abstract: The combination of rapid urban growth and climate change places stringent constraints on multisector sustainability of cities. Green infrastructure provides a great potential for mitigating anthropogenic-induced urban environmental problems; nevertheless, studies at city and regional scales are inhibited by the deficiency in modelling the complex transport coupled water and energy inside urban canopies. This dissertation is devoted to incorporating hydrological processes and urban green infrastructure into an integrated atmosphere-urban modelling system, with the goal to improve the reliability and predictability of existing numerical tools. Based on the enhanced numerical tool, the effects of urban green infrastructure on environmental sustainability of cities are examined. Findings indicate that the deployment of green roofs will cool the urban environment in daytime and warm it at night, via evapotranspiration and soil insulation. At the annual scale, green roofs are effective in decreasing building energy demands for both summer cooling and winter heating. For cities in arid and semiarid environments, an optimal trade-off between water and energy resources can be achieved via innovative design of smart urban irrigation schemes, enabled by meticulous analysis of the water-energy nexus. Using water-saving plants alleviates water shortage induced by population growth, but comes at the price of an exacerbated urban thermal environment. Realizing the potential water buffering capacity of urban green infrastructure is crucial for the long-term water sustainability and subsequently multisector sustainability of cities. Environmental performance of urban green infrastructure is determined by land-atmosphere interactions, geographic and meteorological conditions, and hence it is recommended that analysis should be conducted on a city-by-city basis before actual implementation of green infrastructure. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil and Environmental Engineering 2016

Orientador: Antônio Cezar Leal / Resumo: O objetivo desta dissertação é aplicar a ferramenta do módulo I do modelo MQUAL 2.0 para quantificar a geração de cargas difusas por meio de coeficientes de transporte de cargas para os parâmetros fósforo, nitrogênio e demanda bioquímica de oxigênio – DBO5,20, no diagnóstico do ano de 2016 e cenários com ausência de serviços de saneamento, cenários induzidos pela recuperação de mata nativa e cenários tendenciais em relação à dinâmica na alteração do uso e cobertura da terra em 2026 e 2036. O estudo foi realizado no manancial do alto curso do rio Santo Anastácio, inserido na UGRHI-22 do Estado de São Paulo. As fragilidades ambientais na bacia hidrográfica do rio Santo Anastácio por ação antrópica envolvendo práticas de manejo em diversos níveis no uso e cobertura da terra observadas a partir do ano de 1986, um ano após a ampliação da represa e acompanhada de dez em dez anos até 2016, com o monitoramento de qualidade da água e medição de vazão pelo órgão de controle ambiental do estado de São Paulo – CETESB, no ponto STAN43. Este estudo tem como dados principais, mapas históricos de uso e cobertura da terra do manancial do alto curso do rio Santo Anastácio, dos anos de 1986, 1996, 2006 e 2016. Os resultados de fósforo, nitrogênio e DBO5,20, no ponto de coleta STAN43, no ano 2016 em foram, respectivamente: 0,214 mg/l; 0,981 mg/l e 20,457 mg/l. A importância da demonstração dos conceitos atrelados ao uso desta ferramenta de modelagem, de operação matemática simples, fornece aos m... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The objective of this dissertation is to apply the tool of module I of the MQUAL 2.0 model to quantify the generation of diffuse loads by means of load transport coefficients for the parameters phosphorus, nitrogen and biochemical oxygen demand - BOD5,20, in the diagnosis of the year of 2016 and scenarios with absence of sanitation services, scenarios induced by the recovery of native forest and trend scenarios in relation to the dynamics in the use and land cover change in 2026 and 2036. The study was carried out in the high river source of the Santo Anastácio, inserted in UGRHI-22 of the State of Sāo Paulo. Environmental fragilities in the Santo Anastácio river basin by anthropic action involving management practices at various levels of land use and cover observed from 1986, one year after the dam was enlarged and monitored every ten years until 2016, with the monitoring of water quality and flow measurement by the environmental control agency of the State of Sāo Paulo – CETESB, at STAN43. This study has a main data, historical maps of land use and cover of the high-water source of the Santo Anastácio river, from 1986, 1996, 2006 e 2016. The results of phosphorus, nitrogen and BOD5,20, at the point of collection STAN43, in year 2016 in were, respectively: 0.214 mg/l; 0.981 mg/l and 20.457 mg/l. The importance of demonstrating concepts linked to the use of this modeling tool, simple mathematical operation, provides the members of the River Basin Committees with a practical ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

