525
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. Saundry, B. L. Ruddell (eds.), The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, AESS
Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Sciences Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29914-9_19
Chapter 19
Watersheds at the Nexus
Robert B. Richardson
19.1 Introduction
The interdependence of food, energy, and water systems is often revealed in watersheds or catchment areas where land use, population growth, and increasing demand
for food, energy, and water exert pressure on watershed ecosystem services that can
lead to the environmental degradation and the depletion of natural capital. The
impacts of global climate change add to the complexity of the food–energy–water
nexus, which highlights the importance of an integrated approach to watershed governance, management, and planning.
Watersheds are a critical scale at which to examine the nexus of food, energy,
and water systems, and depending upon the scale and type of watershed, the
intersection of these systems pose an array of challenges for governance of natural resources.
From a systems perspective, watersheds include not only the movement of water
into a drainage basin but also the aquatic ecosystems and surrounding landscapes.
Changes to the hydrological cycle—including both water withdrawals and releases—
affect the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems by altering streamflow characteristics and natural rates of sedimentation. Changes in land use, such as the
clearing of forested land for agriculture, will lead to increased erosion, sedimentation, and nutrient runoff that degrade both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem services
through soil loss and water pollution.
R. B. Richardson (*)
Department of Community Sustainability, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
e-mail: rbr@msu.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. Saundry, B. L. Ruddell (eds.), The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, AESS
Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Sciences Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29914-9_19
Chapter 19
Watersheds at the Nexus
Robert B. Richardson
19.1 Introduction
The interdependence of food, energy, and water systems is often revealed in watersheds or catchment areas where land use, population growth, and increasing demand
for food, energy, and water exert pressure on watershed ecosystem services that can
lead to the environmental degradation and the depletion of natural capital. The
impacts of global climate change add to the complexity of the food–energy–water
nexus, which highlights the importance of an integrated approach to watershed governance, management, and planning.
Watersheds are a critical scale at which to examine the nexus of food, energy,
and water systems, and depending upon the scale and type of watershed, the
intersection of these systems pose an array of challenges for governance of natural resources.
From a systems perspective, watersheds include not only the movement of water
into a drainage basin but also the aquatic ecosystems and surrounding landscapes.
Changes to the hydrological cycle—including both water withdrawals and releases—
affect the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems by altering streamflow characteristics and natural rates of sedimentation. Changes in land use, such as the
clearing of forested land for agriculture, will lead to increased erosion, sedimentation, and nutrient runoff that degrade both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem services
through soil loss and water pollution.
R. B. Richardson (*)
Department of Community Sustainability, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
e-mail: rbr@msu.edu