Green infrastructure and its catchment-scale effects: an emerging science.

Area of Science:

• Environmental science and hydrology.
• Urban planning and sustainable development.

Background:

• Urbanization significantly alters hydrological cycles through redirected waterways and increased impermeable surfaces, accelerating runoff and modifying precipitation patterns.
• Green infrastructure, or low-impact development (LID), presents a decentralized approach to stormwater management, often complementing traditional gray infrastructure.
• While LID research has grown, it primarily focuses on localized scales, highlighting a need for catchment-scale analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current state of LID research at local scales.
• To explore the challenges and considerations for scaling LID research to catchment levels.
• To present recent advances in understanding LID's impact on water quantity and quality at catchment scales, utilizing modeling tools.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing research on LID effectiveness.
• Analysis of studies focusing on scaling LID impacts from local to catchment scales.
• Evaluation of modeling approaches used to assess LID effects on hydrological processes.

Main Results:

• LID practices demonstrate effectiveness in managing stormwater at local scales.
• Scaling LID research to catchment levels reveals complex interactions influencing water quantity and quality.
• Modeling tools are crucial for predicting and upscaling LID impacts across larger hydrological systems.

Conclusions:

• A significant research gap exists in understanding LID's catchment-scale hydrological impacts.
• Scaling LID research requires integrated approaches considering landscape context and hydrological connectivity.
• Further research and advanced modeling are essential for optimizing LID implementation in urban water management.