Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Program

Research Need

Many federal agencies are beginning to formally recognize and consider in their decision-making processes services yielded by ecosystems that benefit humans. USACE currently lacks a structured approach to adequately consider appropriate ecosystem services in a manner scalable to its disclosure and decision-making contexts. The general purpose of this project is to improve our understanding and ability to incorporate consideration of ecological goods and services (EGS) in Corps planning, including the development of new tools that would make the implementation of EGS assessment in Corps Planning easier and more consistent.

Project Objectives & Plan

We will use the expertise of Corps Planners and academics working in the EGS field to test, develop example applications, and potentially refine the Proposed Framework developed in Phase I. We will also provide Districts with tools to more consistently address elements of non-use services that address societal preferences—without attempting to monetize the benefits of those services—using the best available science in a systematic and repeatable way. This will include:

• Multiple case studies testing the Proposed Framework in different types of projects and different parts of the country, and a write up of each as a chapter in a technical report.
• Three integrated EGS tools (Blue Carbon, Connectivity, and Scarcity/Restorability) in a GIS-based web platform, plus technical notes on each, and a technical note on the platform as a whole.

Payoff

This project will advance the Corps’ capabilities to capture the full range of relevant benefits and losses resulting from Corps projects via EGS assessment. The tests of the Proposed Framework will provide planners with examples of EGS assessment in a number of settings and project types, in the event that future planning policy enables the use of EGS assessment in Corps planning. The tools being developed will also promote eventual EGS assessment, but may also be used under existing planning procedures in budget justification.

Products

Research Need

Most ecosystem models are developed for specific projects and locations. There are few tools that are applicable to a wide range of ecosystems and even fewer that utilize the existing capabilities of hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling packages to help simulate ecosystem responses to typical project actions (e.g., reservoir reoperations, levee alterations, nonstructural flood risk management measures) in Corps’ mission areas. This limits synergies between restoration projects (lessons learned, staff and technology exchanges) and different professional communities in the Corps (e.g., environmental planners, engineers, and regulators).

Improving a software tool that connects H&H to ecosystem dynamics will enable Corps Districts (and other users) to have greater capabilities in the ecosystem planning and management arena specifically in regards to its restoration and water resource missions.

Project Objectives & Plan

HEC-EFM is designed to help study teams determine ecosystem responses to changes in the flow regime of a river or connected wetland. EFM is a generic software tool, applicable to a wide range of ecosystems and works with existing hydrologic databases and hydraulic modeling packages to make predictions of ecosystem responses. Since July 2008, EFM has been available via the web at no cost, and downloaded thousands of times (www.hec.usace.army.mil). This research continues development of EFM and its spatial accessory GeoEFM, which is also web available.

Feature enhancements 2015:

• Completion of habitat suitability features
• Integration of suitability and connectivity features
• Allow users to customize output styles
• Allow flexibility in types of output written
• Enable batch compute

Feature enhancements for 2016:

• HDF data import
• Location-based eco-values
• GeoEFM journal paper
• Map upgrades
• User guidance updates

Feature enhancements for 2017:

• Relative velocity
• Post-processing of patches for index of functionality
• EFM and GeoEFM journal paper about watershed-scale use of statistics
• Enable EFM to track age and origin of simulated communities
• Assess habitat connectivity

Payoff

By advancing new generic software tools, this work unit improves the capabilities of planners and engineers around the Corps who are working in the ecosystem planning and management arena. Products of this work unit will provide immediate utility to a growing EFM user base, as evidenced by recent applications of the software by NWK, NWO, NWP, MVP, and others.

Products

Research Need

The Illinois River Basin has experienced the loss of ecological integrity due to sedimentation of backwaters and side channels, degradation of tributary streams, increased water level fluctuations, reduction of floodplain and tributary connectivity, and other adverse impacts caused by human activities (Rock Island District). Illinois Basin Restoration (IL519) was designed, in part, to retain sediments in upland streams and thereby protect bottomland floodplain habitat from sediment impacts.

Sediment transport in watershed studies is typically estimated using statistical models and not field measurements. Statistical model estimates may be acceptable for general planning and regional assessments, but not for Corps project benefit analysis; the Corps 3x3x3 planning processes require a rapid, field-based benefit metric that evaluates sediment reduction anticipated from specific stream stabilization projects.

Project Objectives & Plan

This study will develop tools to prioritize sites offering the greatest downstream sediment reduction benefits to navigation (reduced dredging), flood risk management (floodway maintenance), and ecosystem restoration (floodplain habitat) objectives. An HQ certified sub-watershed sediment transport evaluation procedure that estimates existing sediment transport and the incremental reduction resulting from individual ecosystem restoration projects will be developed.

This project will take a scaled watershed approach that:

• Identifies stream conditions over large spatial areas (i.e., watersheds) using existing watershed and valley characterization tools
• Develops stream channel classification tools to estimate stream mechanics using high resolution elevation data
• Assesses watershed and stream channel restoration potential in a selected watershed (Senachwine Creek), and
• Defines aquatic habitat

Under this project, researchers will also:

• Devise a new methodology for developing Regional Hydraulic Geometry Curves based on existing LiDAR data.
• Incorporate new Regional Curves to delineate stream channel metrics using remote sensing (LiDAR) terrain data for the entire watershed.
• Develop GIS toolbox to make the process efficient over entire watershed areas.
• Develop tools that will be transferable wherever appropriate terrain data exists.

Payoff

Watershed restoration program managers will have tools to estimate the relative sediment reduction benefits of each increment of restoration in a long-term restoration program. The existing condition and cumulative benefits of incremental restoration can be monitored as part of an adaptive management program that can identify when sediment transport reduction targets are met.

Products

Research Need

USACE is tasked with the monitoring and conservation of numerous threatened, endangered, and at-risk species (TER-S) over more than 12 million acres. A large number of TER-S spread across a large geographic area makes conservation efforts difficult particularly when complicated by habitat shifts driven by climate change (CC).

