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Sikhululekile Ncube
Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

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Journal article
Published: 27 February 2021 in Sustainability
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The natural capital and ecosystem services concepts describe the multiple benefits people get from nature. Urbanisation has been identified as one of the key factors influencing the decline of natural capital globally. Urbanisation has also been associated with a recent increase in urban flooding incidents in most cities globally. While the understanding of blue-green infrastructure in urban drainage is well established, little is said about its influence on natural capital. This study utilises the Natural Capital Planning Tool, Benefits Evaluation of Sustainable Drainage Systems tool and expert stakeholder interviews to assess the influence of blue-green and grey infrastructure as adaptation pathways in urban drainage, on natural capital and ecosystem services, and to determine how these contribute to other forms of human-derived capital. Key findings show that blue-green options can enhance natural capital and ecosystem services such as amenity value while also contributing to social and human capital. Although the assessed blue-green options contribute to regulating ecosystem services such as floods regulation, their most significant contribution is in cultural ecosystem services, especially amenity value. It is concluded that incorporating blue-green infrastructure in urban drainage adaptive approaches can mitigate natural capital losses and contribute to other forms of capital crucial for human well-being.

ACS Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Scott Arthur. Influence of Blue-Green and Grey Infrastructure Combinations on Natural and Human-Derived Capital in Urban Drainage Planning. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2571 .

AMA Style

Sikhululekile Ncube, Scott Arthur. Influence of Blue-Green and Grey Infrastructure Combinations on Natural and Human-Derived Capital in Urban Drainage Planning. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2571.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Scott Arthur. 2021. "Influence of Blue-Green and Grey Infrastructure Combinations on Natural and Human-Derived Capital in Urban Drainage Planning." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2571.

Journal article
Published: 19 February 2021 in Water
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Rivers provide a range of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) such as aesthetic values, sense of place and inspiration, which remain insufficiently studied due to challenges associated with the assessment of their subjective and intangible attributes. However, the understanding of CES remains important as they are strongly linked to human wellbeing. This study utilizes a questionnaire-based survey to capture views from two villages along the mainstream of the Beas River in India, to identify the CES it provides, to assess how local communities appreciate their importance and how they relate to river flows. In total, 62 respondents were interviewed. Findings show that the Beas River provides several CES but among these, spiritual/religious ceremonies and rituals, aesthetic values and inspiration benefits were indicated as absolutely essential to the local communities. Results also demonstrate that people’s perception of the quality of CES is sometimes linked to river flows. It can be concluded that the Beas River is crucial in the functioning and livelihoods of local communities as it lies within the core of their cultural, religious and spiritual practices. This study reinforces the need to consider the full suite of ecosystem service categories in sustainable water resources development, planning and decision making.

ACS Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Lindsay Beevers; Andrea Momblanch. Towards Intangible Freshwater Cultural Ecosystem Services: Informing Sustainable Water Resources Management. Water 2021, 13, 535 .

AMA Style

Sikhululekile Ncube, Lindsay Beevers, Andrea Momblanch. Towards Intangible Freshwater Cultural Ecosystem Services: Informing Sustainable Water Resources Management. Water. 2021; 13 (4):535.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Lindsay Beevers; Andrea Momblanch. 2021. "Towards Intangible Freshwater Cultural Ecosystem Services: Informing Sustainable Water Resources Management." Water 13, no. 4: 535.

Communication
Published: 24 May 2019 in Water
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Preliminary results of the UK Urban Flood Resilience research consortium are presented and discussed, with the work being conducted against a background of future uncertainties with respect to changing climate and increasing urbanization. Adopting a whole systems approach, key themes include developing adaptive approaches for flexible engineering design of coupled grey and blue-green flood management assets; exploiting the resource potential of urban stormwater through rainwater harvesting, urban metabolism modelling and interoperability; and investigating the interactions between planners, developers, engineers and communities at multiple scales in managing flood risk. The work is producing new modelling tools and an extensive evidence base to support the case for multifunctional infrastructure that delivers multiple, environmental, societal and economic benefits, while enhancing urban flood resilience by bringing stormwater management and green infrastructure together.

