Riparian zone controls on base cation concentrations in boreal streams

Science.gov (United States)

Ledesma, J. L. J.; Grabs, T.; Futter, M. N.; Bishop, K. H.; Laudon, H.; Köhler, S. J.

2013-01-01

Forest riparian zones are a major in control of surface water quality. Base cation (BC) concentrations, fluxes, and cycling in the riparian zone merit attention because of increasing concern of negative consequences for re-acidification of surface waters from future climate and forest harvesting scenarios. We present a two-year study of BC and silica (Si) flow-weighted concentrations from 13 riparian zones and 14 streams in a boreal catchment in northern Sweden. The Riparian Flow-Concentration Integration Model (RIM) was used to estimate riparian zone flow-weighted concentrations and tested to predict the stream flow-weighted concentrations. Spatial variation in BC and Si concentrations as well as in flow-weighted concentrations was related to differences in Quaternary deposits, with the largest contribution from lower lying silty sediments and the lowest contribution from wetland areas higher up in the catchment. Temporal stability in the concentrations of most elements, a remarkably stable Mg / Ca ratio in the soil water and a homogeneous mineralogy suggest that the stable patterns found in the riparian zones are a result of distinct mineralogical upslope groundwater signals integrating the chemical signals of biological and chemical weathering. Stream water Mg / Ca ratio indicates that the signal is subsequently maintained in the streams. RIM gave good predictions of Ca, Mg, and Na flow-weighted concentrations in headwater streams. The difficulty in modelling K and Si suggests a stronger biogeochemical influence on these elements. The observed chemical dilution effect with flow in the streams was related to variation in groundwater levels and element concentration profiles in the riparian zones. This study provides a first step toward specific investigations of the vulnerability of riparian zones to changes induced by forest management or climate change, with focus on BC or other compounds.

Effects of flow regulation and fragmentation by dams on riparian flora in boreal rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansson, Roland

2000-01-01

The object of this thesis is to evaluate the effects of river regulation on riparian flora in boreal rivers, and to increase the understanding of the processes causing patterns in species diversity. Comparisons of free-flowing and regulated rivers showed that regulated rivers have fewer plant species and less plant cover per 200-m-stretch of river margin. Regulated river-margins were less species-rich compared to free-flowing rivers irrespective of the type of regulated water level regime, except for unimpounded reaches downstream of dams. Species with good dispersal capacity (wind-dispersed or long-floating species) were least affected by regulation, showing that the ability to recolonize after local extinction is an important character. The temporal development of river-margin vegetation in regulated rivers was studied by investigating differently-old reservoirs and impoundments. Plant-species richness along storage reservoirs increased during the first 30-40 years following damming, but declined thereafter. Both species richness and plant cover remained impoverished compared to free-flowing rivers about 70 years after regulation. Along run-of-river impoundments, plant species richness and cover peaked after 10-20 years. In the long run, riparian species richness was lower, but riparian species density did not differ, compared to free-flowing rivers. Dams fragment the riparian flora. Adjacent run-of-river impoundments developed different riparian floras, probably because dams are barriers to the dispersal of species with poor floating ability. This shows that dams disrupt the ecological continuity not only for the river channel, but also for the adjoining riparian corridor. The number of species and genera were similar between river margins along boreal free-flowing rivers in Europe and North America. The riparian floras shared few species but many genera and families. The regional species pools were similar-sized and composed of species with similar traits, and

REMM: The Riparian Ecosystem Management Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowrance, R.; Altier, L.S.; Williams, R.G.; Inamdar, S.P.; Sheridan, J.M.; Bosch, D.D.; Hubbard, R.K.; Thomas, D.L.

2000-03-01

Riparian buffer zones are effective in mitigating nonpoint source pollution and have been recommended as a best management practice (BMP). The Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) has been developed for researchers and natural resource agencies as a modeling tool that can help quantify the water quality benefits of riparian buffers under varying site conditions. Processes simulated in REMM include surface and subsurface hydrology; sediment transport and deposition; carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transport, removal, and cycling; and vegetation growth. Management options, such as vegetation type, size of the buffer zone, and biomass harvesting also can be simulated. REMM can be used in conjunction with upland models, empirical data, or estimated loadings to examine scenarios of buffer zone design for a hillslope. Evaluation of REMM simulations with field observations shows generally good agreement between simulated and observed data for groundwater nitrate concentrations and water table depths in a mature riparian forest buffer. Sensitivity analysis showed that changes that influenced the water balance or soil moisture storage affected the streamflow output. Parameter changes that influence either hydrology or rates of nutrient cycling affected total N transport and plant N uptake.

Channel Incision Driven by Suburbanization: Impacts to Riparian Groundwater Flow and Overbank Flow Frequency

Science.gov (United States)

Bowles, C. J.; Lawrence, R. L.; Noll, C.; Hancock, G. S.

2005-12-01

Channel incision is a widely observed response to increased flow in urbanized watersheds, but the effects of channel lowering on riparian water tables is not well documented. In a rapidly incising suburban stream in the Virginia Coastal Plain, we hypothesize that stream incision has lowered floodplain water tables and decreased the overbank flow frequency. The monitored stream is a tributary to the James River draining 1.3 km2 of which 15% is impervious cover. Incision has occurred largely through upstream migration of a one meter high knickpoint at a rate of ~1.5 m/yr, primarily during high flow events. We installed 63 wells in six stream-perpendicular transects as well as a cluster of wells around the knickpoint to assess water table elevations beneath the floodplain adjacent to the incising stream. Two transects are located 30 and 50 m upstream of the knickpoint in the unincised floodplain, and the remainder are 5, 30, 70, and 100 m downstream in the incised floodplain. In one transect above and two below, pressure transducers attached to dataloggers provide a high-resolution record of water table changes. Erosion pins were installed and channel cross-sections surveyed to determine streambed stability. Significant differences are observed in bank morphology and groundwater flow above vs. below the knickpoint. Above the knickpoint, the banks are stable, ~3 m wide, and ~0.3 m deep, and widen and deepen slightly toward the knickpoint. The water table is relatively flat and is 0.2-0.4 m below the floodplain surface, and groundwater contours suggest flow is parallel to the stream direction. The water table responds immediately to precipitation events, and rises to the floodplain surface in significant rainfall events. Immediately downstream of the knickpoint, channel width increases by about a meter, and stream depth increases to ~1.5 meters. The water table immediately below the knickpoint possesses a steep gradient, and is up to one meter below the floodplain

Riparian Cottonwood Ecosystems and Regulated Flows in Kootenai and Yakima Sub-Basins : Volume I Kootenai River (Overview, Report and Appendices).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, Bob; Braatne, Jeffrey H.

2001-10-01

Riparian vegetation and especially cottonwood and willow plant communities are dependent on normative flows and especially, spring freshette, to provide conditions for recruitment. These plant communities therefore share much in common with a range of fish species that require natural flow conditions to stimulate reproduction. We applied tools and techniques developed in other areas to assess riparian vegetation in two very different sub-basins within the Columbia Basin. Our objectives were to: Document the historic impact of human activity on alluvial floodplain areas in both sub-basins; Provide an analysis of the impacts of flow regulation on riparian vegetation in two systems with very different flow regulation systems; Demonstrate that altered spring flows will, in fact, result in recruitment to cottonwood stands, given other land uses impacts on each river and the limitations imposed by other flow requirements; and Assess the applicability of remote sensing tools for documenting the distribution and health of cottonwood stands and riparian vegetation that can be used in other sub-basins.

Riparian vegetation structure under desertification scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Rosário Fernandes, M.; Segurado, Pedro; Jauch, Eduardo; Ferreira, M. Teresa

2015-04-01

Riparian areas are responsible for many ecological and ecosystems services, including the filtering function, that are considered crucial to the preservation of water quality and social benefits. The main goal of this study is to quantify and understand the riparian variability under desertification scenario(s) and identify the optimal riparian indicators for water scarcity and droughts (WS&D), henceforth improving river basin management. This study was performed in the Iberian Tâmega basin, using riparian woody patches, mapped by visual interpretation on Google Earth imagery, along 130 Sampling Units of 250 m long river stretches. Eight riparian structural indicators, related with lateral dimension, weighted area and shape complexity of riparian patches were calculated using Patch Analyst extension for ArcGis 10. A set of 29 hydrological, climatic, and hydrogeomorphological variables were computed, by a water modelling system (MOHID), using monthly meteorological data between 2008 and 2014. Land-use classes were also calculated, in a 250m-buffer surrounding each sampling unit, using a classification based system on Corine Land Cover. Boosted Regression Trees identified Mean-width (MW) as the optimal riparian indicator for water scarcity and drought, followed by the Weighted Class Area (WCA) (classification accuracy =0.79 and 0.69 respectively). Average Flow and Strahler number were consistently selected, by all boosted models, as the most important explanatory variables. However, a combined effect of hidrogeomorphology and land-use can explain the high variability found in the riparian width mainly in Tâmega tributaries. Riparian patches are larger towards Tâmega river mouth although with lower shape complexity, probably related with more continuous and almost monospecific stands. Climatic, hydrological and land use scenarios, singly and combined, were used to quantify the riparian variability responding to these changes, and to assess the loss of riparian

Phosphorus retention in riparian buffers: review of their efficiency.