Section 3 of Executive Order 13653 requires federal agencies, including USACE, to consider climate change impacts and focuses on increasing resilience in the face of CC. Temperature and precipitation changes can impact vegetation phenology and may disrupt ecosystems in ways that change the habitat of TER-S; such changes may also influence the dispersal of invasive species.

With the wide breadth of potential impacts from CC, earlier efforts have focused on developing tools for specific circumstances and/or impacts. However, as influencing factors change independently, a more comprehensive methodology is needed to predict the anticipated impacts of CC across a variety of situations and locations. What is needed is a tool that enables managers to prioritize conservation actions to get the most return on investment. Given that a large number of species/geographic areas are impacted by climate change, a framework is needed to enable site comparisons and allow for prioritization of restoration efforts.

Project Objectives & Plan

This effort will develop a working model that can serve as a tool to predict range shifts of threatened, endangered, at-risk species (TER-S), and invasive species as environmental conditions are altered by climate change. This tool will assist USACE with future needs for restoration project planning and preparation that incorporate management for TER-S and invasive species already present within the North Atlantic Division (NAD). The tool also will serve as an early detection warning for invasive species that are likely to invade sites and thus allow for proactive management to reduce impacts to the environment and to TER-S.

Tools developed from the proposed work will directly support the USACE Climate Change Adaptation Plan and assist with the framework from the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. While the initial development will utilize NAD as an example of its utility, this approach will be easily transported to other locations throughout USACE.

The primary deliverables will be a series of Tech Notes that demonstrate and detail the capabilities of the predictive model for TER-S and invasive species migration associated with CC. A web-based GIS visualization tool will also be developed to display regions of vulnerability for given species. Additional major deliverables will include the conceptual and actual predictive model for TER-S migration associated with CC in the NAD. Results will also be disseminated to the scientific community via one peer-review journal titled “Modeling approach for predicting range shifts for threatened and endangered species and invasive species within the Northeast in the face of climate change.”

Payoff

The predictive model for TER-S in NAD will assist USACE in both Planning and Operations business lines (restoration efforts and mission requirements for project operations) by predicting range shifts of TER-S and invasive species that occur within the NAD. This model can be extended to incorporate other Areas of Responsibility (e.g., USACE Divisions, training areas) to assist in a proactive approach and early awareness to changes in habitat, shifts in plant communities associated with both TER-S and invasive species, and species composition. In addition, the model could aid the USACE in establishing better interagency cooperation to support climate change adaptation including involvement with groups such as the Climate Change and Water Working Group (CCAWWG) and the Climate Data and Tools Working Group.

Products

Research Need

Coastal marsh and island features provide many critical functions including storm surge protection, water filtration, CO2 sequestration, and support to the fish and wildlife that utilize these systems. Many coastal systems are experiencing accelerated degradation and acreage loss due to factors such as sea level rise, salt water intrusion, and introduction of invasive species among others. Criteria to assess the vulnerability of marsh and island systems to specific drivers are needed to assist the planning community in assessing the restoration potential of sites across the Corps of Engineers, and to prioritize restoration actions. Linkage of restoration techniques to the site-specific processes driving degradation will enhance the likelihood of success of restoration projects, while increasing system sustainability and the provision of goods and services at regional (multi-project) levels.

Project Objectives & Plan

This research will address the following objectives:

• Identify and characterize the processes and conditions contributing to loss of coastal wetland and island features
• Establish criteria for assessing the vulnerability of coastal features and coastal systems to degrading processes and conditions
• Develop, test, and document a methodology to prioritize sites/features based on vulnerability, restoration potential, and return on investment
• Link restoration methods/strategies to the vulnerability classification.

Anticipated products of this research include:

• Criteria to assess the vulnerability of coastal wetland and island features
• Guidance for the restoration/preservation of vulnerable sites
• Methodology for prioritization of sites and features based on vulnerability and restoration potential
• Case studies and data compilation from coastal regions throughout the Corps

Payoff

Products of this work effort will assist Corps planners in identifying, screening, and prioritizing candidate restoration projects in coastal environments and will assist operations personnel in designing, operating, and maintaining coastal flood and storm damage reduction and navigation projects. Consequently, Corps projects are expected to provide greater benefits and the coastal systems in which they are implemented are expected to demonstrate greater resilience. The products will be aimed at streamlining the planning process for related projects providing more timely and cost-effective product delivery.

Products

Research Need

Corps’ river infrastructure projects have the potential to disrupt river connectivity and impede movement of desirable migratory aquatic species, many of which are threatened or endangered (T&E species). Simultaneously, river infrastructure can block the spread of aquatic nuisance species (ANS). For example, the Brandon Road Lock and Dam (L&D) is thought to block the movement of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes through the Illinois River Waterway and the Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls L&Ds are thought to block the spread of ANS into the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Traditional fish passage strategies to restore connectivity for T&E species now compete with strategies to block or impede movement of nuisance invasive species. Corps’ river infrastructure projects could contribute to river system restoration if they could be designed or operated to serve as selective distributional controls (i.e., passage for some species and barrier to others) for highly mobile aquatic biota at either single-project or system-wide scales. Unfortunately, there are no operational guidelines or designs for selectively passing desirable migratory species or impeding nuisance species.

Project Objectives & Plan

The goal of the proposed work is to develop planning and engineering tools for application at L&Ds that allow Corps’ scientists and engineers to develop project alternatives that selectively pass desirable aquatic species and block or impede ANS. This research is intended to be conducted in parallel with a Pittsburgh District USACE ongoing navigation modernization feasibility study for three locks on the upper Ohio River and the USFWS Biological Opinion on Ohio River Navigation System operation and maintenance. Anticipated products include:

• Tech Note: Novel approach for using computation fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to support feasibility studies.
• Software: Generalized CFD models of L&Ds for feasibility studies of proposed fish passage strategies.
• Movement rules that can be used to forecast the migratory path made by different target fish species.
• Adaptive Management Plan for application of fish passage strategies at Corps L&Ds.