La Ley de Recursos Hídricos (No 29338) de 2009 transformó el marco normativo e institucional del sector hídrico en el Perú hacia un enfoque en la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos (GIRH). Este cambio fue significativo después de 40 años de vigencia de la ley anterior que priorizaba el uso agrícola del recurso hídrico. A través de un análisis del marco normativo actual y la institucionalidad existente combinado con una mirada a las relaciones históricas entre la burocracia hídrica del Estado y la sociedad peruana, este artículo argumenta que la institucionalidad del agua contemporánea refleja la persistencia de una cultura tecnocrática basada en la ingeniería y la manipulación y control de la naturaleza que predominaba al nivel global en el siglo 20. El trabajo muestra como la burocracia hídrica actual en el Perú ha consolidado su autoridad sobre el agua a través de la asimilación y desarrollo de una variante de la GIRH que prioriza el establecimiento de derechos formales al agua, el reconocimiento del valor económico del recurso hídrico, y un creciente enfoque en la eficiencia del uso del agua. / The 2009 Hydrologic Resources Law (Law 29338) shifted the legal and institutional framework in Peru’s water sector toward a focus on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). This change formally ended the explicit prioritization of water for agricultural uses that had prevailed for four decades under the prior legal regime enacted during the nation’s agrarian reform. This article combines analysis of Peru’s current legal and institutional setting for water management with examination of the historical dynamics betweenthe state water bureaucracy and Peruvian society to argue that the existing arrangements for water governance reflect the enduring influence of an engineer-led technocracy rooted in the high-modernist approaches of the 20th century. The article illustrates how the state bureaucracy has consolidated centralized authority over the water sector through assimilation and adaptation of the IWRM paradigm and the development of a water regime that prioritizesthe formalization of water rights, recognition of the economic value of water, and water-use efficiency.

O gerenciamento da água em bacias hidrográficas implica criar as condições para congregar os diversos pontos de vista dos atores sociais envolvidos, de modo a possibilitar a tomada de decisão consensual. Os interesses dos atores que disputam esse recurso precisam ser compartilhados e alinhados com o equacionamento dos problemas no presente e com a criação de uma visão de futuro que respeite as condições de sustentabilidade para as próximas gerações. Portanto, a gestão precisa promover aprendizagem de natureza social. Este estudo procurou mostrar como ocorre a aprendizagem social em um comitê de gerenciamento de bacia hidrográfica e também como a Teoria da Emergência auxilia na compreensão do comportamento coletivo dos agentes nesse espaço de negociação. A construção do referencial teórico com base nas teorias da aprendizagem social e da emergência possibilitou verificar que o empreendedorismo socioambiental apresenta elementos subjacentes a essas duas correntes conceituais. Diante disso, essa temática foi incorporada ao estudo. A estratégia metodológica utilizada foi o estudo de caso em profundidade no sentido proposto por Yin (2005). A unidade de análise foi o Comitê de Gerenciamento da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. Quanto à finalidade, a pesquisa foi classificada como descritiva. Foram utilizados dados primários e secundários e o processo de análise contemplou abordagens quantitativas e qualitativas. A principal fonte de evidências foi um levantamento estruturado realizado com os integrantes do Comitê. O estudo utilizou outras fontes como documentos, entrevistas e observações. A aprendizagem social foi observada nos níveis individual, de grupo e organizacional. Os resultados mostraram que esse é um fenômeno multidimensional que exige o desenvolvimento do conhecimento e também das habilidades relacionais dos agentes. A análise das características do Comitê à luz da Teoria da Emergência evidenciou as propriedades subjacentes dessa teoria respeitando os preceitos dos autores consultados e ressaltando diversas emergências decorrentes de sua criação. A criação do Comitê parece tratar-se de uma inovação social transformadora que contribuiu para demover a estrutura