1997\97-45\HYDRLGY

No changes in storm intensity, frequency, or rainfall distributions!

Soil Carbon collapse (~9% to 1.5%) Imperviousness (0 to 15%)Agricultural tiling (0~70%)

Prairie Crossing - Plan & Photographs

Ecology, Economy and Culture

STT- FIRST AT PRAIRIE CROSSINGA System of Connected, Restored Open Space--------------- instead of pipes and detention ponds.

Setting New Standards—On Hundreds of projects

Creating Great Places ! (Saving $$)

Swimmable/Fishable Water High Clarity and Quality

Unprecedented Results:• Lake Leopold, refugia for rare fish.

• Restored Prairies, home to rare grassland birds• Renewed connections between people and place and to each other.

Kankakee Sands, Indiana

Junk.shp

Soil/Vegetation RelationshipWATEREMERGENTSEDGEWET MESIC/ SEDGEMESIC/ WET MESICSAVANNA

Management Units

D

B

CN

O

E F G H

I

J

K

L

M

Soil/Vegetation RelationshipWATEREMERGENTSEDGEWET MESIC/ SEDGEMESIC/ WET MESICSAVANNA

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D

B

CN

O

E F G H

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MDrainage System

District Main DitchRegional MainField DrainLocal Feeder

Drainage SystemAbandon

Proposed Control Structures%U Major Controls#Y Minor Controls

Lower Don Lands RevitalizationToronto, Ontario

River Mouth and Hydrology Restoration

Freshkills Landfill Restoration Planning

16

Restore Soil Carbon and Water Cycle Everywhere

AES’s ~9000 projects worldwide (Water, soils, biodiversity, human relationships with place, etc)

• Diversity• Dynamics

• Productivity

•STINGINESS

RESTORING :

Applied Ecological Services, Inc.

Thank You!

Sustainable Solutions For More Than 35 Years

[email protected]

www.appliedeco.com