Landscape Change Project

The temporal patterns of river discharge reflect the watershed balance between precipitation and evapotranspiration, and therefore integrate key climatic and environmental changes. Whereas the riverine transport of materials such as dissolved organic matter, nutrients and suspended solids also reflects watershed features such as underlying geology, land cover, wetlands and soil properties, as well as natural and human alterations to watersheds (e.g., wildfires, deforestation, agriculture, damming and mining). Rivers are therefore sentinels of both, climate (through hydrology that integrates precipitation and evapotranspiration) and landscape processes, as wildfires, erosion events, and other changes that can ultimately influence the export of particulate materials and nutrients from land into surface waters. It is thus relevant to monitor the landscape from a river perspective, especially in the context of accelerating climate change, recurrent extreme events, and increasing human activity. In addition, the changes in terrestrial inputs and loaded materials (suspended solids, nutrients, CDOM) may have consequences on aquatic life, water quality and the functioning of coastal habitats, particularly within the river plumes, and it is important to understand these river / coastal interactions.

The project will have the following main components:

1. Long-term monitoring program of river discharge in the instrumented rivers, to understand the connection between the variation in streamflow, climate trends and extreme weather events
2. High frequency monitoring of key riverine constituents (CDOM, turbidity, pH, N) in some instrumented rivers to address links to hydrologic and watershed events
3. Discrete sampling of complementary river physical, chemical, and biological conditions in instrumented and non- instrumented rivers to derive more general river / landscape relationships
4. Determination of trends in riverine exports to the James Bay, and links to climate and watershed alterations
5. Linking riverine exports to proximal coastal conditions and change, through a combination of discrete sampling in and around river plumes and remote sensing
6. Establish a combined instrument based and community-based sampling program to monitor water properties at the outlet of La Grande River to assess patterns in CDOM, turbidity and nutrients affecting the plume of the river
7. Remote sensing component
   1. reconstruction of long-term trends in CDOM and turbidity in major James Bay rivers
   2. mapping of CDOM and turbidity in river plumes and near shore areas of the James Bay and links to riverine inputs
   3. assess the light availability for eelgrass using a satellite-based modeling approach
   4. fire history in the territory, and links to riverine inputs to the Bay
   5. landscape changes within watersheds
8. Work with partners to make use of meteorological and hydrological data in support of their own programs and guidelines

These research components are designed to address fundamental questions related to climate and human driven landscape changes in the James Bay, and how these are affecting rivers and coastal habitats of the Eastern James Bay, and in particular, how they may influence eelgrass growth and recovery. The components also provide the framework for a long-term monitoring and training program that addresses research and policy needs of the Eeyou Istchee Nation and its various communities.