atomizada dos agentes envolvidos e que pode mudar os rumos dos problemas socioeconômicos e ambientais na região, em grande medida pelas relações e interações que possibilitou entre esses mesmos agentes. A análise do comportamento empreendedor dos integrantes mostrou que eles desenvolveram competência social baseada principalmente em interdependência e "suscetibilidade mútua", comprometimento, redes e relacionamento, liderança e adaptabilidade social. As mudanças sofridas por eles, assim como as principais mudanças atribuídas ao Comitê, evidenciaram a ampliação do capital social dos indivíduos e da organização e também a valorização do coletivo acima dos interesses individuais. / Watershed basin management involves creating the right conditions to bring together a variety of points of view from involved social actors, in such a way as to make consensual decision making possible. The interests of actors competing for this resource need to be shared and aligned with the establishment of present-day problems and by creating a vision for the future that respects sustainable conditions of sustainability for generations to come. Therefore, management needs to promote learning of a social nature. This study has sought to demonstrate how social learning takes place in a watershed basin management committee, as well as how Emergence Theory helps one to comprehend the collective behavior of agents in this negotiation space. The construction of a theoretical foundation based on social learning and emergence theories made it possible to verify that socioenvironmental entrepreneurship presents elements which underlie these two conceptual currents. In the face of this, this theme was incorporated into the study. An in-depth case study, in the sense proposed by Yin (2005) was chosen as the methodological strategy. The unit chosen for analysis was the Santa Maria River Watershed Basin Management Committee, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As for the finality, the research was classified as descriptive. Primary and secondary data was used, and the analytical process contemplated quantitative and qualitative approaches. The main source of evidence was a structured survey carried out with the members of the Committee. The study also used other sources, such as documents, interviews and observations. Social learning was observed at the individual, group, and organizational levels. The results demonstrated that this is a multidimensional phenomenon that demands the development of knowledge, as well as interpersonal skills on the part of the agents. The analysis of the Committee's characteristics under the light of the Emergence Theory provided evidence of the underlying properties of this theory, respecting the precepts of the consulted authors and emphasizing a variety of emergences resulting from its creation. The creation of the Committee appears to be a transformative social innovation that contributed to changing the atomized structure of involved agents and which can change the course of regional socio-economic and environmental problems, in great measure through the relations and interactions it made possible between said agents. Analysis of members' entrepreneurial behavior demonstrated that they developed social abilities based mainly on interdependence and "mutual susceptibility", commitment, networks and relationships, leadership and social adaptability. The changes they experienced, as well as the main changes attributed to the Committee, provided evidence of the enlargement of the social capital of individuals and the organization as well as increased value placed on the collective, above individual interests.

Submitted by Mario BC (mario@bc.ufrpe.br) on 2016-07-27T11:51:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ikaro Daniel de Carvalho Barreto.pdf: 1870932 bytes, checksum: 32a90177a5ca31de1ab6bceeb8cf95a6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T11:51:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ikaro Daniel de Carvalho Barreto.pdf: 1870932 bytes, checksum: 32a90177a5ca31de1ab6bceeb8cf95a6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-03 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Knowledge about watershed stream flow regime allows for better public water resource management. However, human activity through reservoir operation can change the stream flow regime. In the Brazilian Northeast region, the São Francisco river basin has a major social and energetic importance. This basin has two large reservoirs, Três Marias and Sobradinho that can affect downstream flow. We select three stations in São Fracisco/MG, Juazeiro/BA and Pão de Açúcar/AL to evaluate influence from the reservoir in the river’s downstream flow. We use Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), Multi