The current rate and scale of environmental change around the world makes the detection and understanding of these changes increasingly urgent. Subsequently, government legislation is focusing on measurable results of environmental programs, requiring researchers to employ effective and efficient methods for acquiring high-quality data. Focusing on pollution issues and impacts resulting from human activities, Environmental Monitoring is the first to bring together the conceptual basis behind the complex and specific approaches to the monitoring of air, water, and land. Coverage includes integrated monitoring at the landscape level, as well as case studies of existing monitoring programs such as the Chesapeake Bay Program. The book also addresses the recent legislative focus on high-quality data results and conducting monitoring programs in different ecosystems and environmental media.

A practical book for professionals who rely on water quality data for decision making, this book is based on three decades experience of three highly published water and watershed resource professionals. It focuses on the analysis of air pollution sensitive waters and the consequent effects associated with soil and water acidification, nutrient-N enrichment, or the effects of atmospherically deposited toxic substances. It also covers lake zooplankton and/or stream macroinvertebrate biomonitors. Explanations of the reasons behind various recommendations provide readers with the tools needed to alter recommended protocols to match particular study needs and budget.

This book examines the application of fish community characteristics to evaluate the sustainability and biological integrity of freshwaters. Topics include perspectives on use of fish communities as environmental indicators in program development, collaboration, and partnership forming; influence of specific taxa on assessment of the IBI; regional applications for areas where the IBI had not previously been developed; and specific applications of the IBI developed for coldwater streams, inland lakes, Great Lakes, reservoirs, and tailwaters.