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Best Management Practices as an Alternative Approach for Urban Flood Control
Published in Saeid Eslamian, Faezeh Eslamian, Flood Handbook, 2022
Stormwater best management practices, or stormwater control measures, are engineered landscape structures and operational plans and policies implemented to reduce stormwater peak rate of flow, total volume, and water pollution. They are particularly valuable in urban settings because growing city populations can potentially generate ever-increasing amounts of stormwater while increasing local exposure and vulnerability. Structural BMPs achieve stormwater flow goals by infiltration, detention, retention, and evaporation. These same processes may also contribute to water quality improvement, as do a host of other physical, chemical, and biological processes particularly promoted by plant life. Non-structural BMPs focus on the prevention of stormwater runoff and pollutant exposure. As non-structural methods often eliminate problems before they develop, they can be quite cost-effective. They commonly use water-smart operating/maintenance procedures, land-use planning and regulation, or public education to achieve water management goals.
Erosion
Published in Brian D. Fath, Sven E. Jørgensen, Megan Cole, Managing Soils and Terrestrial Systems, 2020
A variety of soil conservation methods are available that can be applied on a landscape to minimize erosion problems caused by wind or water. Wind erosion can be controlled through the use of windbreaks, crop residues, and tillage to induce significant surface roughness. Control procedures for erosion by water need to be determined, based upon the types of active erosion processes. For example, if sheet and rill erosion is a major problem, then some type of conservation tillage practice that leaves large amounts of crop residues intact on the soil surface may be appropriate. However, if the water erosion problem is because of the large amounts of surface runoff concentrating in a field and forming an ephemeral gully, then crop residues may not be adequate; instead, permanent vegetative cover in a grass waterway may be necessary, along with appropriate engineering structures (e.g., drop-box). Erosion prediction models can be used to assist in selecting and designing appropriate conservation practices.
Landscape as Infrastructure
Published in Spiro N. Pollalis, Planning Sustainable Cities, 2016
Landscape infrastructure offers opportunities to enrich biodiversity, work with natural processes, stimulate natural systems to become self-maintaining, and regenerate resources for continued use by humans and other species.
Public response to the appearance of ecological urban park design: the battle between the ‘picturesque’ and the ‘messiness’
Published in Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, 2023
The term ecological design emerged in the fields of architectural and landscape design and planning in the late 1960s (Kallipoliti, 2018). Since ecological design is described broadly as ‘any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes’ (Van der Ryn & Cowan, 2007, p. 33), the term embraces a variety of design activities – including regional planning, landscape planning, architectural design and product design, just to name a few. For ecological landscape design, specifically, it refers to the incorporation of ecology into design in order to create a landscape that fits well with the natural systems of its site and surrounding, forming an ecologically sound and sustainable landscape. The ecological landscapes, with the use of native species, permeable pavements, local materials and so on, value and make use of the services nature freely provide. Hence, they require less maintenance than conventional landscapes which contain a number of hardscapes, lawns and exotic plants (Danler & Langellotto-Rhodaback, 2015). In addition, these ecological landscapes themselves can also function as green infrastructure which supply ecological services, such as cleaning air, infiltrating and treating stormwater, reducing flood risks, recharging groundwater and providing wildlife habitat, for cities in which they locate.
Assessing the effects of quarry treatment options on the attractiveness of reclaimed limestone quarries using 3D-visualizations
Published in International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, 2020
Israel A. Legwaila, Eckart Lange, John Cripps
As pointed out by Rabinowitz and Coughlin [4], Lange et al. [5], and others, people tend to dislike particular anthropogenic elements or features introduced into natural landscapes. Operating quarries are not an exception to this and it is probably one of the reasons that, as noted by Bell [6], there is usually public antipathy towards the development of new quarries or extension of existing ones. Reclamation, however, provides the potential to generate positive reactions. With appropriate design and execution, it can provide new opportunities for different land-uses as well as enhancing environmental quality in an area and, most importantly, the visual quality of the overall landscape. Furthermore, quarry faces usually have cracks and crevices that may be colonised by a variety of plant and animal species. As such, they can support valuable ecosystems which because of their inaccessibility provide undisturbed plant and wildlife habitats [7–9].
Water sensitive spatial planning in terms of sustainable stormwater management: The case of Bornova Stream Catchment (Izmir), Turkey
Published in Urban Water Journal, 2022
Merve Özeren Alkan, Şerif Hepcan
For instance, the presence of natural areas and vegetation cover around the built up areas is an advantage in urban landscapes for of stormwater management. In particular, the maquis vegetation plays the most important role in stormwater management of the Bornova Stream Catchment due to the wide area that it covers and its unity. Protecting maquis is essential and thus, afforestation activities foreseen in the plan decisions for these maquis covered areas should be avoided. It should be emphasized the benefits of maquis covered areas that are essential so as minimize future risks such as flooding and erosion.