Scale Entropy (MSE) and Sliding Window Analysis (SWA) to evaluate changes in dynamics and complexity of river stream flow. Our major results can be summarized as follows: (1) hydrologic regime in the Juazeiro/BA and Pão de Açúcar/AL stations (closer to Large Hydropower/Reservoir - LHP/R) changed after LHP/R construction from persistent (in scales from 30 days to 1,5 years) to anti-persistent (in scales from 10 days to 1,5 years), while the series from São Francisco/MG station (most distant to LHP/R) doesn’t present any differences in long range correlations after LHP/R construction; (2) MSE analysis shows that series from Juazeiro/BA and Pão de Açúcar/AL stations have more complex dynamics after LHP/R construction and their anomalies have less complex dynamics after LHP/R construction, differently from the São Francisco/MG station series which didn’t show any hydrologic dynamics differences throughout the same periods; (3) changes in Sliding Window SampEn (SWA-SampEn) after Sobradinho LHP/R construction were detected in the Juazeiro/BA and Pão de Açúcar/AL station series. These results indicate that regulation in stream flow by Sobradinho LHP/R has influenced the complexity and long-range correlations on the lower São Francisco river basin. / O conhecimento sobre o regime de vazão de bacias hidrográficas permite-nos planejar melhor as políticas públicas de administração dos recursos hídricos. Contudo, a intervenção humana, através de reservatórios, pode alterar o regime hidrológico. Na Região Nordeste do Brasil, o rio São Francisco se destaca pela sua importância energética e social. Este rio possui dois grandes reservatórios: Três Marias e Sobradinho que afetam a vazão do rio a jusante. Para avaliar a influência dos mesmos na vazão do rio a jusante, foram selecionadas três estações: São Francisco/MG, Juazeiro/BA e Pão de Açúcar/AL. Para analisar as alterações do regime hidrológico foram utilizadas as técnicas de Detrended Fluctuation Anlysis (DFA), Multi Scale Entropy (MSE) e Sliding Window Analysis (SWA). Os principais resultados foram (1) o regime hidrológico das estações de Juazeiro/BA e Pão de Açúcar/AL (próximas das Grandes Centrais Hidrelétricas/Reservatório - GCH/R) foi alterado depois da construção passando de persistente (nas escalas entre 30 dias e 1,5 anos) para anti-persistente (nas escalas de 10 dias a 1,5 anos); na estação de São Francisco/MG (mais distante da GCH/R) não se detectou alteração nas correlações após a construção; (2) a análise MSE mostrou para as estações de Juazeiro/BA e Pão de Açúcar/AL uma dinâmica mais complexa após a construção do reservatório quando comparado com o período anterior nas séries originais e uma dinâmica menos complexa para anomalias, divergindo da série original e de anomalias da estação de São Francisco/MG que não apresentou diferença de complexidade no regime hidrológico entre os períodos anterior e posterior a construção do reservatório; (3) modificações na entropia em janelas móveis (SWA-SampEn) após a construção de Sobradinho/BA para a estação de Juazeiro/BA e de Pão de Açúcar/AL. Estes resultados indicam que o reservatório de Sobradinho/BA, como agente regulador da vazão, influencia a complexidade e correlações de longo alcance da vazão do baixo São Francisco.

Esta dissertação de mestrado em teoria econômica tem como objetivo verificar se a Compensação Financeira pela Utilização de Recursos Hídricos (CFURH) paga a municípios que abrigam usinas hidrelétricas ou reservatórios impacta seu esforço arrecadatório. A importância dessa análise vem do fato de que um possível relaxamento fiscal por parte deles pode por em risco o seu desenvolvimento, dado que a compensação pode sofrer variações no tempo, e dado que sua duração depende da vida útil das usinas. Será utilizada a metodologia de fronteira estocástica, com base em um painel de dados relativo aos municípios brasileiros entre 2007 e 2012 Os resultados mostram que, em geral, os municípios beneficiários são menos eficientes na arrecadação de tributos do que os não beneficiários. / This Master\'s dissertation in Economic Theory aims to verify whether the water windfalls paid to municipalities that hold hydroelectric power stations or water reservoirs have any impact on their fiscal effort. The issue is relevant since a reduced tax effort may pose a threat to the municipalities\' development, since these resources can vary in time and since it may have an end due to the power plant\'s useful life. It will be used the stochastic frontier technique applied to a panel data of Brazilian municipalities between 2007 and 2012. The results show that, in a general way, the municipalities that benefit from the water windfalls are more inefficient than those which don\'t receive these resources