Payoff

L&Ds are a major component of the Nation’s navigation infrastructure and have the potential for dual use as a major contributor to the Corps ecosystem and restoration business line. The extension to dual use is possible with relatively little additional investment and either no impact or very little impact on navigation efficiency. This work, with its initial formulation at Pittsburgh District (LRP), will establish a sound foundation for the design and evaluation of selective fish passage strategies at replacement lock chambers on the Upper Ohio River to support a Great Lakes and Ohio River Division environmental commitment. This work also supports initiatives identified in the MOU executed between The Nature Conservancy and Great Lakes and Ohio River Division for cooperative projects involving dam management for native fish passage, floodplain protection, invasive species, and fish and mussel reproduction needs. It further supports initiatives of the Council on Environmental Quality and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to restrict the spread of Asian carp. Methods developed in this Work Unit will be broadly applicable to USACE navigation infrastructure nation-wide.

Products

Research Need

Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled taxa in the US. Endangered mussels occur across the nation and every USACE district must plan for the potential of their endemic mussels to be placed on the endangered species list. Endangered species models are generally developed for a single-species, but given that there are over 300 mussel species in the US, new methods must be developed that focus on community-based approaches. A standardized general methodology is needed for endangered freshwater mussel community modeling that meets the guidelines set in EC 1105-2-412 (or subsequent policies) and allows models to be developed in a faster, more efficient manner, while maintaining scientific integrity and transparency throughout model development process.

Project Objectives & Plan

This work will focus on conceptual modeling for multiple species - involving stakeholders – and will include quantitative model development, spatially explicit index-based modeling approaches, model application, model certification, and technology transfer. The primary products of this effort will include a series of Technical Notes and webinars illustrating the steps involved in community-based modeling. Additional major deliverables will include a conceptual and actual ecological model(s) that have been applied and can be used for future ecosystem restoration and planning projects for mussel communities.

Payoff

The payoff for this effort will be a standardized methodology for modeling mussel communities that can be used by the USACE planning community of practice. Standardizing the approach for endangered freshwater mussel modeling will provide an advancement over current ad-hoc approaches and will enable Corps managers and planners to more effectively and efficiently support the Corps ecosystem restoration project life-cycle from planning to construction and into operations and maintenance.

Products

Research Need

Since the Water Resources and Development Act of 1986 (WRDA) re-established and refined the federal interest in water resources development, and added an ecosystem restoration mission, USACE – independently and in cooperation with other agencies – has completed numerous ecosystem restoration projects throughout the United States. The benefits of these projects, where designed and executed in isolation from the larger landscape, has come into question however. There is a perceived benefit to designing discrete ecological restoration projects in a manner that considers multiple objectives and the physical and environmental linkages that exist on a watershed scale.

Watershed level planning, however, presents a number of challenges, including the constraints of agency mission areas and the need for broader, more comprehensive – and costly – supporting planning studies. Such studies may be difficult to support in the current 3x3x3 planning process climate as well. As a result, project sponsors are often focused on planning for a specific site.

Despite the lack of connection in the planning and execution phases, many of these discrete projects may have nonetheless resulted in greater, though undocumented, realized benefits at larger ecosystem and watershed scales. An assessment of the cumulative and interrelated effects of multiple ecosystem restoration projects could quantify and demonstrate the added function and value provided by completed and future projects – i.e., a post-project cumulative assessment at the watershed scale.

Project Objectives & Plan

This project will examine multiple completed projects and projects currently planned in the Narragansett Bay watershed in an attempt to display and quantify the interrelationship among the projects as well as between the projects and the surrounding ecosystems. The assessment will demonstrate the cumulative benefits of the restoration investments over the past two to three decades providing the basis for the development of a general methodology for assessing benefits of multiple discrete projects by documenting changes in ecosystem quality and function at a watershed scale taking advantage of synergies and inter-connectedness among projects.

The primary deliverable will be a proof of concept demonstration of the cumulative effects assessment approach applied at the watershed scale. The capability developed will be used for demonstrating the aggregate value to the watershed of multiple local projects completed over time. Once developed, the approach will be available for widespread use to encourage application in other watersheds throughout the USACE. The primary written deliverables will include a Technical Report and manuscript for peer-reviewed publication illustrating the demonstration of the approach in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Deliverables will be co-developed with District collaborators to ensure that the products are useful and understandable to a broad audience.

Payoff

This work develops an approach that is a transparent, defensible assessment of the cumulative effects of USACE project activities at the watershed scale. The approach will be used to identify and, to the extent possible, quantify the ecosystem benefits resulting from NAE and other agency work in the Narragansett Bay watershed during the past 20 years. The approach will assist the Civil Works Transformation process by adding efficiency in identifying aquatic ecosystem restoration benefits. The approach will be developed for use on future projects but generalized for multiple USACE needs.

Products

Research Need

Current capabilities allow one to model fully mixed riverine systems with riparian vegetation growth and mortality being a function of flow and sediment. Improvements to the system will allow two-dimensional (vertically averaged) simulations, thus improving model results in large river and estuary systems, enabling modeling of interactions between flow, nutrient fate and transport, and riparian vegetation life cycles in the floodplain.

Project Objectives & Plan

The general purpose of the project is to improve the current nutrient simulation and riparian vegetation module formulations and integrate them into the latest HEC-RAS-2D program.

Riparian vegetation formulations will be improved to incorporate the effects of nutrient uptake on plant growth and mortality, thus allowing one to evaluate the effects of wetlands and backwater areas on recycling nutrients and reducing nutrient loads in downstream water bodies. These improvements in modeling capability will improve the science, economics, and decision support for ecosystem management and restoration.

