Chapter 19: An overview and a national perspective

Chapters 2 through 19 of this report describe existing research results and monitoring datasets from individual experimental forests and ranges (EFRs) of potential use to water quality regulatory agencies. Research addressing the focus question of biological responses to stream nutrients differs among the reviewed EFRs. For example, all of the reviewed EFRs have studies that might be useful for the reference waterbody approach for developing nutrient criteria, while only some of those EFRs have results that would be applicable to the stressor-response modeling approach. In addition, the EFRs reviewed in this synthesis had science or monitoring products of broader interest to regulatory agencies that go beyond the focus question. Important but unfilled research needs of regulatory agencies were identified, and these could be addressed by future research studies at individual EFRs. Research networks, composed of multiple EFRs, have the potential to be used for addressing science needs of regulatory agencies at multiregional or national scales.