Com os problemas crescentes em relação aos recursos hídricos e aos conflitos de uso da água no Brasil, a necessidade de implantação de políticas que visem à mitigação desses problemas, se tornou evidente e crucial. Neste sentido, o conceito de Pagamentos por Serviços Ambientais (PSA) tem adquirido força e se difundido ao redor do mundo. O município de Extrema, em Minas Gerais, foi pioneiro, ao implantar a primeira iniciativa municipal brasileira de PSA, conhecida como programa Conservador das Águas, que se fundamenta na relação existente entre a floresta e os serviços prestados por ela em relação à conservação do solo, quantidade e qualidade de água. A primeira sub-bacia do município de Extrema onde se deu início às práticas de conservação previstas do referido projeto, foi a sub-bacia das Posses, devido ao fato desta possuir a menor cobertura vegetal. Nessa sub-bacia, concomitantemente com outras práticas, foram implantados cerca de 150 ha de matas ciliares (APP), 280 ha de mata de topo (MT), 300 ha de reserva legal (RL), bem como, práticas de conservação do solo em toda a sua área (cerca de 1200 ha). Tendo em vista não só a importância da implantação, mas também da avaliação dos programas/projetos de PSA, o presente estudo foi realizado objetivando-se, avaliar a perda de solo na sub-bacia onde teve início o programa Conservador das Águas, visando determinar a potencialidade que a adoção do conceito de PSA terá para a conservação do solo dessa sub-bacia, bem como otimizar o provimento do serviço ambiental de conservação do solo em função do tamanho e localização da área de floresta. Nesse sentido, considerando-se, entre outros fatores, as práticas conservacionistas previstas e a situação de uso e cobertura do solo na sub-bacia das Posses, antes e após a implantação do Programa Conservador das Águas, analisaram-se a efetividade, no que concerne a redução de perda de solo, de 36 cenários diferentes de uso e cobertura do solo. Para isso, utilizou-se um Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG) para espacialização e confecção dos diferentes planos de informação (tipos de solo, declividade, precipitação, uso e cobertura do solo, etc.) e a Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), para a estimativa da perda de solo. Como resultados, verificou-se, que, a otimização da conservação do solo pode ser feita adotando-se práticas conservacionistas na pastagem; a expectativa de perda média de solo na sub-bacia das Posses para as condições de uso e cobertura do solo, antes e após a implementação do programa Conservador das Águas, foi de, respectivamente, 30,63 Mg ha-1 ano-1 e 7,06 Mg ha-1 ano-1; com a implantação do programa Conservador das Águas a expectativa de redução de perda de solo na sub-bacia das Posses é de 91%. / Issues concerning water resources in Brazil have risen recently, therefore implementing policies aimed at mitigating this situation has become a sine qua non condition. In this context, the concept of Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) has become widespread and considered around the world. The municipality of Extrema, in Minas Gerais state, was the first city in Brazil to implement a PSA program, known as Conservador das Águas, which focuses on the benefits provided by forests for the soil conservation and water quantity and quality. The first watershed of Extrema was Posses, where the implementation of polices of this program were started, once this watershed has the lower vegetal cover. In this watershed, 730 ha of forest were implemented; 150 around the main river and its tributaries (APP), 280 ha in the highest parts of watershed (MT); 300 ha of Legal reserves and practices of soil conservation were applied in the whole watershed. Considering not the implementation, but also the assessment PSA projects, this study aimed to evaluate soil losses in Posses watershed and determine the potential of PSA concept to conserve soil in this watershed, besides to maximize the environmental service for soil conservation given the size and location of the forest. Therefore, it was analyzed the effectiveness, concerning to soil conservation, of 36 different scenarios related to soil use and forest cover. To that end, a Geographic Information System (SIG) was used to process the distinct data system plan (soil types, slop, rainfall, soil use and cover, etc.) and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to estimate soil losses. Results show that conservation could be optimized with the implementation of soil conservation practices on pasture; soil losses of Posses watershed were estimated prior and after the implementation of Conservador das Águas program, and showed 30.63 Mg ha-1 ano-1 and 7.06 Mg ha-1 ano-1 respectively. After implementation of Conservador das Águas program, the expectative of soil losses reduction is 91%.