The primary product of this research will be an improved HEC-RAS-2D model with more advanced nutrient and riparian vegetation dynamics. The advanced nutrient capabilities will be accomplished with updates to the Nutrient Simulation Module (NSM), and improved riparian vegetation dynamics will be accomplished through improvements to the Riparian Vegetation Simulation Module (RVSM). Technical reports, testing, validation studies, and updated versions of the HEC-RAS User’s Manual and Applications Guide will be available from the HEC website.

Payoff

The updated HEC-RAS-2D model will support the Corps’ most pressing need for a cost-effective science-based impact assessment for ecosystem restoration and management. Because of its widespread use in flood analysis and other hydraulic studies, most large river systems as well as many smaller rivers and streams in the U.S. have already been modeled with HEC-RAS. The overall cost to stakeholders interested in modeling water quality and interactions of flow, nutrients and vegetation for improved riverine and estuarine ecosystem management and restoration is dramatically reduced due to leveraging these analyses against existing modeling efforts.

Products

Models and Applications

• Columbia River System Operations (CRSO) Project, USACE Northwest Division (2020)

Research Need

Adequately accounting for environmental variability is a critical concern in quantifying long-term success of ecosystem restoration projects. Ecosystems and ecological processes experience numerous sources or expressions of periodic stochastic and catastrophic environmental variation (e.g., seasonal temperature dynamics, rainfall fluctuations, and large floods), respectively². These dynamic environmental conditions lead to variable and uncertain ecological benefit provided by these systems. For instance, an arid stream may be a significant source of aquatic habitat during wet years, and a nearly dry riverbed during drought. Moreover, many restoration projects have operational elements that respond to, and are often designed to change, ambient conditions (diversion structures, flood control features, etc.). Additionally, climate and land use change may alter future levels of environmental variability and potentially increase uncertainty as ecological responses change and adjust.

In order to better design, efficiently operate, and adaptively manage project features to optimize environmental benefits, project planners and operational specialists require tools for responding to variability and disturbance (e.g., drought).

Project Objectives & Plan

This project seeks to provide a suite of techniques for quantifying and incorporating environmental variability into project planning. Three primary and several secondary deliverables are proposed for this project:

• Review the state-of-the-science and synthesize techniques for quantifying environmental variability.
• Review the role of variability in setting and crossing ecological thresholds, maintaining ecosystem resilience, and designing restoration projects accordingly.
• Develop a case study to demonstrate accounting for variability of environmental benefits of restoration projects.
• Present findings to users in webinars, conference presentations, and on-site demonstrations with collaborating field personnel.

Payoff

Understanding and quantifying variability is particularly important in non-stationary environments, which are the new norm in aquatic ecosystems². Developing techniques for evaluating variability will help practitioners to plan and design for fluctuating environments, increase the resilience of restoration projects, and avoid negative thresholds in restoration outcomes.

Products

Research Need

As watersheds are subjected to escalating pressures of land development, environmental degradation, and climate change, managing reservoir and riverine systems to address environmental considerations is an increasingly complex but important task. Historically, reservoir operations have focused on balancing multiple authorized project purposes (i.e., flood control, water supply, fish and wildlife conservation, power production, navigation, and recreation). More recently, meeting environmental objectives has become an increasingly important consideration in reservoir operations, and demand for watershed scale water quality modeling is significantly increasing. However, the water resources community lacks simulation software with the capability to fully integrate environmental and ecosystem provisions into reservoir release decision-making. Due to data, time, and resource limitations, water quality models have typically been constructed to represent only a single reservoir or tributary system even though in many watersheds there are multiple reservoirs that influence system-wide water quality. To enable the most effective water management alternatives for meeting multiple objectives, new modeling tools are needed.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this project is to construct a next-generation reservoir water quality modeling system by embedding water quality capabilities within the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s Reservoir System Simulation program (HEC-ResSim). HEC-ResSim is a reservoir operations simulation program that is extensively used by the Corps for water management and water resource planning. An enhanced HEC-ResSim software package with water quality modeling and analysis capabilities will fully integrate water quality into the reservoir release-decision-making process enabling improved environmental and ecosystem management. The software will be capable of performing 1D (one-dimensional) and 2D (two-dimensional) simulations. Reservoirs will be represented by 1D vertically stratified or 2D vertically stratified and longitudinally varying water bodies, while rivers will be represented by 1D longitudinally varying water bodies. The water quality capabilities will be provided by a hydrodynamic and water quality engine, water quality libraries, and an expanded user interface developed in close collaboration between HEC and ERDC Environmental Lab (EL). The user will be able to define water quality operation rules that specify water quality objectives (either at-site or downstream) to be considered by HEC-ResSim in making reservoir release decisions. The HEC-ResSim user interface will support water quality model setup (including all relevant water quality and meteorological parameters), data visualization, analysis, and reporting. The updated HEC-ResSim program and documentation, technical reports, and validation studies will be available from the HEC’s and EL’s web sites.

Payoff

Integrating water quality modeling capabilities into HEC-ResSim directly supports the Corps’ high priority needs for including water quality and related environmental objectives with other project purposes into reservoir operations modeling, assessment, and management. Furthermore, it facilitates cost-effective, science-based environmental impact assessment and management. Through the Corps Water Management System (CWMS) implementation project, over 200 watersheds will have HEC-ResSim models constructed and ready for deployment over the next several years. The ability to add water quality modeling and operating objectives to these watershed models and use them in CWMS for real-time decision support and in planning studies will provide an effective, efficient, and economical approach to addressing environmental requirements.

Products

Research Need

Broad ranges of environmental circumstances – water quality, surface conditions, underwater objects, and diversity and abundance of sound-sources – both natural and anthropogenic - influence the level and variability of ambient noise in the aquatic environment. Models demonstrating noise permeation through the aquatic environment are available but they lack the resolution needed for impacts assessment (Schreiner 1990).