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Hoffmann, Carl Christian; Kjaergaard, Charlotte; Uusi-Kämppä, Jaana; Hansen, Hans Christian Bruun; Kronvang, Brian

2009-01-01

Ground water and surface water interactions are of fundamental importance for the biogeochemical processes governing phosphorus (P) dynamics in riparian buffers. The four most important conceptual hydrological pathways for P losses from and P retention in riparian buffers are reviewed in this paper: (i) The diffuse flow path with ground water flow through the riparian aquifer, (ii) the overland flow path across the riparian buffer with water coming from adjacent agricultural fields, (iii) irrigation of the riparian buffer with tile drainage water from agricultural fields where disconnected tile drains irrigate the riparian buffer, and (iv) inundation of the riparian buffer (floodplain) with river water during short or longer periods. We have examined how the different flow paths in the riparian buffer influence P retention mechanisms theoretically and from empirical evidence. The different hydrological flow paths determine where and how water-borne P compounds meet and interact with iron and aluminum oxides or other minerals in the geochemical cycling of P in the complex and dynamic environment that constitutes a riparian buffer. The main physical process in the riparian buffer-sedimentation-is active along several flow paths and may account for P retention rates of up to 128 kg P ha(-1) yr(-1), while plant uptake may temporarily immobilize up to 15 kg P ha(-1) yr(-1). Retention of dissolved P in riparian buffers is not as pronounced as retention of particulate P and is often below 0.5 kg P ha(-1) yr(-1). Several studies show significant release of dissolved P (i.e., up to 8 kg P ha(-1) yr(-1)).

Flow Hydrodynamics across Open Channel Flows with Riparian Zones: Implications for Riverbank Stability

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Da Liu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Riverbank vegetation is of high importance both for preserving the form (morphology and function (ecology of natural river systems. Revegetation of riverbanks is commonly used as a means of stream rehabilitation and management of bank instability and erosion. In this experimental study, the effect of different riverbank vegetation densities on flow hydrodynamics across the channel, including the riparian zone, are reported and discussed. The configuration of vegetation elements follows either linear or staggered arrangements as vegetation density is progressively increased, within a representative range of vegetation densities found in nature. Hydrodynamic measurements including mean streamwise velocity and turbulent intensity flow profiles are recorded via acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV—both at the main channel and within the riverbank. These results show that for the main channel and the toe of riverbank, turbulence intensity for the low densities (λ ≈ 0 to 0.12 m−1 can increase up to 40% compared the case of high densities (λ = 0.94 to 1.9 m−1. Further analysis of these data allowed the estimation of bed-shear stresses, demonstrating 86% and 71% increase at the main channel and near the toe region, for increasing densities (λ = 0 to 1.9 m−1. Quantifying these hydrodynamic effects is important for assessing the contribution of physically representative ranges of riparian vegetation densities on hydrogeomorphologic feedback.

Do invasive riparian Tamarix alter hydrology of riparian areas of arid and semi-arid regions under climate change scenarios?

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattarai, M. P.; Acharya, K.; Chen, L.

2012-12-01

Competitiveness of riparian invasive species, Tamarix, in arid and semi-arid riparian areas of the southwestern United States under climate change scenario (SRES A2) was investigated. Tamarix has been replacing native vegetation along the riparian corridors of these areas for the past several decades and is thought to alter water balance. Changes in depth to groundwater, soil moisture distribution and flood frequency are critical in survival and growth of a facultative phreatophyte such as Tamarix. In this study, a fully coupled 2d surface flow and 3d subsurface flow hydrologic model, HydroGeoSphere, was used to simulate surface-subsurface hydrology of the lower Virgin River basin (4500 sq. km), located in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The hydrologic model results, depth to groundwater and soil saturation, were then applied to the species distribution model, Maxent, along with other bioclimatic parameters to asses future Tamarix distribution probability. Simulations were made for the climate scenarios of the end of 21st centry conditions. Depth to groundwater is found to be the most important predictor variable to the Maxent model. Future Tamarix distribution range is not uniform across the basin. It is likely to decrease at lower elevations and increase in some higher elevation areas.

Population genetic analysis reveals barriers and corridors for gene flow within and among riparian populations of a rare plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Hevroy, Tanya H; Moody, Michael L; Krauss, Siegfried L

2018-02-01

Landscape features and life-history traits affect gene flow, migration and drift to impact on spatial genetic structure of species. Understanding this is important for managing genetic diversity of threatened species. This study assessed the spatial genetic structure of the rare riparian Grevillea sp. Cooljarloo (Proteaceae), which is restricted to a 20 km 2 region impacted by mining in the northern sandplains of the Southwest Australian Floristic Region, an international biodiversity hotspot. Within creek lines and floodplains, the distribution is largely continuous. Models of dispersal within riparian systems were assessed by spatial genetic analyses including population level partitioning of genetic variation and individual Bayesian clustering. High levels of genetic variation and weak isolation by distance within creek line and floodplain populations suggest large effective population sizes and strong connectivity, with little evidence for unidirectional gene flow as might be expected from hydrochory. Regional clustering of creek line populations and strong divergence among creek line populations suggest substantially lower levels of gene flow among creek lines than within creek lines. There was however a surprising amount of genetic admixture in floodplain populations, which could be explained by irregular flooding and/or movements by highly mobile nectar-feeding bird pollinators. Our results highlight that for conservation of rare riparian species, avoiding an impact to hydrodynamic processes, such as water tables and flooding dynamics, may be just as critical as avoiding direct impacts on the number of plants.

Experimental and numerical study of the relation between flow paths and fate of a pesticide in a riparian wetland

Science.gov (United States)

Kidmose, Jacob; Dahl, Mette; Engesgaard, Peter; Nilsson, Bertel; Christensen, Britt S. B.; Andersen, Stine; Hoffmann, Carl Christian

2010-05-01

SummaryA field-scale pulse-injection experiment with the herbicide Isoproturon was conducted in a Danish riparian wetland. A non-reactive tracer (bromide) experiment was also carried out to characterize the physical transport system. Groundwater flow and reactive transport modelling was used to simulate flow paths, residence times, as well as bromide and Isoproturon distributions. The wetland can be characterized by two distinct riparian flow paths; one flow path discharges 2/3 of the incoming groundwater directly to the free water surface of the wetland near the foot of the hillslope with an average residence time of 205 days, and another flow path diffusively discharging the remaining 1/3 of the incoming groundwater to the stream with an average residence time of 425 days. The reactive transport simulations reveal that Isoproturon is retarded by a factor of 2-4, which is explained by the high organic content in the peat layer of the wetland. Isoproturon was found to be aerobically degraded with a half-life in the order of 12-80 days. Based on the quantification of flow paths, residence times and half-lives it is estimated that about 2/3 of the injected Isoproturon is removed in the wetland. Thus, close to 1/3 may find its way to the stream through overland flow. It is also possible that high concentrations of metabolites will reach the stream.

Floodplain forest succession reveals fluvial processes: A hydrogeomorphic model for temperate riparian woodlands.

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Egger, Gregory; Politti, Emilio; Lautsch, Erwin; Benjankar, Rohan; Gill, Karen M; Rood, Stewart B

2015-09-15

River valley floodplains are physically-dynamic environments where fluvial processes determine habitat gradients for riparian vegetation. These zones support trees and shrubs whose life stages are adapted to specific habitat types and consequently forest composition and successional stage reflect the underlying hydrogeomorphic processes and history. In this study we investigated woodland vegetation composition, successional stage and habitat properties, and compared these with physically-based indicators of hydraulic processes. We thus sought to develop a hydrogeomorphic model to evaluate riparian woodland condition based on the spatial mosaic of successional phases of the floodplain forest. The study investigated free-flowing and dam-impacted reaches of the Kootenai and Flathead Rivers, in Idaho and Montana, USA and British Columbia, Canada. The analyses revealed strong correspondence between vegetation assessments and metrics of fluvial processes indicating morphodynamics (erosion and shear stress), inundation and depth to groundwater. The results indicated that common successional stages generally occupied similar hydraulic environments along the different river segments. Comparison of the spatial patterns between the free-flowing and regulated reaches revealed greater deviation from the natural condition for the braided channel segment than for the meandering segment. This demonstrates the utility of the hydrogeomorphic approach and suggests that riparian woodlands along braided channels could have lower resilience than those along meandering channels and might be more vulnerable to influences such as from river damming or climate change. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shifting dominance of riparian Populus and Tamarix along gradients of flow alteration in western North American rivers.

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Merritt, David M; Poff, N LeRoy

2010-01-01

Tamarix ramosissima is a naturalized, nonnative plant species which has become widespread along riparian corridors throughout the western United States. We test the hypothesis that the distribution and success of Tamarix result from human modification of river-flow regimes. We conducted a natural experiment in eight ecoregions in arid and semiarid portions of the western United States, measuring Tamarix and native Populus recruitment and abundance at 64 sites along 13 perennial rivers spanning a range of altered flow regimes. We quantified biologically relevant attributes of flow alteration as an integrated measure (the index of flow modification, IFM), which was then used to explain between-site variation in abundance and recruitment of native and nonnative riparian plant species. We found the likelihood of successful recruitment of Tamarix to be highest along unregulated river reaches and to remain high across a gradient of regulated flows. Recruitment probability for Populus, in contrast, was highest under free-flowing conditions and declined abruptly under even slight flow modification (IFM > 0.1). Adult Tamarix was most abundant at intermediate levels of IFM. Populus abundance declined sharply with modest flow regulation (IFM > 0.2) and was not present at the most flow-regulated sites. Dominance of Tamarix was highest along rivers with the most altered flow regimes. At the 16 least regulated sites, Tamarix and Populus were equally abundant. Given observed patterns of Tamarix recruitment and abundance, we infer that Tamarix would likely have naturalized, spread, and established widely in riparian communities in the absence of dam construction, diversions, and flow regulation in western North America. However, Tamarix dominance over native species would likely be less extensive in the absence of human alteration of river-flow regimes. Restoration that combines active mechanical removal of established stands of Tamarix with a program of flow releases conducive to

Water quality modeling based on landscape analysis: Importance of riparian hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas Grabs

2010-01-01

Several studies in high-latitude catchments have demonstrated the importance of near-stream riparian zones as hydrogeochemical hotspots with a substantial influence on stream chemistry. An adequate representation of the spatial variability of riparian-zone processes and characteristics is the key for modeling spatiotemporal variations of stream-water quality. This...

The Irrigation Effect: How River Regulation Can Promote Some Riparian Vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Karen M.; Goater, Lori A.; Braatne, Jeffrey H.; Rood, Stewart B.

