Skip to main content Skip to footer unit links
← Back to all capstone projects
2011 Spring | Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration

Effects of Land Use on Stream Ecology in Snohomish County

Student(s):

Kathryn Davis

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Ben Dittbrenner

Partner(s):

  • Snohomish County Surface Water Management

Faculty advisor(s):

Robert Naiman, Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington

Anthropogenic landscape modifications affect the environment in different ways. For my capstone project, I examined the effects of six different land use types on stream ecology. My analysis included three “developed” land use types—impervious surface, grass/agricultural land, and bare earth—and three “natural”
land use types—forest, scrub/shrub area, and wetlands. I was interested to see if developed areas exerted a negative influence on stream ecological function in comparison to more natural landscapes.