Environmental Impact, Concept and Measurement of 40 ′98 Number of taxa 30 ′97 Upstream 20 ′97 10 ′98 Downstream Taxa richness metrics (a) Number of taxa 16 12 Foster Tickle North Fork Deep (b) Taxa richness metrics Figure (a) Biodiversity is higher at sites upstream of wastewater treatment outfalls than downstream At Tickle Creek near Portland, Oregon (United States), taxa richness differed little between years but differed dramatically between sites upstream of a wastewater outfall and sites downstream (b) Taxa richness also differed between two creeks with wastewater outfalls (Tickle and North Fork Deep) and one creek without an outfall (Foster) All three streams flowed through watersheds with similar land uses Table comparison with least-disturbed reference sites in their regions, 25% were in fair condition, and 42% were in poor condition (5% were not assessed) The agency has been expanding this effort to include other water resource types, including coastal waters, coral reefs, lakes, large rivers, and wetlands Since 2000, the Heinz Center (2008) has published two editions of its report on the state of US ecosystems, which seek to capture a view of the large-scale patterns, conditions, and trends across the United States The center defined and compiled a select set of indicators – specific variables tracking ecosystem extent and pattern, chemical and physical characteristics, biological components, and goods and services derived from the natural world – for six key ecosystems: coasts and oceans, farmlands, forests, fresh waters, grasslands and shrublands, and urban and suburban landscapes Among the many conclusions of the 2008 report were that the acreage burned every year by wildfires was on the increase; nonnative fish had invaded nearly every watershed in the lower 48 states; and chemical contaminants were found in virtually all streams and most groundwater wells, often at levels above those set to protect human health or wildlife On the plus side, ecosystems were increasing their storage of carbon, soil quality was improving, and crop yields had grown significantly The massive international UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) remains the gold standard for synthesizing ecological conditions at a variety of scales From 2001 through 2005, the project examined the full range of global ecosystems – from those relatively undisturbed, such as natural forests, to landscapes with mixed patterns of human use to ecosystems intensively managed and modified by humans, such as agricultural land and urban areas – and communicated its findings in terms of the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being The resulting set of reports drew attention to the many kinds of services people derive from ecosystems, specifically, supporting services, such as photosynthesis, soil formation, and waste absorption; regulating services, such as climate and flood control and maintenance of water quality; provisioning services, such as food, wood, and nature’s pharmacopoeia; Biological responses to different land uses Region Land use B-IBIa King County, Washington, USA Rural Urban Seattle Little or no human activity Light to moderate recreation Heavy recreation Urban Jackson Hole Upstream of wastewater treatment plant Tickle Creek up (1997, 1998) Foster Creek Downstream of wastewater treatment plant Tickle Creek down (1997, 1998) North Fork Deep Creek 46 12 48 44 32 21 Grand Teton Region, Wyoming, USA Clackamas County, Oregon, USAb a Benthic index of biological integrity: the highest possible score is 50, the lowest is 10 See Fig for graphs of selected B-IBI metrics at these sites b 293 40, 42 34 14, 16 10