3D conservation planning: Including aquifer protection in freshwater plans refines priorities without much additional effort

Abstract

Groundwater has very rarely been included in modern systematic conservation planning methods that identify key areas for protection of aquatic organisms. Three conservation plans were developed for aquatic ecosystems in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia using the planning software Marxan: one model for rivers and wetlands and two that consider groundwater ecosystems. The first of these groundwater inclusive models included aquifers in the initial planning process; the second retrofitted groundwater onto an existing conservation plan. The results demonstrate that, if groundwater protection was included at the planning stage, the overall land that was needed only increased marginally. When included, groundwater protection led to an emphasis on groundwater recharge zones. A posteriori inclusion of GW protections, however, yielded a 30% increase in surface area needing protection. We conclude that groundwater can be included in conservation planning but it is much more efficient to do so at the beginning of the planning process. The next step is to refine the planning methods by including data on groundwater‐dependent organisms, either by genetic means or novel statistical techniques, and hence using a direct biotic signal instead of environmental surrogates.

Toward process‐based conservation prioritizations for freshwater ecosystems

“…Ausseil, Chadderton, Gerbeaux, Stephens, and Leathwick () and Lourival, Drechsler, Watts, Game, and Possingham () applied systematic planning principles to determine priority areas for different types of wetlands; however, neither study provided adequate consideration of the spatial location of wetlands. Lourival et al () accounted for connections between wetlands a posteriori after priority catchments were identified, but a priori inclusion of connectivity between ecosystem units, such as wetlands or aquifers, results in more efficient conservation solutions (Linke, Turak, Asmyhr, & Hose, ). Connectivity between wetlands has been included in a planning algorithm by Schleupner and Schneider ().…”

“…This could be circumvented by the genetic methods that are discussed subsequently herein. We expect that the modification to the general connectivity framework described by Linke et al ()—by adding an additional vertical layer of connectivity to their longitudinal connectivity framework (Hermoso, Linke, et al, )—can help to advance the inclusion of groundwater in systematic conservation planning.…”

“…described byLinke et al (2019)-by adding an additional vertical layer of connectivity to their longitudinal connectivity framework The evolution of connectivity frameworks in spatial prioritization of conservation in freshwater ecosystems: (a) whole upstream catchment protection that considers the need to manage full contributing catchments to ensure adequate protection to biodiversity; (b) river corridors following the channels of rivers and streams, more focused on the value of riparian ecosystems as connectivity corridors. More flexible approaches have also been proposed to avoid full catchment protection: (c) accounting for dilution of point-source or diffuse pollution along the river network; (d) integration of flexible protection and consideration of propagation of upstream threats-can help to advance the inclusion of groundwater in systematic conservation planning.Conservation prioritization for lakes was included in the guidelines for selecting Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Great Britain, both in the original publication (Nature Conservancy Council, 1989) and in its recent revision (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2018).…”

Theory and practice to conserve freshwater biodiversity in the Anthropocene

“…Biodiversity conservation that is linked to livelihoods of local communities is explored in large provinces such as the Andes (Tognelli et al, ), the Amazon (Reis et al, ) and Lake Victoria (van Soesbergen, Sassen, Kimsey & Hill, ). Water planning that includes life‐history needs of specific species is described in the Columbia River Basin of the USA (coho salmon; Flitcroft et al, ) and in discrete systems such as the Hunter Valley in Australia (Linke, Turak, Gulbrandsen Asmyhr, & Hose, ), Greek lakes (Stefanidis, Sarika, & Papastergiadou, ) and Lake Ontario (North America) (Zolderdo et al, ). Taken together, these manuscripts are intended to convey the scope and complexity of freshwater conservation in this time of global transformation, as systems from the atmosphere to the Earth's crust adjust to vast human‐derived change.…”

“…Planning for water and ecosystem protection also applies to vertical connections between surface water and groundwater in aquifers as well as the seasonal lateral connections along rivers. Linke, Turak, et al () show that, for a case study site in Australia, the a priori inclusion of aquifers in conservation planning did not significantly add to costs and the overall land that was needed to ensure adequate conservation. In contrast, retrospective inclusion of aquifers in conservation planning led to significant inefficiencies via novel costs (i.e.…”