2018-04-01

River regulation impacts riparian ecosystems by altering the hydrogeomorphic conditions that support streamside vegetation. Obligate riparian plants are often negatively impacted since they are ecological specialists with particular instream flow requirements. Conversely, facultative riparian plants are generalists and may be less vulnerable to river regulation, and could benefit from augmented flows that reduce drought stress during hot and dry periods. To consider this `irrigation effect' we studied the facultative shrub, netleaf hackberry ( Celtis reticulata), the predominant riparian plant along the Hells Canyon corridor of the Snake River, Idaho, USA, where dams produce hydropeaking, diurnal flow variation. Inventories of 235 cross-sectional transects revealed that hackberry was uncommon upstream from the reservoirs, sparse along the reservoir with seasonal draw-down and common along two reservoirs with stabilized water levels. Along the Snake River downstream, hackberry occurred in fairly continuous, dense bands along the high water line. In contrast, hackberry was sparsely scattered along the free-flowing Salmon River, where sandbar willow ( Salix exigua), an obligate riparian shrub, was abundant. Below the confluence of the Snake and Salmon rivers, the abundance and distribution of hackberry were intermediate between the two upstream reaches. Thus, river regulation apparently benefited hackberry along the Snake River through Hells Canyon, probably due to diurnal pulsing that wets the riparian margin. We predict similar benefits for some other facultative riparian plants along other regulated rivers with hydropeaking during warm and dry intervals. To analyze the ecological impacts of hydropeaking we recommend assessing daily maxima, as well as daily mean river flows.

Riparian responses to extreme climate and land-use change scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Maria Rosário; Segurado, Pedro; Jauch, Eduardo; Ferreira, Maria Teresa

2016-11-01

Climate change will induce alterations in the hydrological and landscape patterns with effects on riparian ecotones. In this study we assess the combined effect of an extreme climate and land-use change scenario on riparian woody structure and how this will translate into a future risk of riparian functionality loss. The study was conducted in the Tâmega catchment of the Douro basin. Boosted Regression Trees (BRTs) were used to model two riparian landscape indicators related with the degree of connectivity (Mean Width) and complexity (Area Weighted Mean Patch Fractal Dimension). Riparian data were extracted by planimetric analysis of high spatial-resolution Word Imagery Layer (ESRI). Hydrological, climatic and land-use variables were obtained from available datasets and generated with process-based modeling using current climate data (2008-2014), while also considering the high-end RCP8.5 climate-change and "Icarus" socio-economic scenarios for the 2046-2065 time slice. Our results show that hydrological and land-use changes strongly influence future projections of riparian connectivity and complexity, albeit to diverse degrees and with differing effects. A harsh reduction in average flows may impair riparian zones while an increase in extreme rain events may benefit connectivity by promoting hydrologic dynamics with the surrounding floodplains. The expected increase in broad-leaved woodlands and mixed forests may enhance the riparian galleries by reducing the agricultural pressure on the area in the vicinity of the river. According to our results, 63% of river segments in the Tâmega basin exhibited a moderate risk of functionality loss, 16% a high risk, and 21% no risk. Weaknesses and strengths of the method are highlighted and results are discussed based on a resilience perspective with regard to riparian ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Downstream effects of stream flow diversion on channel characteristics and riparian vegetation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Simeon T. Caskey; Tyanna S. Blaschak; Ellen Wohl; Elizabeth Schnackenberg; David M. Merritt; Kathleen A. Dwire

2015-01-01

Flow diversions are widespread and numerous throughout the semi-arid mountains of the western United States. Diversions vary greatly in their structure and ability to divert water, but can alter the magnitude and duration of base and peak flows, depending upon their size and management. Channel geometry and riparian plant communities have adapted to unique hydrologic...

Spatial-structural analysis of leafless woody riparian vegetation for hydraulic considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Weissteiner, Clemens; Jalonen, Johanna; Järvelä, Juha; Rauch, Hans Peter

2013-04-01

Woody riparian vegetation is a vital element of riverine environments. On one hand woody riparian vegetation has to be taken into account from a civil engineering point of view due to boundary shear stress and vegetation drag. On the other hand it has to be considered from a river ecological point of view due to shadowing effects and as a source of organic material for aquatic habitats. In hydrodynamic and hydro-ecological studies the effects of woody riparian vegetation on flow patterns are usually investigated on a very detailed level. On the contrary vegetation elements and their spatial patterns are generally analysed and discussed on the basis of an integral approach measuring for example basal diameters, heights and projected plant areas. For a better understanding of the influence of woody riparian vegetation on turbulent flow and on river ecology, it is essential to record and analyse plant data sets on the same level of quality as for hydrodynamic or hydro-ecologic purposes. As a result of the same scale of the analysis it is possible to incorporate riparian vegetation as a sub-model in the hydraulic analysis. For plant structural components, such as branches on different topological levels it is crucial to record plant geometrical parameters describing the habitus of the plant on branch level. An exact 3D geometrical model of real plants allows for an extraction of various spatial-structural plant parameters. In addition, allometric relationships help to summarize and describe plant traits of riparian vegetation. This paper focuses on the spatial-structural composition of leafless riparia woddy vegetation. Structural and spatial analyses determine detailed geometric properties of the structural components of the plants. Geometrical and topological parameters were recorded with an electro-magnetic scanning device. In total, 23 plants (willows, alders and birches) were analysed in the study. Data were recorded on branch level, which allowed for the

Hydraulic and Vegetative Models of Historic Environmental Conditions Isolate the Role of Riparian Vegetation in Inducing Channel Change

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Manners, R.; Schmidt, J. C.; Wheaton, J. M.

2011-12-01

An enduring question in geomorphology is the role of riparian vegetation in inducing or exacerbating channel narrowing. It is typically difficult to isolate the role of vegetation in causing channel narrowing, because narrowing typically occurs where there are changes in stream flow, sediment supply, the invasion of non-native vegetation, and sometimes climate change. Therefore, linkages between changes in vegetation communities and changes in channel form are often difficult to identify. We took a mechanistic approach to isolate the role of the invasive riparian shrub tamarisk (Tamarix spp) in influencing channel narrowing in the Colorado River basin. Detailed geomorphic reconstructions of two sites on the Yampa and Green Rivers, respectively, in Dinosaur National Monument show that channel narrowing has been progressive and that tamarisk encroachment has also occurred; at the same time, dams have been constructed, diversions increased, and spring snowmelt runoff has been occurring earlier in spring. We simulated hydraulic and sediment transport conditions during the two largest floods of record -- 1984 and 2011. Two-dimensional hydraulic models were built to reflect these conditions and allowed us to perform sensitivity tests to determine the dominant determinants of the observed patterns of erosion and deposition. Channel and floodplain topography were constrained through detailed stratigraphic analysis, including precise dating of deposits based on dating of buried tamarisk plants in a series of floodplain trenches and pits. We also used historical air photos to establish past channel topography. To parameterize the influence of riparian vegetation, we developed a model that links detailed terrestrial laser scan (TLS) measurements of stand structure and its corresponding hydraulic roughness at the patch scale to reach-scale riparian vegetation patterns determined from airborne LiDaR (ALS). This model, in conjunction with maps of the ages and establishment

Shifting dominance of riparian Populus and Tamarix along gradients of flow alteration in western North American rivers

Science.gov (United States)

David M. Merritt; N. Leroy Poff

2010-01-01

Tamarix ramosissima is a naturalized, nonnative plant species which has become widespread along riparian corridors throughout the western United States. We test the hypothesis that the distribution and success of Tamarix result from human modification of river-flow regimes. We conducted a natural experiment in eight...

Modelagem da retenção de herbicidas em zonas ripárias Modeling of herbicide retention in riparian zones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra P. de Pinho

2006-12-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a retenção de atrazina e picloram, transportados via escoamento superficial, em zona ripária. Para isto, simulou-se um escoamento superficial, contendo uma mistura de caulinita, atrazina e picloram, dentro de zonas ripárias estabelecidas ao longo de plantações de pinheiros do Nordeste do Estado da Geórgia, EUA. Cinco parcelas foram instaladas dentro de zonas ripárias, apresentando declividades diferentes (2, 5, 10, 15 e 20%. Os efeitos da umidade do solo e da presença do horizonte O na retenção dos dois herbicidas foram avaliados. Um modelo exponencial, comumente utilizado na estimativa de redução da DBO e de nutrientes em tratamento por escoamento superficial, foi empregado na estimativa de redução de herbicidas e caulinita em zonas ripárias. O modelo possibilitou estimar com razoável precisão, a remoção de caulinita e atrazina da mistura em escoamento ao longo de zonas ripárias de 10 m de comprimento. Em geral, a declividade foi o parâmetro que apresentou melhor correlação com a retenção dos contaminantes presentes na mistura em escoamento na zona ripária. O horizonte O, mais espesso nas maiores declividades, favoreceu tanto a sedimentação da caulinita como a adsorção da atrazina.This work aimed to investigate the retention of atrazine and picloram, carried by surface flow, in riparian zones. The surface flow, containing a mixture of both herbicides and kaolin, was then simulated within riparian zones established in pine plantations in north-eastern Georgia, USA. Five plots were established within riparian zones, each with a different slope (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20%. The influence of the initial moisture and of the O horizon condition in herbicide retention was analyzed. An exponential model, commonly used for the estimate of biochemical demand of oxygen (BOD and nutrients attenuation in overland flow treatment, was used to estimate the attenuation of kaolin and

Potential effects of elevated base flow and midsummer spike flow experiments on riparian vegetation along the Green River

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Friedman, Jonathan M.

