Serving economic prosperity: economic impact assessments (EIA) on Earth observation-based services and tools by SERVIR

In an era where informed decision-making is paramount for sustainable development and effective resource management, the role of Earth observations (EO) in shaping economic landscapes cannot be overstated. EO, facilitated by satellites, sensors, and data analytics, is a cornerstone for evidence-based policymaking, risk mitigation, and resource allocation. SERVIR is a joint initiative of US Agency for International Development and NASA. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of relevant economic impact assessment (EIA) work, summarizes SERVIRs potential interests in EIA, and identifies how and where EIA could improve how SERVIR quantifies and communicates the impact of its services.

Authors: Reetwika Basu, Eric Anderson, Chinmay Deval, Kelsey Herndon, Amanda Markert, Lena Pransky, Emil Cherrington, Aparna Phalke, Alqamah Sayeed
Journal: arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.15672
DOI: arxiv.org/abs/2405.15672

WEPPcloud: An online watershed-scale hydrologic modeling tool. Part II. Model performance assessment and applications to forest management and wildfires

WEPPcloud is a web-based decision-support tool for the WEPP model that:

was applied to relatively undisturbed forested watersheds to assess model performance.
satisfactorily simulated streamflow, sediment, and phosphorus loads.
was used to assess forest management impacts on water quality.
was applied to both gauged and ungauged watersheds.

Authors: Mariana Dobre, Anurag Srivastava, Roger Lew, Chinmay Deval, Erin S.Brooks, William J. Elliot, Peter R. Robichaud, (2022).
Journal: Journal of Hydrology
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127776

Pi-VAT: A web-based visualization tool for decision support using spatially complex water quality model outputs

Pi-VAT is a post-processing, interactive visualization, and analysis tool. It is a simple implementation to facilitate ‘what-if’ analysis using WEPP and SWAT outputs. An approach to address the need for integrating extensive outputs from process-based models into decision support tools. It facilitates synthesis and visualization of multiple watersheds and scenarios.

Authors: C. Deval, E. S. Brooks, M. Dobre, R. Lew, P. R. Robichaud, A. Fowler, J. Boll, Z. M. Easton, A. S. Collick (2022).
Journal: Journal of Hydrology
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127529

Long-term response in nutrient load from commercial forest management operations in a mountainous watershed

An increased emphasis on fuel management strategies to mitigate wildfire risks is raising the awareness and need for comprehensive forest management strategies that satisfy long-term water quantity and water quality needs. We investigated the effect of contemporary forest management activities, including clear-cutting and thinning, on water yield and stream nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in a quarter-century long (1992-2016) paired and nested watershed study in the interior Pacific Northwest, US.

Authors: C. Deval, E. S. Brooks, J. A. Gravelle, T. E. Link, M. Dobre, W. J. Elliot, (2021).
Journal: Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119312

Soil phosphorus speciation and availability in meadows and forests in alpine lake watersheds with different parent materials

In the Lake Tahoe Basin in California and Nevada (USA), managing nutrient export from watersheds into streams and the lake is a significant challenge that needs to be addressed to improve water quality.Our findings show that ecosystem and parent material are important attributes that control P speciation and availability in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and that organic P compounds are a major component of the soil P and are available for leaching from the soils.

Authors: Thomas Heron, Daniel G. Strawn, Mariana Dobre, Barbara J. Cade-Menun, Chinmay Deval, Erin S. Brooks, Julia Piaskowski, Caley Gasch and Alex Crump, (2021).
Journal: Frontiers in Forest and Global Change
DOI: 10.3389/ffgc.2020.604200

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