Trisha Moore, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University

Track: Research

Abstract

Low impact development practices are known to provide downstream benefits by mimicking pre-development hydrologic regimes while facilitating pollutant removal mechanisms.  But the benefits provided by these vegetated systems can extend beyond runoff volume and water quality regulation to include, for example, carbon sequestration, habitat provision and biodiversity maintenance, and stream baseflow regulation.  Here, results of multiple studies in which ancillary benefits provided by LID practices were quantified are presented.  These include (1) application of method by which biodiversity and carbon sequestration of two stormwater control measures are compared, (2) a model by which to estimate carbon sequestration and net greenhouse gas emissions from a suite of LID practices, and (3) assessment of potential to augment stream baseflows through watershed-scale application of LID.  These studies are specific to ecologic and environmental conditions in North Carolina and Minnesota, but the methodologies have broad application.