2018-01-01

The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program has requested experimental flow releases from Flaming Gorge Dam for (1) elevated summer base flows to promote larval endangered Colorado pikeminnow, and (2) midsummer spike flows to disadvantage spawning invasive smallmouth bass. This white paper explores the effects of these proposed flow modifications on riparian vegetation and sediment deposition downstream along the Green River. Although modest in magnitude, the elevated base flows and possible associated reductions in magnitude or duration of peak flows would exacerbate a long-term trend of flow stabilization on the Green River that is already leading to proliferation of vegetation including invasive tamarisk along the channel and associated sediment deposition, channel narrowing and channel simplification. Midsummer spike flows could promote establishment of late-flowering plants like tamarisk. Because channel narrowing and simplification threaten persistence and quality of backwater and side channel features needed by endangered fish, the proposed flow modifications could lead to degradation of fish habitat. Channel narrowing and vegetation encroachment could be countered by increases in peak flows or reductions in base flows in some years and by prescription of rapid flow declines following midsummer spike flows. These strategies for reducing vegetation encroachment would need to be balanced with flow

Controls on denitrification potential in nitrate-rich waterways and riparian zones of an irrigated agricultural setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Alex J; Groffman, Peter M; Cadenasso, Mary L

2018-02-21

Denitrification, the microbial conversion of NO 3 - to N gases, is an important process contributing to whether lotic and riparian ecosystems act as sinks for excess NO 3 - from agricultural activities. Though agricultural waterways and riparian zones have been a focus of denitrification research for decades, almost none of this research has occurred in the irrigated agricultural settings of arid and semi-arid climates. In this study, we conducted a broad survey of denitrification potential in riparian soils and channel sediment from 79 waterway reaches in the irrigated agricultural landscape of California's Central Valley. With this approach, we sought to capture the wide range of variation that arose from diverse waterway management and fluctuating flow conditions, and use this variation to identify promising management interventions. We explored associations of denitrification potentials with surface water NO 3 - -N, organic matter, flow conditions, vegetation cover, near-channel riparian bank slope, and channel geomorphic features using generalized linear mixed models. We found strong associations of sediment denitrification potentials with reach flow conditions, which we hypothesize was the result of variation in microbial communities' tolerance to dry-wet cycles. Denitrification potentials in riparian soils, in contrast, did not appear affected by flow conditions, but instead were associated with organic matter, vegetation cover, and bank slope in the riparian zone. These results suggest a strong need for further work on how denitrification responds to varying flow conditions and dry-wet cycles in non-perennial lotic ecosystems. Our findings also demonstrate that denitrifier communities respond to key features of waterway management, which can therefore be leveraged to control denitrification through a variety of management actions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Channel Geometry and Flood Flows: Quantifying over-bank flow dynamics during high-flow events in North Carolina's floodplains

Science.gov (United States)

Lovette, J. P.; Duncan, J. M.; Vimal, S.; Band, L. E.

2015-12-01

Natural riparian areas play numerous roles in the maintenance and improvement of stream water quality. Both restoration of riparian areas and improvement of hydrologic connectivity to the stream are often key goals of river restoration projects. These management actions are designed to improve nutrient removal by slowing and treating overland flow delivered from uplands and by storing, treating, and slowly releasing streamwater from overbank inundation during flood events. A major question is how effective this storage of overbank flow is at treating streamwater based on the cumulative time stream discharge at a downstream location has spent in shallower, slower overbank flow. The North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program maintains a detailed statewide Flood Risk Information System (FRIS) using HEC-RAS modeling, lidar, and detailed surveyed river cross-sections. FRIS provides extensive information regarding channel geometry on approximately 39,000 stream reaches (a slightly coarser spatial resolution than the NHD+v2 dataset) with tens of cross-sections for each reach. We use this FRIS data to calculate volume and discharge from floodplain riparian areas separately from in-channel flow during overbank events. Preliminary results suggest that a small percentage of total annual discharge interacts with the full floodplain extent along a stream reach due to the infrequency of overbank flow events. However, with the significantly different physical characteristics of the riparian area when compared to the channel itself, this overbank flow can provide unique services to water quality. Our project aims to use this information in conjunction with data from the USGS SPARROW program to target non-point source hotspots of Nitrogen and Phosphorus addition and removal. By better understanding the flow dynamics within riparian areas during high flow events, riparian restoration projects can be carried out with improved efficacy.

Effects of drought on birds and riparian vegetation in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Hinojosa-Huerta, Osvel; Nagler, Pamela L.; Carrillo-Guererro, Yamilett K.; Glenn, Edward P.

2013-01-01

The riparian corridor in the delta of the Colorado River in Mexico supports internationally important bird habitat. The vegetation is maintained by surface flows from the U.S. and Mexico and by a high, non-saline aquifer into which the dominant phreatophytic shrubs and trees are rooted. We studied the effects of a regional drought on riparian vegetation and avian abundance and diversity from 2002 to 2007, during which time surface flows were markedly reduced compared to the period from 1995 to 2002. Reduced surface flows led to a reduction in native tree cover but an increase in shrub cover, mostly due to an increase in Tamarix spp., an introduced halophytic shrub, and a reduction in Populus fremontii and Salix gooddingii trees. However, overall vegetation cover was unchanged at about 70%. Overall bird density and diversity were also unchanged, but riparian-obligate species tended to decrease in abundance, and generalist species increased. Although reduction in surface flows reduced habitat value and negatively impacted riparian-obligate bird species, portions of the riparian zone exhibited resilience. Surface flows are required to reduce soil salt levels and germinate new cohorts of native trees, but the main source of water supporting this ecosystem is the aquifer, derived from underflows from irrigated fields in the U.S. and Mexico. The long-term prospects for delta riparian habitats are uncertain due to expected reduced flows of river water from climate change, and land use practices that will reduce underflows to the riparian aquifer and increase salinity levels. Active restoration programs would be needed if these habitats are to be preserved for the future.

Modeling the Effects of Hydrogeomorphology and Climactic Factors on Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Greenhouse Gas Dynamics in Riparian Zones.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassanzadeh, Y.; Vidon, P.; Gold, A.; Pradhanang, S. M.; Addy, K.

2017-12-01

Vegetated riparian zones are often considered for use as best management practices to mitigate the impacts of agriculture on water quality. However, riparian zones can also be a source of greenhouse gases and their influence on water quality varies depending on landscape hydrogeomorphic characteristics and climate. Methods used to evaluate riparian zone functions include conceptual models, and spatially explicit and process based models (REMM), but very few attempts have been made to connect riparian zone characteristics with function using easily accessible landscape scale data. Here, we present comprehensive statistical models that can be used to assess riparian zone functions with easily obtainable landscape-scale hydrogeomorphic attributes and climate data. Models were developed from a database spanning 88 years and 36 sites. Statistical methods including principal component analysis and stepwise regression were used to reduced data dimensionality and identify significant predictors. Models were validated using additional data collected from scientific literature. The 8 models developed connect landscape characteristics to nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and removal (1-4), greenhouse gas emissions (5-7), and water table depth (8). Results show the range of influence that various climate and landscape characteristics have on riparian zone functions, and the tradeoffs that exist with regards to nitrogen, phosphorous, and greenhouse gases. These models will help reduce the need for extensive field measurements and help scientists and land managers make more informed decisions regarding the use of riparian zones for water quality management.

Reconnecting tile drainage to riparian buffer hydrology for enhanced nitrate removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaynes, D B; Isenhart, T M

2014-03-01

Riparian buffers are a proven practice for removing NO from overland flow and shallow groundwater. However, in landscapes with artificial subsurface (tile) drainage, most of the subsurface flow leaving fields is passed through the buffers in drainage pipes, leaving little opportunity for NO removal. We investigated the feasibility of re-routing a fraction of field tile drainage as subsurface flow through a riparian buffer for increasing NO removal. We intercepted an existing field tile outlet draining a 10.1-ha area of a row-cropped field in central Iowa and re-routed a fraction of the discharge as subsurface flow along 335 m of an existing riparian buffer. Tile drainage from the field was infiltrated through a perforated pipe installed 75 cm below the surface by maintaining a constant head in the pipe at a control box installed in-line with the existing field outlet. During 2 yr, >18,000 m (55%) of the total flow from the tile outlet was redirected as infiltration within the riparian buffer. The redirected water seeped through the 60-m-wide buffer, raising the water table approximately 35 cm. The redirected tile flow contained 228 kg of NO. On the basis of the strong decrease in NO concentrations within the shallow groundwater across the buffer, we hypothesize that the NO did not enter the stream but was removed within the buffer by plant uptake, microbial immobilization, or denitrification. Redirecting tile drainage as subsurface flow through a riparian buffer increased its NO removal benefit and is a promising management practice to improve surface water quality within tile-drained landscapes. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Coupled hydrological, ecological, decision and economic models for monetary valuation of riparian ecosystem services

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, D. C.; Brookshire, D.; Broadbent, C.; Dixon, M. D.; Brand, L. A.; Thacher, J.; Benedict, K. K.; Lansey, K. E.; Stromberg, J. C.; Stewart, S.; McIntosh, M.

2011-12-01

Water is a critical component for sustaining both natural and human systems. Yet the value of water for sustaining ecosystem services is not well quantified in monetary terms. Ideally decisions involving water resource management would include an apples-to-apples comparison of the costs and benefits in dollars of both market and non-market goods and services - human and ecosystem. To quantify the value of non-market ecosystem services, scientifically defensible relationships must be developed that link the effect of a decision (e.g. human growth) to the change in ecosystem attributes from current conditions. It is this linkage that requires the "poly-disciplinary" coupling of knowledge and models from the behavioral, physical, and ecological sciences. In our experience another key component of making this successful linkage is development of a strong poly-disciplinary scientific team that can readily communicate complex disciplinary knowledge to non-specialists outside their own discipline. The time to build such a team that communicates well and has a strong sense of trust should not be underestimated. The research described in the presentation incorporated hydrologic, vegetation, avian, economic, and decision models into an integrated framework to determine the value of changes in ecological systems that result from changes in human water use. We developed a hydro-bio-economic framework for the San Pedro River Region in Arizona that considers groundwater, stream flow, and riparian vegetation, as well as abundance, diversity, and distribution of birds. In addition, we developed a similar framework for the Middle Rio Grande of New Mexico. There are six research components for this project: (1) decision support and scenario specification, (2) regional groundwater model, (3) the riparian vegetation model, (4) the avian model, (5) methods for displaying the information gradients in the valuation survey instruments (Choice Modeling and Contingent Valuation), and (6

Estimates of evapotranspiration for riparian sites (Eucalyptus) in the Lower Murray -Darling Basin using ground validated sap flow and vegetation index scaling techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Doody, T.; Nagler, P. L.; Glenn, E. P.