ACS Style

Richard Fenner; Emily O’Donnell; Sangaralingam Ahilan; David Dawson; Leon Kapetas; Vladimir Krivtsov; Sikhululekile Ncube; Kim Vercruysse. Achieving Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future. Water 2019, 11, 1082 .

AMA Style

Richard Fenner, Emily O’Donnell, Sangaralingam Ahilan, David Dawson, Leon Kapetas, Vladimir Krivtsov, Sikhululekile Ncube, Kim Vercruysse. Achieving Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future. Water. 2019; 11 (5):1082.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Richard Fenner; Emily O’Donnell; Sangaralingam Ahilan; David Dawson; Leon Kapetas; Vladimir Krivtsov; Sikhululekile Ncube; Kim Vercruysse. 2019. "Achieving Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future." Water 11, no. 5: 1082.

Journal article
Published: 14 September 2018 in Water
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River systems provide diverse ecosystem services (ES), such as flood regulation (regulating), fresh water (provisioning), nutrient cycling (supporting), and recreation (cultural), among others. The construction of infrastructure (e.g., for hydropower, irrigation) enhances the delivery of tangible ES for example food or energy (generally provisioning) to meet human needs. However, the resulting change to river flows threatens both the ecological health of a river and its ability to provide intangible but vital ES, for example those which support the delivery of other services. Understanding these supporting ES processes in river systems is essential to fully recognise the impact of water resources development on ES delivery. Whilst approaches for assessing instream supporting ES are under development, to date few provide quantitative methods for assessing delivery. Thus, this paper sets out a framework for the assessment of instream supporting ES using hydroecological modelling. It links supporting ES delivery to fluvial hydrological indicators through the use of ecologically relevant hydrological indices and macroinvertebrate flow preferences. The proposed framework is demonstrated on the Beas River basin (Western Himalayas, India), and is flexible enough to be transferred to a basin-wide model, thereby allowing ES relationships to be accounted for in basin-wide water resources planning.

ACS Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Annie Visser; Lindsay Beevers. A Framework for Assessing Instream Supporting Ecosystem Services Based on Hydroecological Modelling. Water 2018, 10, 1247 .

AMA Style

Sikhululekile Ncube, Annie Visser, Lindsay Beevers. A Framework for Assessing Instream Supporting Ecosystem Services Based on Hydroecological Modelling. Water. 2018; 10 (9):1247.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Annie Visser; Lindsay Beevers. 2018. "A Framework for Assessing Instream Supporting Ecosystem Services Based on Hydroecological Modelling." Water 10, no. 9: 1247.

Conference paper
Published: 05 June 2018 in Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences
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River systems provide a diverse range of ecosystem services, examples include: flood regulation (regulating), fish (provisioning), nutrient cycling (supporting) and recreation (cultural). Developing water resources through the construction of dams (hydropower or irrigation) can enhance the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services. However, these hydrologic alterations result in reductions in less tangible regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services. This study seeks to understand how multiple impoundments, abstractions and transfers within the upper Beas River Basin, Western Himalayas, India, are affecting the delivery of supporting ecosystem services. Whilst approaches for assessing supporting ecosystem services are under development, the immediate aim of this paper is to set out a framework for their quantification, using the macroinvertebrate index Lotic-Invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE). LIFE is a weighted measure of the flow velocity preferences of the macroinvertebrate community. Flow records from multiple gauging stations within the basin were used to investigate flow variability at seasonal, inter-annual and decadal time scales. The findings show that both mean monthly and seasonal cumulative flows have decreased over time in the Beas River Basin. A positive hydroecological relationship between LIFE and flow was also identified, indicative of macroinvertebrate response to seasonal changes in the flow regime. For example, high LIFE scores (7.7–9.3) in the winter and summer seasons indicate an abundance of macroinvertebrates with a preference for high flows; this represents a high potential for instream supporting ecosystem services delivery. However, further analysis is required to understand these hydroecological interactions in the study basin and the impact on instream supporting ecosystem services delivery.