There is a need for a database of consistent, high-quality sound measurements reflecting ambient conditions in aquatic environments for comparison to sound levels produced by aquatic activities such as pile driving, dredging, dredged material placement, navigation and other anthropogenic sound sources. The USACE must be able to identify and differentiate ambient and construction related noise levels in order to assess environmental impacts, identify areas and organisms potentially affected, and determine where management or mitigation is necessary.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this work unit is to collect, process, and analyze ambient sounds and anthropogenic noise in aquatic environments. The principal goals are to sample and characterize acute and chronic noise associated with USACE activities (e.g., dredging, pile driving, bank armoring, and dredged material placement) and to establish ambient sound levels in harbors and shipping canals for comparison.

An available database of underwater sound files will support more quantitative assessment of impacts associated with aquatic construction activities, and inform management or mitigation needs.

Primary products of this research will include:

• An archived library of underwater sounds produced by natural processes (e.g., water movements, animal behaviors) and by anthropogenic activities (e.g., construction, navigation)
• A consistent and systematic methodology for sampling, processing and analyzing underwater sounds to ensure high quality data supporting assessment of impacts associated with dredging and construction activities;
• A self-contained sampling system that can be readily deployed and used by field crews to accurately measure noise levels.

Payoff

The proposed sound database will provide baseline data for comparison of anthropogenic to ambient noise levels. This project has wide application to Corps underwater construction and maintenance activities in both freshwater and marine environments, and will have particular utility in assessment of potential for impact of such activities on sensitive, or threatened and endangered species. The ability to deploy commercially available hydrophones with user-friendly interfaces will also enable USACE Districts to collect their own sound data, in a consistent and technically sound manner, to support defensible noise impact evaluations.

Products

Research Need

Understanding bottom type variation is critical to coastal management and to understanding how to create mutually supporting economic and environmentally sustainable solutions to coastal planning challenges, consistent with the Corps’ Environmental Operating Principles.

Mapping bottom type variation at a high resolution and demonstrating how the resulting maps can be used to understand and forecast spatial variation in species guilds and key population processes of native and invasive species (e.g., spawning locations), will provide critical information to support environmentally sustainable coastal management.

Project Objectives & Plan

A streamlined approach for classifying bottom types, and their association with key biological parameters in shallow (nearshore) aquatic and marine habitats, will be developed using the Great Lakes as a case study. The proposed effort aims to utilize existing and new geospatial technologies to improve the resolution and accuracy of our understanding of bottom type variation, and associated critical habitat parameters that influences native and non-native biota important to ecosystems and their derived services (e.g., fisheries production). The work will be coordinated with other Great Lakes initiatives, including the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Framework (GLAHF), the Habitat and Species Annex (Annex 7) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), and the joint National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA)/National Park Service (NPS) Benthic Mapping for Coastal Restoration projects.

Available geospatial data resources and technologies suitable for benthic habitat characterization in coastal environments will be synthesized, including high resolution imagery, lidar and sonar data. A bottom type classification scheme that characterizes geomorphic structure, substrate, and biological potential of bottom types will be developed to rate different macrohabitats according to their functional value to support sensitive, recreational, and commercial species in coastal aquatic habitats. A pilot study will be conducted in one of the Great Lakes to apply the classification methodology for select native and invasive species, and summarize results in a technical report for wider application in other coastal environments.

Payoff

The product will provide a repeatable approach for mapping bottom types that could be applied in other shallow coastal environments, allowing state and federal agencies to:

• Use a consistent framework to identify characteristics in underwater features using remote sensing data (lidar, sonar, imagery, etc.),
• Support the goals of Annex 7, GLAHF, and the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, and
• Support planning for economic and environmentally sustainable solutions to coastal management challenges. The product will provide a methodological template that can be transferred to other USACE projects with interest in the quality and aerial extent of substrates and benthic habitats.

Products

Research Need

HEC-HMS is extensively used by the Corps for watershed flow and sediment modeling in support of water management and water resource planning. The Corps needs a generalized next-generation watershed water quality modeling system, capable of simulating non-point source water quality (nutrients, dissolved oxygen, phytoplankton, and bacteria) and characterizing watershed-scale water quality impacts to improve water management for environmental and ecosystem benefits.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this project is to build new capabilities within the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS), in collaboration with ERDC Environmental Laboratory (ERDC-EL). This project will produce a new version of HEC-HMS with water quality modeling and analysis capabilities, simulating water temperature and general constituent transport for overland flow, streams, and reservoirs:

• The new software will integrate water quality into the hydrologic modeling process to improve water management for environmental and ecosystem benefits.
• Overland flow water quality capabilities will provide vital non-point source inputs for dedicated river and reservoir water quality models.
• Stream and reservoir capabilities will allow users to characterize watershed-scale water quality impacts.

These capabilities will be provided by a water quality engine and an expanded user interface, developed in close collaboration between HEC and ERDC-EL. The HEC-HMS user interface will support water quality model setup (including all necessary model parameters), water quality and meteorological data input, data visualization, analysis, and reporting requirements.

The updated HEC-HMS program, documentation, technical reports, and validation studies will be available from the HEC’s and ERDC’s web sites.

Payoff

Integrating watershed water quality modeling capabilities into HEC-HMS directly supports the Corps’ high priority needs to assess project impacts and improve management of the watershed to meet environmental objectives, which range from endangered species protection to invasive species control, as well as to improve reservoir operations decision-making to meet downstream environmental requirements. The new HEC-HMS software will provide the Corps with integrated hydrologic and water quality capabilities, providing accurate non-point inputs for streams and reservoirs and extensive data visualization and reporting capabilities for analysis and decision support. The software will be intuitive, powerful, and easy to use, facilitating cost-effective, science-based environmental impact assessment and management. Furthermore, it will form the foundation for more extensive generalized watershed water quality modeling capabilities (e.g., nutrients, dissolved oxygen, bacteria, and phytoplankton) in the next major stage of development. The Corps is rapidly building real-time watershed-scale forecasting models across the nation, incorporating HEC-HMS and other models in the Corps Water Management System (CWMS). Through the CWMS implementation project, more than 200 watersheds will have HEC-HMS models constructed and ready for deployment over the next several years. The ability to add water quality to these watershed models and use them in CWMS for real-time decision support as well as planning studies provides an effective, efficient, and economical approach to addressing environmental requirements.

