Monitoring headwater streams in Maryland to short term natural variability and long term climate change impacts

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been conducting the Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS) since 1995.  In conjunction with the Maryland Water Monitoring Council, DNR staff and others in the State are developing a cooperative network of minimally-disturbed stream monitoring sites to assess short-term natural variability and also track longer-term impacts to Maryland streams associated with global climate change.  Because headwater streams are especially vulnerable to disturbance and may respond to climate change sooner than larger water bodies, the vast majority of sites in the developing network will be 1^st through 4^th order, non-tidal streams.  The core of this network will be 30-50 minimally-disturbed MBSS sites that were selected to reflect natural variability in stream biota and habitat quality in response to annual difference in precipitation and temperature.  This talk will focus on how DNR is using the data generated from minimally-disturbed headwater stream sites monitored over a long time period and the role of headwater streams in Maryland’s developing Non-Tidal Stream Monitoring Network focused on detecting the effects of climate change.