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ARS Home » Plains Area » El Reno, Oklahoma » Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center » Agroclimate and Hydraulics Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #414360
Research Project: Development of a Monitoring Network, Engineering Tools, and Guidelines for the Design, Analysis, and Rehabilitation of Embankment Dams, Hydraulic Structures, and Channels

Location: Agroclimate and Hydraulics Research Unit

Title: Qualifying relationships between urban land use and stream discharge of small Missouri streams over two decades

Author
item BOLAND, FINN NOEL - University Of Missouri
item STEWARD, CHRISTOPHER - University Of Missouri
item ABEYSINGHE, UMANDA - University Of Missouri
item ALOYSIUS, NOEL - University Of Missouri
item Hunt, Sherry

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/29/2024
Publication Date: 4/9/2024
Citation: Boland, F.A., Steward, C.A., Abeysinghe, U., Aloysius, N., Hunt, S. 2024. Qualifying relationships between urban land use and stream discharge of small Missouri streams over two decades. [abstract]. 2024 Show Me Research Week - University of Missouri Research Forum, April 8-12, 2024, Columbia, Missouri.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The health of streams within the Missouri Subbasin is vitally important for circulating water and providing habitat for animals. On top of this, they serve as significant indicators of our weather and greater climate situation. However, there is a disproportionally small amount of research of our changing environment’s effect of smaller streams (less than 50 cubic feet per second average flow) because of their irregular nature. To examine the state of these streams, stream discharge data was collected from gauged USGS streams from across the state for the rainy season (April-July) to get the most accurate results. The changes in the USGS data over the past two decades were examined and then further compared to the land use classifications of the surrounding area to search for general relationships. All of this was done to examine how the change in land use as well as land cover may explain the changes in frequency of extreme high and low flow events in our local streams. While the abnormality of small streams supplied some variance in our results, there was an observed increase in these less than 5th and greater than 95th percentile flow events over the past 20 years. Each stream was then examined within the context of changes in land use (e.g. agricultural, urban low density, urban high density, forest, etc.) to explain some of these changes. Results indicate that more variables such as rain amount, soil chemistry, and climate change indices should be examined to predict and eventually limit the changes in stream health and help advise choices of local farmers and urban expansion.