In
a
new
paper
co-authored
by
Lake
Futures
researcher
Nitin
Singh
and
Principal
Investigator
Nandita
Basu,
published
in
Nature
Sustainability, the
human
factor
in
seasonal
streamflows
across
natural
and
managed
watersheds
of
North
America
is
investigated.
A study of more than 2,000 streams around North America found that those altered by human activity are at greater risk of flooding. The study analyzed the seasonal flow patterns of 2,272 streams in Canada and the U.S. and found that human-managed streams – those impacted by developments like dams, canals, or heavy urbanization – had significantly different flow patterns compared to streams in natural watersheds.
The study used natural watersheds untouched by human activity to measure the impact of climate change on streamflow. Using them as a baseline, the researchers then compared flow in managed streams within a radius of 115 kilometers to measure the impact of human developments.
“Compared to their natural neighbours, about 48 per cent of the human-altered streams had significant increases in seasonal flow trends, while 44 per cent showed a significant decrease in the seasonal flow tends,” said Nitin Singh, Lake Futures researcher and lead author of this work.
“It is important to recognize human modifications of the landscape often amplify the effects of climate change on streamflow,” said Nandita Basu, Lake Futures Principal Invetigator. “We need to take responsibility to manage our landscape sustainably, because it’s not just climate that is changing it.”