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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297560

Title: Watershed management

Author
item Tomer, Mark

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2014
Publication Date: 5/9/2014
Citation: Tomer, M.D. 2014. Watershed management. In: Elias, S. A., editor. Elsevier Reference Module on Earth System and Environmental Science. London, England: Elsevier. Available online: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/9780124095489.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Watershed management is aimed at land and water resources, and is applied to an area of land that drains to a defined location along a stream or river. Watershed management aims to care for natural resources in a way that supports human needs for water, food, fiber, energy, and habitation, while supporting other agreed attributes linked to recreation, esthetics, and/or ecologic function. Because of these multidisciplinary concerns, the development of watershed-management strategies can involve complex scientific and public policy issues. Each watershed is unique in physiography, ecology, climate, water quality, land use, and human culture. Therefore any generalized approach to watershed management must be customized to each setting when put into practice. Watershed management requires a long-term commitment that is adaptive to changes in population, climate, culture, and resource-use demands. These issues are unique to each watershed and each nation. Watershed-management experiences from around the globe have dealt with a wide range of issues.