Products

Research Need

Watershed planning goes beyond project planning (for specific USACE projects) towards more comprehensive and strategic evaluations and analyses that include diverse political, geographic, physical, institutional, technical, and stakeholder considerations. Watershed planning addresses identified water resources needs from any source, regardless of agency responsibilities, and provides a joint vision of a desired end state that may include recommendations for potential involvement by USACE, other federal agencies, or non-federal interests.

In conducting watershed planning, USACE uses its planning capability in a broader sense, to meet the changing water resources needs of the nation. Ultimately, watershed assessments should inform multiple audiences and decision makers at all levels of government, and provide a strategic roadmap to inform future investment decisions by multiple agencies. A system-wide watershed planning tool that integrates water quantity, water quality, ecological data, and uncertainty with stakeholder values and regulatory requirements is needed to effectively evaluate and integrate watershed management alternatives to achieve multiple objectives.

Project Objectives & Plan

ERDC-EL, ERDC-CHL, IWR-HEC and others will develop software and tools for Watershed Assessment Teams, informing modeling of watersheds, rivers, and reservoirs and enabling more effective alternatives comparison and stakeholder communication. These tools will include:

• Serious Games to support Stakeholder Collaboration
• Satellite Data Tools to support Systems Analysis
• Weather Generator to support Systems Analysis
• Vulnerability Assessment Tools for Future Risks

Pilot studies will be conducted in: South Pacific Division, Chesapeake Bay & CA Central Valley and Sacramento Watershed. A tabletop version of the Serious Games concept has been developed and demonstrated within USACE; the game concept is being refined as a Stakeholder communication tool enabling stakeholders with widely varying technical backgrounds to understand the tradeoffs of various project alternatives; a later interactive module is planned as a follow-on effort. The Satellite Data Time Series Animation Proof of Concept has been developed and will be applied to a concept case study; this tool will enable not only systems analysis but also effective stakeholder communication, by visually illustrating the spatial impacts of various watershed project alternatives.

An atmospheric module and a weather generator are under development that will exploit the connection between climate and weather, capturing the causal mechanism – the weather regime – and addressing certain deficiencies in current modeling capabilities, including:

• Disparity of resolution between catchment being modeled and general circulation models
• Lack of understanding of how drought influences flood, and vice versa
• Inability to model low flow events or reproduce long term drought events

Payoff

To date, limited effort has been put into developing multi-criteria decision frameworks to evaluate potential actions across a watershed. Thus, there is a need to develop a complement of system-wide watershed planning tools encompassed by this effort. This R&D will provide capabilities currently not available to the USACE planning community, increasing their ability to successfully assess projects on a watershed scale for multiple objectives, scenarios, and criteria, resulting in a more efficient planning process and greater optimization of management and restoration alternatives over a watershed scale.

Products

Research Need

Sea level rise due to climate change is predicted to impact nearly all coastal wetlands, with continued losses causing negative impacts to tourism, the fishing industry, wildlife habitats, protective barrier islands, and residential areas. For example, data from past hurricanes indicates that the loss of every one-mile strip of wetlands along the coast corresponds to an estimated $5.8M average annual increase in property damage (Restore or Retreat.org).

Grasses and grass-like plants of tidal salt marshes on the coasts of the United States, as well as mangrove and tupelo gum swamps, are important to sustainability of wetland and marsh areas and critical to restoration efforts in these low lying areas. However, it is often difficult to re-establish this native vegetation because soil loss can be more rapid than root development. This effect is particularly acute in tidal wetlands and salt marshes, where establishment of salt-tolerant species is slow compared to grasses. A method of soil amendment, particularly for use in increasingly saline environments, is needed to improve success of wetland restoration, reduce sediment losses, increase slope stability, improve soil germination rates, increase drought resistance and improve revegetation rates on disturbed lands.

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are produced by numerous Rhizobium species, symbiotic bacteria that nodulate plant roots using plant sugars to produce a biopolymer (BP) film. The functions of this film include surface adhesion, water retention and nutrient accumulation. In field demonstrations, a single application of concentrated EPS to soil at the beginning of the growing season has resulted in plants with larger root masses. In regions with saline soils, EPS can also increase the salt tolerance of some plants which improves plant growth and reproduction. These biopolymers have potential to fill a unique niche in ecological restoration by facilitating more rapid and successful vegetation establishment.

Project Objectives & Plan

Rhizobia will be isolated from saline tolerant legumes, cultured, and grown in batch – and subsequently pilot scale – reactors, and effects on plant growth in saline environment tested in lab and field scale.

The production of soil amendments using monocultures in bioreactors, developed using Rhizobium tropici, has been patented to the US Army and licensed to industrial partners (Newman et al. 2010). The same industrial process will be used to produce a novel rhysobially based material, to geoengineer soil systems such that plants are better protected from salt stress. In the laboratory, the rhizobia will be isolated from the soil around this saline tolerant legume, cultured, and grown in batch reactors, where the microbes are stimulated to produce large quantities of this biopolymer.