Latin America has pioneered the concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a strategy to improve the management of ecosystem services. Ecuador is not an exception, where many PES schemes have been implemented to protect the tropical mountain ecosystem “páramo” and the water resources these areas are generating for downstream societies. A successful PES scheme needs to achieve both targeted bio-physical objectives and at the same time benefit local conditions while not risking to sacrifice the local demand for ecosystem services. This balance is explored here in a case study focusing on the Río Grande watershed in the highlands in the northern parts of Ecuador by exemplifying community participation in the public PES scheme Socio Bosque (PSB) starting in 2009. The water resource distribution (precipitation, discharge, actual evapotranspiration and potential evapotranspiration) in the watershed was evaluated over the last decades. The local perception of the PSB and its impacts on local and regional water resources were also studied and characterized. The results showed that the annual discharge in the Río Grande watershed has decreased significantly from 1967-2014 and that the annual discharge was significantly lower between 1997-2015 compared to 1979-1997. Since precipitation did not decrease significantly during this period, the changes of the annual discharge are more likely depended on factors controlling the seasonal distribution of discharge and evapotranspiration in the watershed. For example, large scale land use changes coupled with a significantly warmer climate in the region could be a possible driver. Of course, this would not exclude other important factors such as changes in water demand and the supply of freshwater from the Río Grande watershed to downstream societies. The results of this case study showed that it is likely too early to see any impacts in the water balance components as a direct response to the implemented PSB scheme. Clearly, this motivates a need for continued evaluation of the local perception and the water resources to ensure that the need and demand for ecosystem services in a long-term perspective are maintained. / Latinoamérica ha sido pionera en el concepto de Pago por Servicios Ecosistémicos (PSE o PES en lassiglas en inglés) como estrategia para mejorar la gestión de servicios ecosistémicos. En Ecuador, se han implementado muchos PSE para proteger el ecosistema montañoso tropical de El Páramo así como los recursos acuíferos que dichas áreas generan para las sociedades que habitan cuenca abajo. Un esquema de PSE exitoso requiere alcanzar los objetivos biofísicos y respetar las necesidades locales de servicios ambientales. Este equilibrio se ha analizado tomando como objeto de estudio la cuenca hidrográfica del Río Grande en las tierras altas del norte de Ecuador y la participación comunitaria en el programa de PSE denominado Socio Bosque (PSB) iniciado en 2009. Se estudiaron la distribución del agua (precipitación, descarga del agua, evapotranspiración actual y evapotranspiración potencial) en la cuenca hidrográfica durante las últimas décadas. También se estudiaron los impactos locales y regionales del PSB en los recursos hídricos y los percepción local con respecto a la implementación de PSB. Los resultados muestran que la descarga anual de la cuenca hidrográfica ha decrecido significativamente durante el período comprendido entre 1967 y 2014, particularmente, señalan un decrecimiento considerablemente mayor entre 1997 y 2015 con respecto al período 1979-1997. La precipitación no se redujo durante el período estudiado y, en consecuencia, los cambios en la descarga anual dependen presumiblemente de factores que controlan la distribución estacional de la descarga y la evapotranspiración en la cuenca. Como ejemplo, los intensos cambios en el uso del suelo junto a un clima regional marcadamente más cálido pueden ser dos condicionantes del fenómeno. Esto no excluye otros factores como los cambios en la demanda y abastecimiento de agua potable en la cuenca del Río Grande en las comunidades que se encuentran distribuidas a lo largo del río. Los resultados muestran que es aún temprano para observar impactos en los componentes del balance hídrico como resultado directo de la implementación de un esquema de PSB. Esto motiva la necesidad de una evaluación continua de la percepción local y un monitoreo los recursos hídricos para garantizar que las necesidades y demandas de servicios ecosistémicos en la región se mantengan a largo plazo.

Dams and reservoirs play an important role in the Swedish energy system, and a large number of rivers are today regulated. How to combine the ecological and economic interests in the regulation of these rivers is a growing concern for stakeholders and authorities. The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual environmentally- oriented dam release plan that combines economic and ecological needs for the Lower Långan Natura 2000 area as well as evaluating how the water stage of the reservoir Lake Landösjön would change with a more environmentally oriented flow regime. Three flow scenarios were established: (0) Current flow regime, (1) EU demand for good ecological status which requires changes in discharge dynamics, and (2) the environmental design flow. The Dundee hydrological regime assessment method (DHRAM) was used to evaluate the hydrological alterations for each of the three scenarios. Scenario 0 exhibited the largest alteration from natural flow and the results from the DHRAM analysis indicated on high risk of ecological impact in the river system. Scenario 1 met EU’s demand of good ecological status but the water stage in Lake Landösjön exceeded the maximum allowed legal limit. Scenario 2 comprised a flow regime encompassing both economic and ecological interests and is the most realistic scenario for improving ecology in the Lower Långan River. In conclusion in order to meet EU demand of good ecological status a change in upstream regulation is needed. / Vattenkraften spelar en viktig roll i det svenska energisystemet och i dagsläget är ett stor antal sjöar och vattendrag reglerade. Ett växande problem för aktörer inom vattenkraft och myndigheter är hur ekonomiska och ekologiska intressen skall kombineras för att åstadkomma en mer hållbar vattenanvändning.  