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Please note that this session was withdrawn and is no longer available in the respective programme. This withdrawal might have been the result of a merge with another session.

BG7.3

Exploring patterns in waterbody biogeochemical responses to pressures through catchment typologies that group functional attributes relating to sensitivity
Convener: Marc Stutter  | Co-Conveners: Miriam Glendell , Daniel Graeber , Linda May , Ina Pohle 

developing our understanding of how different waterbodies respond to anthropogenic pressures, catchment scientists often turn to statistical examination of basic catchment attributes, such as land cover, slope, soil types etc. to explain pressures and impacts. Diffuse pollution delivery models provide good examples of where primary data have been pooled to represent individual pressures. However, despite widespread recognition that multiple-stressors are important drivers of change, the relative importance of ameliorative cf. synergistic interactions between factors that reduce (resilience) or intensify (sensitivity) responses of waterbodies to pressures are poorly developed. We propose that key factors (e.g. riparian condition, biophysical attributes governing in-stream or in-lake processing) should be combined in multiple ways to determine ‘sensitivity’ in terms of how anthropogenic pressures determine biogeochemical and ecological responses. To develop practical approaches to predicting catchment and waterbody responses to multiple-stressors via their respective sensitivity factors, we need to (i) represent key processes by combining catchment spatial datasets, (ii) look for commonalities in spatial data and waterbody response patterns across different catchments and (iii) understand how water ecological responses are driven by the interactions between catchment typologies and waterbody typologies. Improving our mechanistic understanding within a typologies framework will facilitate risk-based modelling of multiple-stressor responses, and facilitate the transfer of understanding from data rich to data poor catchments using spatial data combinations.
In this session, we welcome empirical, statistical, process and GIS based modelling studies that seek to:
• Identify pressure-impact-sensitivity-response chains using studies that link catchments and waterbodies
• Compile spatial datasets in novel ways (e.g. clustered according to impact mechanisms spanning bio-, physico-chemical, anthropogenic domains) to explain spatio-temporal variability in waterbody responses
• Test novel statistical and modelling approaches to grouping catchment behaviours towards developing a catchment ‘typologies’ approach