Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) of a Central Mexican Plateau Microwatershed: An Instrument of Environmental Governance

IF 2.6 4区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Journal of The American Water Resources Association Pub Date : 2025-05-25 DOI:10.1111/1752-1688.70028

M. Sarmiento Martínez, S. G. Leibowitz, M. L. Otte, R. Pineda López, D. P. García Tello, H. Luna Soria, L. I. Medina Pacheco, E. Hernández Pérez, V. H. Cambrón Sandoval

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Watershed management must be prioritized in Mexico due to environmental degradation. To address the issue, an instrument to assess watershed functional status and specific governance conditions is needed. We assessed the functional conditions of a microwatershed (a watershed of less than 5000 ha) located in the headwater of the Querétaro River watershed using the Index of Catchment Integrity (ICI) to evaluate local conditions and the Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) to evaluate the cumulative conditions. Implementing the IWI in La Laborcilla Microwatershed (LMW) required some adaptations to the available information. We integrated data generated through two indices: The Environmental Water Quality Index (EWQ(i)), which evaluates the physicochemical conditions of water from an ecosystem perspective, and the Hydrogeomorphological Index (IHG), which assesses the conditions of naturalness or alteration of riparian ecosystems. These complementary indices generated detailed information on the stressors that affect the six functional components of the watershed. To complete the assessment, we evaluated the LMW management process within local decision-making and policy instruments. The watershed had medium-low integrity (IWI = 0.43). The integrity of the catchments (ICI) spanned from 0.27 to 0.58. Watershed integrity is a relevant perspective for effective watershed management in operational forms within the territorial planning process and environmental policy instruments.

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中墨西哥高原小流域完整性指数（IWI）：一种环境治理工具

由于环境退化，墨西哥必须优先考虑流域管理。为了解决这个问题，需要一种评估流域功能状况和具体治理条件的工具。本文利用集水区完整性指数（ICI）评价当地条件，用集水区完整性指数（IWI）评价累积条件，对位于querimacrio河流域源头的小流域（小于5000 ha）的功能条件进行了评价。在La Laborcilla微流域（LMW）实施IWI需要对现有信息进行调整。我们整合了两个指数产生的数据：环境水质指数（EWQ(i)），从生态系统的角度评估水的物理化学条件，以及水文地貌指数（IHG），评估河岸生态系统的自然或变化条件。这些互补指数产生了影响流域六个功能组成部分的压力源的详细信息。为了完成评估，我们评估了地方决策和政策工具中的LMW管理过程。流域为中低完整性（IWI = 0.43）。流域的完整性（ICI）在0.27 ~ 0.58之间。流域完整性是在领土规划过程和环境政策工具中以业务形式进行有效流域管理的相关观点。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of The American Water Resources Association 环境科学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

12.50%

发文量

100

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： JAWRA seeks to be the preeminent scholarly publication on multidisciplinary water resources issues. JAWRA papers present ideas derived from multiple disciplines woven together to give insight into a critical water issue, or are based primarily upon a single discipline with important applications to other disciplines. Papers often cover the topics of recent AWRA conferences such as riparian ecology, geographic information systems, adaptive management, and water policy. JAWRA authors present work within their disciplinary fields to a broader audience. Our Associate Editors and reviewers reflect this diversity to ensure a knowledgeable and fair review of a broad range of topics. We particularly encourage submissions of papers which impart a ''take home message'' our readers can use.