2014-12-01

Water accounting is becoming critical globally, and balancing consumptive water demands with environmental water requirements is especially difficult in in arid and semi-arid regions. Within the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia, riparian water use has not been assessed across broad scales. This study therefore aimed to apply and validate an existing U.S. riparian ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) algorithm for the MDB river systems to assist water resource managers to quantify environmental water needs over wide ranges of niche conditions. Ground-based sap flow ET was correlated with remotely sensed predictions of ET, to provide a method to scale annual rates of water consumption by riparian vegetation over entire irrigation districts. Sap flux was measured at nine locations on the Murrumbidgee River between July 2011 and June 2012. Remotely sensed ET was calculated using a combination of local meteorological estimates of potential ET (ETo) and rainfall and MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from selected 250 m resolution pixels. The sap flow data correlated well with MODIS EVI. Sap flow ranged from 0.81 mm/day to 3.60 mm/day and corresponded to a MODIS-based ET range of 1.43 mm/day to 2.42 mm/day. We found that mean ET across sites could be predicted by EVI-ETo methods with a standard error of about 20% across sites, but that ET at any given site could vary much more due to differences in aquifer and soil properties among sites. Water use was within range of that expected. We conclude that our algorithm developed for US arid land crops and riparian plants is applicable to this region of Australia. Future work includes the development of an adjusted algorithm using these sap flow validated results.

Scales of form roughness on riverbanks with different riparian vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Konsoer, K. M.; Rhoads, B. L.; Best, J.; Langendoen, E. J.; Ursic, M.; Abad, J. D.; Garcia, M. H.

2013-12-01

Riverbanks often include topographic irregularities that occur over a range of scales and that are produced by interactions among erosional processes, vegetation, and the geotechnical properties of the banks and floodplains. Irregularity of the bank surface can increase form drag, affecting the overall flow resistance, near-bank shear stresses, and patterns of sediment transport. Understanding how dominant scales of form roughness influence the near-bank flow structure, and thus the shear stress partitioning, is vital for the development of accurate predictive morphodynamic models. In this paper, the scales of bank roughness are examined for two meander bends of a large alluvial river with differing riparian vegetation on the Wabash River near Grayville, Illinois. Detailed measurements of bank topography were obtained using terrestrial LiDAR during low flow events and a multibeam echo sounder (MBES) during bankfull events. These measurements yielded high spatial resolution maps (~5-10 cm) that were used to analyze scales of roughness at different elevations along the banks during both subaerial and subaqueous conditions. The results of these analyses provide insight into the influence of riparian vegetation on form roughness and patterns of near-bank flow structure as documented using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP).

Hydrological mediated denitrification in groundwater below a seasonal flooded restored riparian zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jannick Kolbjørn; Engesgaard, Peter; Johnsen, Anders R.

2017-01-01

nitrate removal in groundwater primarily by two mechanisms. First, by creating a stagnant flow zone beneath the flooded area thereby increasing the residence time and leaving more time for nitrate removal. Secondly, nitrate removal is increased by enhancing upward flow into the highly reactive organic......A restored riparian zone was characterized to understand the effects of flooding on subsurface hydrological flow paths and nitrate removal in groundwater. Field and laboratory investigations were combined with numerical modeling of dynamic flow and reactive nitrate transport. Flooding enhances...

Experimental and numerical study of the relation between flow paths and fate of a pesticide in a riparian wetland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kidmose, Jacob Baarstrøm; Dahl, Mette; Engesgaard, Peter Knudegaard

2010-01-01

flow paths, residence times, as well as bromide and Isoproturon distributions. The wetland can be characterized by two distinct riparian flow paths; one flow path discharges 2/3 of the incoming groundwater directly to the free water surface of the wetland near the foot of the hillslope with an average...... residence time of 205days, and another flow path diffusively discharging the remaining 1/3 of the incoming groundwater to the stream with an average residence time of 425days. The reactive transport simulations reveal that Isoproturon is retarded by a factor of 2–4, which is explained by the high organic...

RIP-ET: A riparian evapotranspiration package for MODFLOW-2005

Science.gov (United States)

Maddock, Thomas; Baird, Kathryn J.; Hanson, R.T.; Schmid, Wolfgang; Ajami, Hoori

2012-01-01

A new evapotranspiration package for the U.S. Geological Survey's groundwater-flow model, MODFLOW, is documented. The Riparian Evapotranspiration Package (RIP-ET) provides flexibility in simulating riparian and wetland transpiration not provided by the Evapotranspiration (EVT) or Segmented Function Evapotranspiration (ETS1) Packages for MODFLOW 2005. This report describes how the RIP-ET package was conceptualized and provides input instructions, listings and explanations of the source code, and an example. Traditional approaches to modeling evapotranspiration (ET) processes assume a piecewise linear relationship between ET flux and hydraulic head. The RIP-ET replaces this traditional relationship with a segmented, nonlinear dimensionless curve that reflects the eco-physiology of riparian and wetland ecosystems. Evapotranspiration losses from these ecosystems are dependent not only on hydraulic head, but on the plant types present. User-defined plant functional groups (PFGs) are used to elucidate the interaction between plant transpiration and groundwater conditions. Five generalized plant functional groups based on transpiration rates, plant rooting depth, and water tolerance ranges are presented: obligate wetland, shallow-rooted riparian, deep-rooted riparian, transitional riparian and bare ground/open water. Plant functional groups can be further divided into subgroups (PFSGs) based on plant size, density or other characteristics. The RIP-ET allows for partial habitat coverage and mixtures of plant functional subgroups to be present in a single model cell. RIP-ET also distinguishes between plant transpiration and bare-ground evaporation. Habitat areas are designated by polygons; each polygon can contain a mixture of PFSGs and bare ground, and is assigned a surface elevation. This process requires a determination of fractional coverage for each of the plant functional subgroups present in a polygon to account for the mixture of coverage types and resulting

River flow and riparian vegetation dynamics - implications for management of the Yampa River through Dinosaur National Monument

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Michael L; Friedman, Jonathan M.

2018-01-01

This report addresses the relation between flow of the Yampa River and occurrence of herbaceous and woody riparian vegetation in Dinosaur National Monument (DINO) with the goal of informing management decisions related to potential future water development. The Yampa River in DINO flows through diverse valley settings, from the relatively broad restricted meanders of Deerlodge Park to narrower canyons, including debris fan-affected reaches in the upper Yampa Canyon and entrenched meanders in Harding Hole and Laddie Park. Analysis of occurrence of all plant species measured in 1470 quadrats by multiple authors over the last 24 years shows that riparian vegetation along the Yampa River is strongly related to valley setting and geomorphic surfaces, defined here as active channel, active floodplain, inactive floodplain, and upland. Principal Coordinates Ordination arrayed quadrats and species along gradients of overall cover and moisture availability, from upland and inactive floodplain quadrats and associated xeric species like western wheat grass (Pascopyrum smithii), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) to active channel and active floodplain quadrats supporting more mesic species including sandbar willow (Salix exigua), wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota), and cordgrass (Spartina spp.). Indicator species analysis identified plants strongly correlated with geomorphic surfaces. These species indicate state changes in geomorphic surfaces, such as the conversion of active channel to floodplain during channel narrowing. The dominant woody riparian species along the Yampa River are invasive tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), and native Fremont cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii), box elder (Acer negundo L. var. interius), and sandbar willow (Salix exigua). These species differ in tolerance of drought, salinity, inundation, flood disturbance and shade, and in seed size, timing of seed dispersal and ability to form root sprouts. These

Ecosystem effects of environmental flows: Modelling and experimental floods in a dryland river

Science.gov (United States)

Shafroth, P.B.; Wilcox, A.C.; Lytle, D.A.; Hickey, J.T.; Andersen, D.C.; Beauchamp, Vanessa B.; Hautzinger, A.; McMullen, L.E.; Warner, A.

2010-01-01

Successful environmental flow prescriptions require an accurate understanding of the linkages among flow events, geomorphic processes and biotic responses. We describe models and results from experimental flow releases associated with an environmental flow program on the Bill Williams River (BWR), Arizona, in arid to semiarid western U.S.A. Two general approaches for improving knowledge and predictions of ecological responses to environmental flows are: (1) coupling physical system models to ecological responses and (2) clarifying empirical relationships between flow and ecological responses through implementation and monitoring of experimental flow releases. We modelled the BWR physical system using: (1) a reservoir operations model to simulate reservoir releases and reservoir water levels and estimate flow through the river system under a range of scenarios, (2) one- and two-dimensional river hydraulics models to estimate stage-discharge relationships at the whole-river and local scales, respectively, and (3) a groundwater model to estimate surface- and groundwater interactions in a large, alluvial valley on the BWR where surface flow is frequently absent. An example of a coupled, hydrology-ecology model is the Ecosystems Function Model, which we used to link a one-dimensional hydraulic model with riparian tree seedling establishment requirements to produce spatially explicit predictions of seedling recruitment locations in a Geographic Information System. We also quantified the effects of small experimental floods on the differential mortality of native and exotic riparian trees, on beaver dam integrity and distribution, and on the dynamics of differentially flow-adapted benthic macroinvertebrate groups. Results of model applications and experimental flow releases are contributing to adaptive flow management on the BWR and to the development of regional environmental flow standards. General themes that emerged from our work include the importance of response

Analysis of carbon and nitrogen dynamics in riparian soils: model development.

Science.gov (United States)

Brovelli, A; Batlle-Aguilar, J; Barry, D A

2012-07-01

The quality of riparian soils and their ability to buffer contaminant releases to aquifers and streams are connected intimately to moisture content and nutrient dynamics, in particular of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). A multi-compartment model-named the Riparian Soil Model (RSM)-was developed to help investigate the influence and importance of environmental parameters, climatic factors and management practices on soil ecosystem functioning in riparian areas. The model improves existing tools, in particular regarding its capability to simulate a wide range of temporal scales, from days to centuries, along with its ability to predict the concentration and vertical distribution of dissolved organic matter (DOM). It was found that DOM concentration controls the amount of soil organic matter (SOM) stored in the soil as well as the respiration rate. The moisture content was computed using a detailed water budget approach, assuming that within each time step all the water above field capacity drains to the layer underneath, until it becomes fully saturated. A mass balance approach was also used for nutrient transport, whereas the biogeochemical reaction network was developed as an extension of an existing C and N turnover model. Temperature changes across the soil profile were simulated analytically, assuming periodic temperature changes in the topsoil. To verify the consistency of model predictions and to illustrate its capabilities, a synthetic but realistic soil profile in a deciduous forest was simulated. Model parameters were taken from the literature, and model predictions were consistent with experimental observations for a similar scenario. Modelling results stressed the importance of environmental conditions on SOM cycling in soils. The mineral and organic C and N stocks fluctuate at different time scales in response to oscillations in climatic conditions and vegetation inputs/uptake. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Riparian vegetation interacting with river morphology : modelling long-term ecosystem responses to invasive species, climate change, dams and river restoration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Oorschot, M.

2017-01-01

River systems are amongst the most dynamic and productive ecosystems in the world and provide habitats for numerous fluvial species. River flow and river shape determine the conditions that affect plant growth and survival. In turn, riparian plants can actively influence river flow and sedimentation

How do riparian woody seedlings survive seasonal drought?

Science.gov (United States)

Stella, John C; Battles, John J

2010-11-01

In semi-arid regions, a major population limitation for riparian trees is seedling desiccation during the dry season that follows annual spring floods. We investigated the stress response of first-year pioneer riparian seedlings to experimental water table declines (0, 1 and 3 cm day(-1)), focusing on the three dominant cottonwood and willows (family Salicaceae) in California's San Joaquin Basin. We analyzed growth and belowground allocation response to water stress, and used logistic regression to determine if these traits had an influence on individual survival. The models indicate that high root growth (>3 mm day(-1)) and low shoot:root ratios (water-use efficiency for surviving water stress. Both S. gooddingii and sandbar willow (S. exigua) reduced leaf size from controls, whereas Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) sustained a 29% reduction in specific leaf area (from 13.4 to 9.6 m(2) kg(-1)). The functional responses exhibited by Goodding's willow, the more drought-tolerant species, may play a role in its greater relative abundance in dry regions such as the San Joaquin Basin. This study highlights the potential for a shift in riparian forest composition. Under a future drier climate regime or under reduced regulated river flows, our results suggest that willow establishment will be favored over cottonwood.

Rocky Mountain Riparian Digest

Science.gov (United States)

Deborah M. Finch

2008-01-01

The Rocky Mountain Riparian Digest presents the many facets of riparian research at the station. Included are articles about protecting the riparian habitat, the social and economic values of riparian environments, watershed restoration, remote sensing tools, and getting kids interested in the science.

Coupling legacy geomorphic surface facies to riparian vegetation: Assessing red cedar invasion along the Missouri River downstream of Gavins Point dam, South Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Samantha L.; Knox, James C.

2014-01-01

Floods increase fluvial complexity by eroding established surfaces and creating new alluvial surfaces. As dams regulate channel flow, fluvial complexity often decreases and the hydro-eco-geomorphology of the riparian habitat changes. Along the Missouri River, flow regulation resulted in channel incision of 1-3 m within the study area and disconnected the pre-dam floodplain from the channel. Evidence of fluvial complexity along the pre-dam Missouri River floodplain can be observed through the diverse depositional environments represented by areas of varying soil texture. This study evaluates the role of flow regulation and depositional environment along the Missouri River in the riparian invasion of red cedar downstream of Gavins Point dam, the final dam on the Missouri River. We determine whether invasion began before or after flow regulation, determine patterns of invasion using Bayesian t-tests, and construct a Bayesian multivariate linear model of invaded surfaces. We surveyed 59 plots from 14 riparian cottonwood stands for tree age, plot composition, plot stem density, and soil texture. Red cedars existed along the floodplain prior to regulation, but at a much lower density than today. We found 2 out of 565 red cedars established prior to regulation. Our interpretation of depositional environments shows that the coarser, sandy soils reflect higher energy depositional pre-dam surfaces that were geomorphically active islands and point bars prior to flow regulation and channel incision. The finer, clayey soils represent lower energy depositional pre-dam surfaces, such as swales or oxbow depressions. When determining patterns of invasion for use in a predictive statistical model, we found that red cedar primarily establishes on the higher energy depositional pre-dam surfaces. In addition, as cottonwood age and density decrease, red cedar density tends to increase. Our findings indicate that flow regulation caused hydrogeomorphic changes within the study area that

Hydrological threats to riparian wetlands of international importance – a global quantitative and qualitative analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Schneider

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Riparian wetlands have been disappearing at an accelerating rate. Their ecological integrity as well as their vital ecosystem services for humankind depend on regular patterns of inundation and drying provided by natural flow regimes. However, river hydrology has been altered worldwide. Dams cause less variable flow regimes and water abstractions decrease the amount of flow so that ecologically important flood pulses are often reduced. Given growing population pressure and projected climate change, immediate action is required. However, the implementation of counteractive measures is often a complex task. This study develops a screening tool for assessing hydrological threats to riparian wetlands on global scales. The approach is exemplified on 93 Ramsar sites, many of which are located in transboundary basins. First, the WaterGAP3 hydrological modeling framework is used to quantitatively compare current and future modified flow regimes to reference flow conditions. In our simulations current water resource management seriously impairs riparian wetland inundation at 29 % of the analyzed sites. A further 8 % experience significantly reduced flood pulses. In the future, eastern Europe, western Asia, as well as central South America could be hotspots of further flow modifications due to climate change. Second, a qualitative analysis of the 93 sites determined potential impact on overbank flows resulting from planned or proposed dam construction projects. They take place in one-third of the upstream areas and are likely to impair especially wetlands located in South America, Asia, and the Balkan Peninsula. Third, based on the existing legal/institutional framework and water resource availability upstream, further qualitative analysis evaluated the capacity to preserve overbank flows given future streamflow changes due to dam construction and climate change. Results indicate hotspots of vulnerability exist, especially in northern Africa and the

Multiscale remote sensing analysis to monitor riparian and upland semiarid vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Uyen

The health of natural vegetation communities is of concern due to observed changes in the climatic-hydrological regime and land cover changes particularly in arid and semiarid regions. Monitoring vegetation at multi temporal and spatial scales can be the most informative approach for detecting change and inferring causal agents of change and remediation strategies. Riparian communities are tightly linked to annual stream hydrology, ground water elevations and sediment transport. These processes are subject to varying magnitudes of disturbance overtime and are candidates for multi-scale monitoring. My first research objective focused on the response of vegetation in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona, to reduced base flows and climate change. I addressed the correlation between riparian vegetation and hydro-climate variables during the last three decades in one of the remaining undammed rivers in the southwestern U.S. Its riparian forest is threatened by the diminishing base flows, attributed by different studies either to increases in evapotranspiration (ET) due to conversion of grasslands to mesquite shrublands in the adjacent uplands, or to increased regional groundwater pumping to serve growing populations in surrounding urban areas and or to some interactions of those causes. Landsat 5 imagery was acquired for pre- monsoon period, when riparian trees had leafed out but before the arrival of summer monsoon rains in July. The result has showed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from both Landsat and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) had significant decreases which positively correlated to river flows, which decreased over the study period, and negatively correlated with air temperatures, which have increased by about 1.4°C from 1904 to the present. The predictions from other studies that decreased river flows could negatively impact the riparian forest were supported by this study. The pre-monsoon Normalized Different Vegetation

Riparian Vegetation Response to the March 2008 Short-Duration, High-Flow Experiment-Implications of Timing and Frequency of Flood Disturbance on Nonnative Plant Establishment Along the Colorado River Below Glen Canyon Dam

Science.gov (United States)

Ralston, Barbara E.

2010-01-01

Riparian plant communities exhibit various levels of diversity and richness. These communities are affected by flooding and are vulnerable to colonization by nonnative species. Since 1996, a series of three high-flow experiments (HFE), or water releases designed to mimic natural seasonal flooding, have been conducted at Glen Canyon Dam, Ariz., primarily to determine the effectiveness of using high flows to conserve sediment, a limited resource. These experiments also provide opportunities to examine the susceptibility of riparian plant communities to nonnative species invasions. The third and most recent HFE was conducted from March 5 to 9, 2008, and scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center examined the effects of high flows on riparian vegetation as part of the overall experiment. Total plant species richness, nonnative species richness, percent plant cover, percent organic matter, and total carbon measured from sediment samples were compared for Grand Canyon riparian vegetation zones immediately following the HFE and 6 months later. These comparisons were used to determine if susceptibility to nonnative species establishment varied among riparian vegetation zones and if the timing of the HFE affected nonnative plant establishment success. The 2008 HFE primarily buried vegetation rather than scouring it. Percent nonnative cover did not differ among riparian vegetation zones; however, in the river corridor affected by Glen Canyon Dam operations, nonnative species richness showed significant variation. For example, species richness was significantly greater immediately after and 6 months following the HFE in the hydrologic zone farthest away from the shoreline, the area that represents the oldest riparian zone within the post-dam riparian area. In areas closer to the river channel, tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima X chinensis) seedling establishment occurred (tamarisk seed production, or in 1986, a year following several

Riparian trees as common denominators across the river flow ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-03-04

Mar 4, 2014 ... may be a valuable indicator for water stress, while the other measurements might provide ... O'Keeffe, 2000) as the life histories of riparian plants are inti- .... Southern Africa, some in the context of groundwater depend- .... and C. gratissimus were spread out next to a ruler on a white .... The data were log.

The Importance and Future Condition of Western Riparian Ecosystems as Migratory Bird Habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Susan K. Skagen; Rob Hazlewood; Michael L. Scott

2005-01-01

Riparian forests have long been considered important habitats for breeding western landbirds, and growing evidence reinforces their importance during the migratory period as well. Extensive modification of natural flow regimes, grazing, and forest clearing along many rivers in the western U.S. have led to loss and simplification of native riparian forests and to...

Quantifying the performance of automated GIS-based geomorphological approaches for riparian zone delineation using digital elevation models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Fernández

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Riparian zone delineation is a central issue for managing rivers and adjacent areas; however, criteria used to delineate them are still under debate. The area inundated by a 50-yr flood has been indicated as an optimal hydrological descriptor for riparian areas. This detailed hydrological information is usually only available for populated areas at risk of flooding. In this work we created several floodplain surfaces by means of two different GIS-based geomorphological approaches using digital elevation models (DEMs, in an attempt to find hydrologically meaningful potential riparian zones for river networks at the river basin scale. Objective quantification of the performance of the two geomorphologic models is provided by analysing coinciding and exceeding areas with respect to the 50-yr flood surface in different river geomorphological types.

Methane emissions in Danish riparian wetlands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Audet, Joachim; Johansen, Jan Ravn; Andersen, Peter Mejlhede

2013-01-01

The present study was conducted to (i) investigate parameters influencing the fluxes of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) in Danish riparian wetlands with contrasting vegetation characteristics and (ii) develop models relating CH4 emissions to soil and/or vegetation parameters integrating the spat......The present study was conducted to (i) investigate parameters influencing the fluxes of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) in Danish riparian wetlands with contrasting vegetation characteristics and (ii) develop models relating CH4 emissions to soil and/or vegetation parameters integrating...

Riparian Communities along Longitudinal Gradients in Mexico's Northeastern San Juan River

OpenAIRE

Guerra, San Juana; Lizárraga-Mendiola, Liliana; Návar, José

2016-01-01

Abstract: This research was conducted in three major tributaries of Mexico's northeast San Juan River with the major objectives of: (a) describing the diversity-abundance of riparian trees, benthic insects and fish faunal communities and (b) associating the fish and benthic insect communities to riparian tree communities, flow quality, and discharge parameters along a longitudinal gradient of water stress. Regardless of the high spatial variability, two gradients could be identified using mul...

Distribution of invasive and native riparian woody plants across the western USA in relation to climate, river flow, floodplain geometry and patterns of introduction

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan McShane,; Daniel Auerbach,; Friedman, Jonathan M.; Auble, Gregor T.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Michael Merigliano,; Scott, Michael L.; N. Leroy Poff,

2015-01-01

Management of riparian plant invasions across the landscape requires understanding the combined influence of climate, hydrology, geologic constraints and patterns of introduction. We measured abundance of nine riparian woody taxa at 456 stream gages across the western USA. We constructed conditional inference recursive binary partitioning models to discriminate the influence of eleven environmental variables on plant occurrence and abundance, focusing on the two most abundant non-native taxa, Tamarix spp. and Elaeagnus angustifolia, and their native competitor Populus deltoides. River reaches in this study were distributed along a composite gradient from cooler, wetter higher-elevation reaches with higher stream power and earlier snowmelt flood peaks to warmer, drier lower-elevation reaches with lower power and later peaks. Plant distributions were strongly related to climate, hydrologic and geomorphic factors, and introduction history. The strongest associations were with temperature and then precipitation. Among hydrologic and geomorphic variables, stream power, peak flow timing and 10-yr flood magnitude had stronger associations than did peak flow predictability, low-flow magnitude, mean annual flow and channel confinement. Nearby intentional planting of Elaeagnus was the best predictor of its occurrence, but planting of Tamarix was rare. Higher temperatures were associated with greater abundance of Tamarix relative to P. deltoides, and greater abundance of P. deltoides relative toElaeagnus. Populus deltoides abundance was more strongly related to peak flow timing than was that of Elaeagnus or Tamarix. Higher stream power and larger 10-yr floods were associated with greater abundance of P. deltoides and Tamarix relative to Elaeagnus. Therefore, increases in temperature could increase abundance of Tamarix and decrease that of Elaeagnus relative to P. deltoides, changes in peak flow timing caused by climate change or dam operations could

Advances on Modelling Riparian Vegetation-Hydromorphology Interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Solari, L.; Van Oorschot, M.; Belletti, B.; Hendriks, D.; Rinaldi, M.; Vargas-Luna, A.

2016-01-01

Riparian vegetation actively interacts with fluvial systems affecting river hydrodynamics, morphodynamics and groundwater. These interactions can be coupled because both vegetation and hydromorphology (i.e. the combined scientific study of hydrology and fluvial geomorphology) involve dynamic

Evaluating the quality of riparian forest vegetation: the Riparian Forest Evaluation (RFV index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Magdaleno

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: This paper presents a novel index, the Riparian Forest Evaluation (RFV index, for assessing the ecological condition of riparian forests. The status of riparian ecosystems has global importance due to the ecological and social benefits and services they provide. The initiation of the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE requires the assessment of the hydromorphological quality of natural channels. The Directive describes riparian forests as one of the fundamental components that determine the structure of riverine areas. The RFV index was developed to meet the aim of the Directive and to complement the existing methodologies for the evaluation of riparian forests.Area of study: The RFV index was applied to a wide range of streams and rivers (170 water bodies inSpain.Materials and methods: The calculation of the RFV index is based on the assessment of both the spatial continuity of the forest (in its three core dimensions: longitudinal, transversal and vertical and the regeneration capacity of the forest, in a sampling area related to the river hydromorphological pattern. This index enables an evaluation of the quality and degree of alteration of riparian forests. In addition, it helps to determine the scenarios that are necessary to improve the status of riparian forests and to develop processes for restoring their structure and composition.Main results: The results were compared with some previous tools for the assessment of riparian vegetation. The RFV index got the highest average scores in the basins of northernSpain, which suffer lower human influence. The forests in central and southern rivers got worse scores. The bigger differences with other tools were found in complex and partially altered streams and rivers.Research highlights: The study showed the index’s applicability under diverse hydromorphological and ecological conditions and the main advantages of its application. The utilization of the index allows a

Where should buffers go? modeling riparian habitat connectivity in northeast Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Gary Bentrup; Todd Kellerman

2004-01-01

Through many funding programs, riparian buffers are being created on agricultural lands to address significant water quality problems. Society and landowners are demanding many other environmental and social services (e.g., wildlife habitat and income diversification) from this practice. Resource planners therefore need to design riparian buffer systems in the right...

Hierarchical multi-taxa models inform riparian vs. hydrologic restoration of urban streams in a permeable landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

Gwinn, Daniel C; Middleton, Jen A; Beesley, Leah; Close, Paul; Quinton, Belinda; Storer, Tim; Davies, Peter M

2018-03-01

The degradation of streams caused by urbanization tends to follow predictable patterns; however, there is a growing appreciation for heterogeneity in stream response to urbanization due to the local geoclimatic context. Furthermore, there is building evidence that streams in mildly sloped, permeable landscapes respond uncharacteristically to urban stress calling for a more nuanced approach to restoration. We evaluated the relative influence of local-scale riparian characteristics and catchment-scale imperviousness on the macroinvertebrate assemblages of streams in the flat, permeable urban landscape of Perth, Western Australia. Using a hierarchical multi-taxa model, we predicted the outcomes of stylized stream restoration strategies to increase the riparian integrity at the local scale or decrease the influences of imperviousness at the catchment scale. In the urban streams of Perth, we show that local-scale riparian restoration can influence the structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages to a greater degree than managing the influences of catchment-scale imperviousness. We also observed an interaction between the effect of riparian integrity and imperviousness such that the effect of increased riparian integrity was enhanced at lower levels of catchment imperviousness. This study represents one of few conducted in flat, permeable landscapes and the first aimed at informing urban stream restoration in Perth, adding to the growing appreciation for heterogeneity of the Urban Stream Syndrome and its importance for urban stream restoration. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Quantifying geomorphic controls on riparian forest dynamics using a linked physical-biological model: implications for river corridor conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Stella, J. C.; Harper, E. B.; Fremier, A. K.; Hayden, M. K.; Battles, J. J.

2009-12-01

In high-order alluvial river systems, physical factors of flooding and channel migration are particularly important drivers of riparian forest dynamics because they regulate habitat creation, resource fluxes of water, nutrients and light that are critical for growth, and mortality from fluvial disturbance. Predicting vegetation composition and dynamics at individual sites in this setting is challenging, both because of the stochastic nature of the flood regime and the spatial variability of flood events. Ecological models that correlate environmental factors with species’ occurrence and abundance (e.g., ’niche models’) often work well in infrequently-disturbed upland habitats, but are less useful in river corridors and other dynamic zones where environmental conditions fluctuate greatly and selection pressures on disturbance-adapted organisms are complex. In an effort to help conserve critical riparian forest habitat along the middle Sacramento River, CA, we are taking a mechanistic approach to quantify linkages between fluvial and biotic processes for Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), a keystone pioneer tree in dryland rivers ecosystems of the U.S. Southwest. To predict the corridor-wide population effects of projected changes to the disturbance regime from flow regulation, climate change, and landscape modifications, we have coupled a physical model of channel meandering with a patch-based population model that incorporates the climatic, hydrologic, and topographic factors critical for tree recruitment and survival. We employed these linked simulations to study the relative influence of the two most critical habitat types--point bars and abandoned channels--in sustaining the corridor-wide cottonwood population over a 175-year period. The physical model uses discharge data and channel planform to predict the spatial distribution of new habitat patches; the population model runs on top of this physical template to track tree colonization and survival on

Assessing the extent and diversity of riparian ecosystems in Sonora, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, M.L.; Nagler, P.L.; Glenn, E.P.; Valdes-Casillas, C.; Erker, J.A.; Reynolds, E.W.; Shafroth, P.B.; Gomez-Limon, E.; Jones, C.L.

