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Communication at the NABS Annual meeting, Keystone, 2000
(452) BIOASSESSMENT OF BMP EFFECTIVENESS IN AN AGRICULTURALLY IMPACTED WATERSHED IN CLARKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA.
L.E. Astin and R.C. Jones. Department of Biology MSN 3E1, George Mason University, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030
This study used benthic macroinvertebrates and habitat parameters to assess recovery in a Clarke County, Virginia, stream subjected to multiple livestock impacts. The effectiveness of agricultural BMP’s in the form of streambank fencing was determined by sampling eight sites within the Page Brook watershed from 1996-1998. Multimetric analysis using US EPA’s Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RPB II) indicated that sites where livestock were successfully and continuously excluded from the stream showed significant recovery compared to sites with intermittent or continuous access by cattle. These results were corroborated by principal components analysis, which demonstrated a gradient from mitigated to unmitigated sites based on taxonomic composition. Results of this study confirm the usefulness of cattle exclusion fencing in improving stream biotic integrity.
Presented at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, May 31, 2000 in Bioassessment: Case Studies
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