Field sampling data from streams within Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas in North Carolina. Water chemistry parameters include pH, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and analysis for toxic metals and anions. Aquatic insect collections are used to calculate stream scores, diversity indices, and trophic feeding guild percentages.
Use Cases
- Modeling relationships between water chemistry (e.g., pH, nitrate) and aquatic insect community composition.
- Assessing stream health and biological integrity based on calculated diversity indices and trophic guilds.
- Comparing ecological conditions between natural and anthropogenically impacted watersheds.
- Analyzing spatial gradients in water quality from headwater to main valley stream reaches.
Strengths
- Data collection follows standardized methods for water chemistry and aquatic insect sampling.
- Sampling covers a gradient from headwater to main valley stream reaches.
- Includes comparison sites from surrounding state parks and national forests.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Department of the Interior
- Collection Method
- Field sampling using multimeters, probes, and kick seining in riffle habitats.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-03-04 01:34:24.306286; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas in northwestern North Carolina.