Laboratory, mesoscale (lysimeter), and field-scale soil tests will be conducted employing grasses used for wetlands restoration, to assess benefit to plant growth in a saline environment. Metrics, compared to plants grown in non-amended (control) soil, will include:

• Root mass and shoot length
• Root architecture
• Total suspended solids (TSS) in leachate and runoff water
• Nutrient concentration (TKN, nitrate, phosphate) in leachate and runoff water
• Changes in total organic carbon (TOC) in soil over time

Payoff

This research constitutes an important leveraging opportunity to adapt biopolymer technology developed for military applications to ecological restoration, and levee and coastal management needs. By combining modern bioengineering with an understanding of the natural symbiotic relationship between plants and soil microbial communities, soils can be rapidly adapted for enhanced re-vegetation during wetland and restoration efforts. The biopolymer can be used as a soil amendment to induce rapid root and shoot development. This root development can facilitate soil stabilization to encourage both stability of current wetlands and development of new or restored wetlands, as well as dunes, levees or other areas. Imparting salt tolerance in brackish wetlands is key to rapid establishment of vegetation in brackish and saline environments.

Products

Research Need

Loss of coastal marsh areas critical for their ecological and storm protection functions has become a national concern, with decline attributed to sediment starvation and exacerbated by the impacts of sea level rise and subsidence. Little guidance exists pertaining to sustainable restoration and management of impacted marsh areas. Studies are needed to address information gaps such that suitable approaches can be developed and disseminated to agencies responsible for stewardship of these areas.

Project Objectives & Plan

Technical guidelines for restoring and sustaining ecological function of coastal marshes impacted by sea level rise will be developed through the efforts of a multi-disciplinary team focused on the environmental and ecological aspects of planning, designing, implementing and monitoring such projects. Objectives of the effort include:

• Consolidate a knowledge base incorporating relevant literature, case studies, lessons learned and best management practices for restoring and sustaining ecological function in salt water marshes impacted by sea level rise
• Quantify environmental “impacts” (positive and negative) of material placement (dredged material or other fill material) to nourish inter-tidal wetlands for the purpose of offsetting sea level rise
• Quantify environmental “impacts” (positive and negative) of other management practices intended to mitigate effects of sea level rise on inter-tidal wetlands
• Identify and address regulatory authority, stakeholder concerns, restrictions, and limitations related to all aspects and stages of a restoration project
• Develop recommended requirements for characterizing a restoration site, control site, and source materials for placement in ecologically sensitive areas
• Develop appropriate performance criteria to assess environmental and ecological response to management activities intended to offset adverse impacts of sea level rise
• Integrate historic and ongoing efforts with other projects focused on engineering aspects of material placement and site stabilization, such as placement methods, hydrodynamics and sediment transport
• Collaborate using multiple technology transfer platforms to achieve widest dissemination of information produced, to build multi-agency partnerships to leverage future efforts, and to establish a robust resource that will be continually updated as the body of available information grows

Products will include a technical summary of relevant literature and case studies, based upon available data and reports obtainable from participating agencies. Projects summaries will include technical, environmental and impacts considerations, with site selection and field monitoring to address data gaps. A factsheet will be developed and updated annually for each selected project. All documents will be housed on publicly available ERDC-hosted websites specific to beneficial use of dredged material, thin layer placement and engineering with nature, as appropriate.

A technical framework will be developed to delineate environmental considerations relevant to restoration of salt marshes for the purpose of offsetting effects of sea level rise, based on field monitoring for selected projects where appropriate management activities are planned. The work will be closely coordinated with related efforts examining the engineering aspects of material placement, stability, and material fate for different placement methods and hydrodynamic conditions. Work products will include project factsheets, a technical summary document, and a literature and case study review. Additional topic-specific papers and journal articles will include monitoring recommendations to evaluate effectiveness of management measures.

At least three web meetings are planned to engage interested representatives from USACE, regulatory agencies and resource agencies, to identify, develop and discuss relevant technical topics of mutual concern, common issues and management approaches, and a foundation for further collaborative work in these areas in the future.

Payoff

While there is significant interest in active management of coastal marsh areas to mitigate for sea level rise, technical uncertainties present a significant obstacle to implementation. Engagement with key stakeholders in the development of technical guidance will facilitate identification and resolution of key issues in order to move the state of the science forward. By making use of web-based tech transfer tools, more continuous and effective information sharing will be possible over a broader user base. We envision that this will motivate additional studies by other agencies and create new collaborative opportunities for data sharing, to strengthen the technical basis for development of mitigation measures and guidance. By developing a more structured approach to evaluating management alternatives to offset sea level rise, resources can be invested in execution rather than consensus building, with greater assurance of successful ecological and financial outcomes.

Products

Research Need

Planning, managing, and engineering natural or nature-based systems such as barrier islands requires integrated solutions that consider the complex interactions between physical and ecological processes controlling island development, evolution, and stability. Modeling is often required to study and evaluate such systems. Simulating the dynamic feedbacks between collision, overwash, inundation, and vegetation necessitates the integration of multiple data sources, tools, and physically based models.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this project is to develop an assessment framework that can model the response of barrier island systems to disturbances, including storms and changing environmental conditions such as sea level rise and climate change. The modeling framework developed is tiered to best suit USACE District and Division needs. In its simplest form (Tier 1), it can be used as a screening tool for SMART Planning. Higher levels of complexity (Tier 2) can be implemented for quantitative scenario comparison. To support the modeling framework, specific products include technical notes describing the overall framework and each Tier, a Tier 1 executable including a user’s guide, a technical report describing the application of the framework to a field site, and webinar and web content describing the modeling framework were developed.

Payoff

The multi-tiered approach is an advancement over current approaches as it integrates existing tools and data in such a way that considers the complex ecogeomorphic feedbacks controlling barrier island morphological and ecological function. Results provide a quantifiable way to target and prioritize areas that will require and benefit from restoration interventions, in addition to providing multiple benefits beyond those conveyed by the initial ecosystem restoration efforts. This approach will lead to better allocation of project resources by enabling focus on areas with the greatest uncertainty and risk, and is compatible with USACE SMART Planning.

