CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Creed, I.F.; Devito, K.J.; and Garlick, G.S.
Date : 1999
Title : A conceptual model for predicting the hydrochemical response of lakes on the western boreal plain to environmental stressors: climatic controls.
Publication : Program and Abstracts, American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting, Boston, Massachussetts, June 1 - 4, 1999.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
There is substantial natural variation in the primary production of wetlands and lakes within the forest of the Boreal Plain. As human alteration of this landscape intensifies, it has become critical to understand the sources of this natural variation as a backdrop to predicting the impacts of human activities. The objectives of this presentation are to present a unifying theory of the factors regulating the loading of nutrients at limit the primary production of wetlands and lakes, and to explore the response of these factors to varying climatic conditions. In a separate presentation (Devito et al.), we present a conceptual model for predicting the potential susceptibility of lakes to disturbance based on geomorphic factors. In this presentation, we extend the model to consider the influence of climatic conditions on these geomorphic factors. In particular, we focus on the dynamics of source areas of water and nutrients to the lakes. We propose that a significant source of variation in the nutrient status of lakes is related to the dynamics of source areas of nutrients from the land to lakes. To test our hypothesis, we used remote sensing techniques to: [a] discriminate nutrient source areas (e.g. bogs, fens, swamps, open water), [b] detect changes in the boundaries of these source areas, and [c] detect concomitant changes in the nutrient status of the receiving lakes. The multi-scale, multi-temporal approach adopted in this study utilizes Landsat Thematic Mapper, Radarsat-1 and aerial photography data, coupled with vector and raster ancillary GIS data. We present empirical support for our conceptual model, providing a basis for classifying the potential susceptibility of these lakes to change in nutrient status following human and natural disturbances.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology