Catchment stream surveys and the use of GIS for integrated management: DeeCAMP and the Deeside Rivers Survey

✍ Scribed by A.D. Webb; P.J. Bacon; M. Naura

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 321 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1052-7613
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0755(199807/08)8:4<541::aid-aqc259>3.0.co;2-5

✦ Synopsis

A field survey of stream and river habitats at a sample of sites was undertaken in the Scottish Dee catchment in 1995 based on the River Habitat Survey (RHS) method, as part of a partnership catchment management project.

2. The selection of survey sites was based on a stratified random sample according to categories of geology, slope, altitude and stream flow. Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis was used to define the strata and facilitate suitable allocation of samples within strata.

3. Survey results were integrated with a desktop-PC version of a decision-support GIS allowing rapid query and display of results.

4. Summary survey statistics were compared with those from the RHS reference site database in order to illustrate how Deeside stream features can be placed in a wider geographical context.

5. Two recorded survey variables were analysed in detail with respect to the GIS data: 87% of the variance of log(stream width) was predictable from GIS-derived variables, but only 17% of the variance of the proportion of gravel/pebble stream-bed substrate (%GP). Stream width can therefore be reliably estimated at unsurveyed sites in Deeside, whereas %GP cannot, from the data used in this study.

6. Variable analyses are discussed in relation to other studies. The usefulness of GIS in survey stratification, variable analyses, display of results, and incorporation of results in management tools is evaluated. The need for a completed RHS reference site database in order to exploit the full potential of the system for catchment studies is also recognized.