Abstract

Identifying Critical Source Areas in Watersheds for Resource Management
Track: Water Resources
Author(s): Zeyuan Qiu

Critical source areas are the intersections of the hydrologically sensitive areas and the pollutant source areas in watersheds. Hydrologically sensitive areas are areas that actively contribute to runoff in watersheds. The pollutant source areas are the areas in landscapes that are actively used by people for production and consumption, such as agricultural production and urban development. Targeting conservation practices to critical source areas of a watershed is both environmental efficient and cost effective. A digital elevation model and soil data are used to derive a topographic index, which is then used to classify the hydrologically sensitive areas in the watershed. Identified hydrologically sensitive areas are overlapped with recent land use/cover data to identify the critical source areas of the watershed. Critical source areas provide useful information for local watershed management, soil and water conservation and land use planning.

Zeyuan Qiu
New Jersey Institute of Technology
323 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd
University Heights
Newark , New Jersey 07102
United States
Phone: 973-596-5357
Fax: 973-596-3586
E-mail: zeyuan.qiu@njit.edu