Products

Research Need

A relatively large inventory of aging dams exists on rivers and streams throughout the United States; increasing numbers of these structures are slated for removal due to safety concerns and associated environmental issues. Environmental benefits derived from dam removal include improved environmental connectivity and restored sediment transport within the natural stream system. However, there is also potential for adverse environmental impacts associated with release of sediments accumulated behind these dams. Guidance is needed to inform planning efforts, including pre-demolition characterization of behind-dam sediments and assessment of anticipated impacts due to contaminant release and re-deposition of sediments downstream.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this effort is to develop a framework for screening potential sediment-related issues associated with dam removal, and to tailor SMART Planning compatible modeling tools for assessing anticipated downstream sediment impacts and benefits. The primary deliverables will include publications and webinars outlining the steps involved in assessing sediment issues associated with dam decommissioning. A state of the science review and a decision matrix/flowchart for screening and assessing risks and impacts associated with sediment transport are planned. Additional deliverables will include numerical models development enabling rapid screening of potential dam removal sites for sediment issues and assessing geomorphic response, sediment fate and ecological consequences of dam removal at a single site.

Payoff

The products of this effort will provide a more complete understanding of effects associated with dam removal and support prediction and management of adverse impacts. A streamlined assessment framework and guidance for quantifying and modeling sediment transport and impacts – including burial and contaminant release – will enable USACE planners to appropriately assess dam removal alternatives and manage anticipated impacts. These products will enable planners to undertake feasibility-level analyses within the time constraints imposed by SMART Planning while also informing preliminary engineering and design.

Products

Research Need

USACE decisions affect the environment across all business lines. Ecological models provide a means of quantifying decision outcomes. SMART Planning timelines require teams to rapidly develop and apply models in short horizons (often 18-24 months!). There is an urgent need to improve ecological modeling practice within the USACE Planning, Regulatory, and Operational Communities.

Project Objectives & Plan

This research project seeks to improve ecological modeling practice and decision-making within these USACE communities. To accomplish this objective, we will provide a set of analytical tools for practitioners to apply, with guidance on best practices for ecological modeling. We will develop an ecological modeling platform that standardizes the application of index-based models (e.g., habitat models) for the USACE planning community of practice, that meets the guidelines set in EC 1105-2-412 (or subsequent policies). This model platform will be explicitly designed to meet the needs of the SMART planning paradigm by facilitating the development and application of models in a faster, more efficient manner, while maintaining scientific integrity and transparency throughout model development process. Additionally, this project will develop guidelines and training for ecological modeling for practitioners of ecosystem restoration, regulatory, and operations communities of practice.

Two sets of deliverables are the emphasis of this work unit. First, an ecological modeling toolkit will be provided to facilitate the development and application of index-based models, which will contain several quantitative tools to:

• Generate equations for index-based models,
• Integrate equations into overall suitability indices in an error-checked, consistent platform,
• Perform basic analyses for model evaluation, and
• Produce integrated documentation of model equations and relevant, user-defined comments and assumptions.

The second set of deliverables will provide a thorough set of ecological modeling best practices covering each step of the model development process (i.e., conceptualization, quantification, evaluation, and application) in a complement of technical notes, journal papers, webinars, training courses, and web resources, as requested by field practitioners.

Payoff

This effort will result in a standardized methodology for developing and applying index-based models USACE-wide for applications in the ecosystem restoration, operations and, potentially, regulatory communities of practice. Standardizing the approach for index-based ecological modeling will be an advancement over current, ad-hoc approaches and will enable Corps managers and planners to more effectively and efficiently support USACE decision-making. The emphasis on modeling best practices will enhance agency capacity by providing repeatable processes and associated training in the development of ecological tools for a variety of purposes and applications.

Products

Research Need

Although the Corps has been addressing critical environmental problems through their authority to restore ecosystem integrity (ER 1105-2-100) at a national scale, the Corps has been unable to provide evidence of their success beyond number of acres or linear feet/miles restored. Questions about restoration success remain unanswered, such as: “How well did the chosen restoration techniques meet project goals and objectives?” and “What is the benefit of ecosystem restoration to the nation?”

Corps districts must develop a monitoring plan for each ecosystem restoration project. It is important that the monitoring plan include a set of standard data collection protocols that allows the District to report a standard set of metrics. Standardized reporting of how a project is progressing will ensure that the Corps has the ability to answer questions about ecosystem restoration success and benefit in a consistent and defensible manner, and interpret results across different sites.

Project Objectives & Plan

The purpose of this work is to develop standardized monitoring protocols for restored native herbaceous vegetation that meet the guidelines set forth in Section 2039 of WRDA 2007 Monitoring Ecosystem Restoration and Corps Planning Memorandum – Monitoring Ecosystem Restoration (2009). The primary deliverables will be a series of Technical Notes, training webinars and workshops, illustrating the steps involved in standard data collection and reporting for herbaceous vegetation monitoring. Technical Notes will include concepts such as:

• Detecting trends of change in plant communities
• Determining why certain metrics are/are not good indicators of vegetation condition
• Proof of concept through field testing of standard protocols in different regions.

Webinars and workshops will be focused on transferring knowledge and training district personnel to implement standard data collection protocols. An additional major deliverable will be a guidance manual that details the steps a District can take to implement standard monitoring protocols and reporting for native vegetation restoration projects.

Payoff

This effort will enable the Corps to monitor the condition of restored vegetation, quantitatively report on the success of restoration efforts, and enable a broader narrative to effectively communicate the large-scale benefits that result from Corps restoration projects. Standardized monitoring and reporting will allow the Corps to accumulate the data necessary to begin to answer the question: “What is the return on investment with ecosystem restoration?” Additionally, the results of this effort will allow a better understanding of restoration techniques and perhaps result in reduced construction costs as more efficient techniques are discovered.

Products