Långans avrinningsområde ligger i nordvästra Jämtland och har en total yta på 2 287 km2 . Inom avrinningsområdet återfinns fyra regleringsmagasin: Burvattnet, Stora Mjölkvattnet, Korsvattnet och Landösjön. I den sydöstra delen av avrinningsområdet ligger nedre Långans Natura 2000-område vilket har undantagits från vattenkraftsutbyggnad då det innehåller ett antal viktiga naturtyper. Ett centralt begrepp i Natura 2000 är gynnsam bevarandestatus vilket innebär att medlemsstaterna är skyldiga att gynnsam bevarandestatus bibehålls alternativt återställs till naturligt tillstånd. Då gynnsam bevarandestatus är kopplad till rådande hydrologiska förhållanden gäller miljökvalitetsnormen God ekologisk status. I dagsläget klassificeras nedre Långans Natura 2000-område med otillfredsställande ekologisk status. För att nedre Långans skall uppnå EUs krav på god ekologisk status krävs det att flödet anpassas till mer naturliga flödes förhållanden.  Syftet med denna studie var att utveckla miljöanpassade flöden enligt tre scenarier. Dessa scenarier med miljöanpassade flöden har konsekvensbeskrivits där huvudmålet har varit att förbättra den ekologiska statusen av nedre Långan samt utvärderat hur vattennivån i Landösjön påverkas om dessa flöden tas i bruk. Följande scenarier fastställdes: (0) Nuvarande flödesregim, (1) EU: s efterfrågan på god ekologisk status vilket kräver att flödet efterliknar det naturliga oreglerade flödet, och (2) kompromissflödet, ett mellanting mellan scenario 0 och 1. Den hydrologiska avvikelsen av scenarierna bedömdes med hjälp av The Dundee Hydrological Regime Alteration Method (DHRAM). DHRAM analysen består av en ett femgradigt system som mäter graden av mänsklig påverkan på naturliga flödesregimen relaterat till scenario 0-2. och är kompatibelt med EU:s ramdirektivet för vatten.  Resultatet från DHRAM-analysen uppvisade att Scenario 0 har den största förändringen jämtemot det naturliga flödet och vattendraget löper stor risk för ekologisk påverkan. Scenario 1 uppfyllde EU: s krav på god ekologisk status, men med detta flöde översteg dämningsgränsen i Landösjön med 2m under april till juni. Scenario 2 är baseras på både ekonomiska och ekologiska intressen Utifrån de testade scenariona kunde följande slutsatser dras: (1) scenario 2 är det mest realistiska scenariot för att förbättra ekologin i nedre Långan, (2) för att möta EU: s krav på god ekologisk status krävs en förändring av uppströms liggande regleringsmagasin

The objective of this study is to investigate land-use changes and water quality trends within the headwaters of the Alafia River watershed. Water quality data were obtained from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County (EPCHC). Eleven water quality parameters selected for analysis included: temperature (˚C), dissolved oxygen (DO), percent saturation of DO, conductivity, pH, total phosphorous (TP), total nitrogen (TN), ammonium, chlorophyll-a (uncorrected), fecal coliforms, and enterococci. ArcMap® & SWFWMD data were used to map EPCHC sampling stations, calculate contributing watershed size, and determine land-use changes over the course of the sampling period; 17 stations were chosen for this study. The annual average for each of the water quality parameters was calculated along with a Mann-Kendall Trend Analysis in order to determine if any of the observed trends were statistically significant. A non-parametric Kendall’s tau-b correlation and stepwise multiple linear regression tests were conducted in SPSS to determine if any statistically significant relationships between water quality data, land-use and basin size exist. The land-use results showed every basin consisted of some percentage of Low Density Residential, Cropland & Pastureland, Reservoirs, and Streams & Lake Swamps. In addition, no basin comprised of more than 20% wetlands and often it appears urbanization was at the sacrifice of agricultural lands, as opposed to wetlands. The trends in water quality showed eight of the 17 basins had at least one statistically significant trend. Analysis of the data used for this study has shown instances where water quality measurements were in violation of state standards. Changes in water quality can be statistically related to changes in land-use and basin size as both the correlation and the regression showed consistent relationships between several LULC types and water quality parameters: increases in Commercial & Services causes increased nutrients (TP and TN); Cropland & Pastureland causes decreased DO and DO% Saturation; increases in Tree Crops causes a decrease in pH; increasing Other Open Lands Rural causes a decrease in temperature; and increases in Shrub & Brushland cause decreases in conductivity and pH. As these relationships are based on the results from both analyses, it would seem that these relationships are the most reliable, and are key results of the study. These key relationships might be areas that future water resource managers may want to focus on in order to more efficiently improve or regulate water quality within headwater streams.