ACS Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Lindsay Beevers; Adebayo J. Adeloye; Annie Visser. Assessment of freshwater ecosystem services in the Beas River Basin, Himalayas region, India. Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences 2018, 379, 67 -72.

AMA Style

Sikhululekile Ncube, Lindsay Beevers, Adebayo J. Adeloye, Annie Visser. Assessment of freshwater ecosystem services in the Beas River Basin, Himalayas region, India. Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences. 2018; 379 ():67-72.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Lindsay Beevers; Adebayo J. Adeloye; Annie Visser. 2018. "Assessment of freshwater ecosystem services in the Beas River Basin, Himalayas region, India." Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences 379, no. : 67-72.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management
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ACS Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Chris Spray; Alistair Geddes. Assessment of changes in ecosystem service delivery – a historical perspective on catchment landscapes. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management 2018, 14, 145 -163.

AMA Style

Sikhululekile Ncube, Chris Spray, Alistair Geddes. Assessment of changes in ecosystem service delivery – a historical perspective on catchment landscapes. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management. 2018; 14 (1):145-163.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Chris Spray; Alistair Geddes. 2018. "Assessment of changes in ecosystem service delivery – a historical perspective on catchment landscapes." International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management 14, no. 1: 145-163.

Journal article
Published: 05 November 2012 in Ecohydrology
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The flow regime of a river is the main driver of the processes that make up a floodplain ecosystem. Changes in a flow regime will therefore result in changes in the floodplain. The Mana floodplains in the middle Zambezi river basin have been impacted by the construction of the Kariba dam as indicated by the decline in the population of mature, Faidherbia albida (F. albida) trees and the absence young trees. However, the relationship between the effects of the river impoundment, some 50 years ago, and the current ecological state of the floodplain is not well understood. Hence, this study is aimed at describing the historic (pre‐Kariba and post‐Kariba dam) and the current terrestrial ecological state of the Mana floodplains. Data was gathered through review of literature, archival records and hydrological records. Furthermore, vegetation plots were set up to measure diameter at breast height (dbh) of F. albida trees and hence describe the current F. albida stand structure. Results from this study show that the Kariba dam altered the peak mean monthly flows by about 60%. The frequency distribution of the dbh sizes of the current F. albida trees depicted an even‐aged stand structure (mean dbh of 103 cm). There was no evidence of growth of young F. albida trees as there were no trees with smaller (less than 40 cm) dbh sizes. The dry season densities of elephants, (Loxodonta africana) on the Mana floodplains have been increasing since the 1990s, and these also seem to have impacted on the F. albida stand structure. This perhaps partially has to do with the increased length of the dry season as a result of the changed river flows. Therefore, the influence of the altered flow regime and the impact of wildlife have acted interdependently in influencing the noted detectable changes to the ecology of the Mana floodplains. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ACS Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Lindsay Beevers; Edwin M. A. Hes. The interactions of the flow regime and the terrestrial ecology of the Mana floodplains in the middle Zambezi river basin. Ecohydrology 2012, 6, 554 -566.

AMA Style

Sikhululekile Ncube, Lindsay Beevers, Edwin M. A. Hes. The interactions of the flow regime and the terrestrial ecology of the Mana floodplains in the middle Zambezi river basin. Ecohydrology. 2012; 6 (4):554-566.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sikhululekile Ncube; Lindsay Beevers; Edwin M. A. Hes. 2012. "The interactions of the flow regime and the terrestrial ecology of the Mana floodplains in the middle Zambezi river basin." Ecohydrology 6, no. 4: 554-566.