2009-01-01

Conservation of forested riparian ecosystems is of international concern. Relatively little is known of the structure, composition, diversity, and extent of riparian ecosystems in Mexico. We used high- and low-resolution satellite imagery from 2000 to 2006, and ground-based sampling in 2006, to assess the spatial pattern, extent, and woody plant composition of riparian forests across a range of spatial scales for the state of Sonora, Mexico. For all 3rd and higher order streams, river bottomlands with riparian forests occupied a total area of 2,301 km2. Where forested bottomlands remained, on average, 34% of the area had been converted to agriculture while 39% remained forested. We estimated that the total area of riparian forest along the principal streams was 897 km2. Including fencerow trees, the total forested riparian area was 944 km2, or 0.5% of the total land area of Sonora. Ground-based sampling of woody riparian vegetation consisted of 92, 50 m radius circular plots. About 79 woody plant species were noted. The most important tree species, based on cover and frequency, were willow species Salix spp. (primarily S. goodingii and S. bonplandiana), mesquite species Prosopis spp. (primarily P. velutina), and Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii. Woody riparian taxa at the reach scale showed a trend of increasing diversity from north to south within Sonora. Species richness was greatest in the willow-bald cypress Taxodium distichum var. mexicanum-Mexican cottonwood P. mexicana subsp. dimorphia ecosystem. The non-native tamarisk Tamarix spp. was rare, occurring at just three study reaches. Relatively natural stream flow patterns and fluvial disturbance regimes likely limit its establishment and spread. ?? 2008 Springer Science + Business Media BV.

Impacts of Karkheh Dam on Spatial Pattern of Riparian Zones in Karkheh National Park

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Madadi

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Effective river ecosystem management requires that the existing hydrologic regime be characterized in terms of the natural hydrologic regime and the degree to which the human-altered regime differs from natural conditions. This is known as Range of Variation Approach (RVA and can be used for variation of stream flow, range of variation and appraisal of dam impacts on riparian zones. In this paper, we used 31 hydrologic parameters, classified into five groups, monthly flow indices, extreme flow indices, timing indices, high-flow and low-flow indices, and rate of change, to assess hydrologic regime alteration in downstream of Karkheh dam. For this, purpose the hydrologic parameters of Pay-Pol hydrometric station have been taken. into consideration. As the Riparian ecosystems are highly dependent on and sensitive to variation in the hydrological cycle, the focus of this study was the 50-meter buffer of the Karkheh River. To examine the impacts caused by the variation of hydrologic regime, we tested if this variation and 8 different landscape metrics in the study area are correlated. The results showed that variation of hydrologic regime had a significant impact on the landscape structure of riparian zone in Karkheh downstream and caused isolation in landscape pattern of the woodland cover. Therefore, landscape structure in Karkheh downstream is highly correlated to hydrologic processes of upstream of the river. It can be concluded that an effective water management strategy is keeping safe the ecological condition and integrity of the riparian zone of Karkheh. This happens when all the hydrologic parameters are in the natural range of variation as they were before dam construction.

Niche construction within riparian corridors. Part I: Exploring biogeomorphic feedback windows of three pioneer riparian species (Allier River, France)

Science.gov (United States)

Hortobágyi, Borbála; Corenblit, Dov; Steiger, Johannes; Peiry, Jean-Luc

2018-03-01

Within riparian corridors, biotic-abiotic feedback mechanisms occur between woody vegetation strongly influenced by hydrogeomorphic constraints (e.g., sediment transport and deposition, shear stress, hydrological variability), fluvial landforms, and morphodynamics, which in turn are modulated by the established vegetation. During field investigations in spring 2015, we studied 16 alluvial bars (e.g., point and lateral bars) within the dynamic riparian corridor of the Allier River (France) to assess the aptitude of three pioneer riparian Salicaceae species (Populus nigra L., Salix purpurea L., and Salix alba L.) to establish and act as ecosystem engineers by trapping sediment and constructing fluvial landforms. Our aim is to empirically identify the preferential establishment area (EA; i.e., the local areas where species become established) and the preferential biogeomorphic feedback window (BFW; i.e., where and to what extent the species and geomorphology interact) of these three species on alluvial bars within a 20-km-long river reach. Our results show that the EA and BFW of all three species vary significantly along the longitudinal profile, i.e., upstream-downstream exposure on the alluvial bars, as well as transversally, i.e., the main hydrological connectivity gradient from the river channel toward the floodplain. In the present-day context of the Allier River, P. nigra is the most abundant species, appearing to act as the main engineer species affecting landform dynamics at the bar scale; S. purpurea is established and acts as an ecosystem engineer at locations on alluvial bars that are most exposed to hydrosedimentary flow dynamics, while S. alba is established on the bar tail close to secondary channels and affects the geomorphology in mixed patches along with P. nigra. Our study highlights the role of functional trait diversity of riparian engineer species in controlling the extent of fluvial landform construction along geomorphic gradients within riparian

Seasonal estimates of riparian evapotranspiration using remote and in situ measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, D.C.; Scott, R.; Qi, J.; Goff, B.; Unkrich, C.L.; Moran, M.S.; Williams, D.; Schaeffer, S.; Snyder, K.; MacNish, R.; Maddock, T.; Pool, D.; Chehbouni, A.; Cooper, D.I.; Eichinger, W.E.; Shuttleworth, W.J.; Kerr, Y.; Marsett, R.; Ni, W.

2000-01-01

In many semi-arid basins during extended periods when surface snowmelt or storm runoff is absent, groundwater constitutes the primary water source for human habitation, agriculture and riparian ecosystems. Utilizing regional groundwater models in the management of these water resources requires accurate estimates of basin boundary conditions. A critical groundwater boundary condition that is closely coupled to atmospheric processes and is typically known with little certainty is seasonal riparian evapotranspiration ET). This quantity can often be a significant factor in the basin water balance in semi-arid regions yet is very difficult to estimate over a large area. Better understanding and quantification of seasonal, large-area riparian ET is a primary objective of the Semi-Arid Land-Surface-Atmosphere (SALSA) Program. To address this objective, a series of interdisciplinary experimental Campaigns were conducted in 1997 in the San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona. The riparian system in this basin is primarily made up of three vegetation communities: mesquite (Prosopis velutina), sacaton grasses (Sporobolus wrightii), and a cottonwood (Populus fremontii)/willow (Salix goodingii) forest gallery. Micrometeorological measurement techniques were used to estimate ET from the mesquite and grasses. These techniques could not be utilized to estimate fluxes from the cottonwood/willow (C/W) forest gallery due to the height (20-30 m) and non-uniform linear nature of the forest gallery. Short-term (2-4 days) sap flux measurements were made to estimate canopy transpiration over several periods of the riparian growing season. Simultaneous remote sensing measurements were used to spatially extrapolate tree and stand measurements. Scaled C/W stand level sap flux estimates were utilized to calibrate a Penman-Monteith model to enable temporal extrapolation between Synoptic measurement periods. With this model and set of measurements, seasonal riparian vegetation water use

Imidacloprid sorption and transport in cropland, grass buffer and riparian buffer soils

Science.gov (United States)

Satkowski, Laura E.; Goyne, Keith W.; Anderson, Stephen H.; Lerch, Robert N.; Allen, Craig R.; Snow, Daniel D.

2018-01-01

An understanding of neonicotinoid sorption and transport in soil is critical for determining and mitigating environmental risk associated with the most widely used class of insecticides. The objective of this study was to evaluate mobility and transport of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (ICD) in soils collected from cropland, grass vegetative buffer strip (VBS), and riparian VBS soils. Soils were collected at six randomly chosen sites within grids that encompassed all three land uses. Single-point equilibrium batch sorption experiments were conducted using radio-labeled (14C) ICD to determine solid–solution partition coefficients (Kd). Column experiments were conducted using soils collected from the three vegetation treatments at one site by packing soil into glass columns. Water flow was characterized by applying Br− as a nonreactive tracer. A single pulse of 14C-ICD was then applied, and ICD leaching was monitored for up to 45 d. Bromide and ICD breakthrough curves for each column were simulated using CXTFIT and HYDRUS-1D models. Sorption results indicated that ICD sorbs more strongly to riparian VBS (Kd = 22.6 L kg−1) than crop (Kd = 11.3 L kg−1) soils. Soil organic C was the strongest predictor of ICD sorption (p < 0.0001). The column transport study found mean peak concentrations of ICD at 5.83, 10.84, and 23.8 pore volumes for crop, grass VBS, and riparian VBS soils, respectively. HYDRUS-1D results indicated that the two-site, one-rate linear reversible model best described results of the breakthrough curves, indicating the complexity of ICD sorption and demonstrating its mobility in soil. Greater sorption and longer retention by the grass and riparian VBS soils than the cropland soil suggests that VBS may be a viable means to mitigate ICD loss from agroecosystems, thereby preventing ICD transport into surface water, groundwater, or drinking water resources.

Hot Spots and Hot Moments of Nitrogen in a Riparian Corridor

Science.gov (United States)

Dwivedi, Dipankar; Arora, Bhavna; Steefel, Carl I.; Dafflon, Baptiste; Versteeg, Roelof

2018-01-01

We use 3-D high-resolution reactive transport modeling to investigate whether the spatial distribution of organic-carbon-rich and chemically reduced sediments located in the riparian zone and temporal variability in groundwater flow direction impact the formation and distribution of nitrogen hot spots (regions that exhibit higher reaction rates when compared to other locations nearby) and hot moments (times that exhibit high reaction rates as compared to longer intervening time periods) within the Rifle floodplain in Colorado. Groundwater flows primarily toward the Colorado River from the floodplain but changes direction at times of high river stage. The result is that oxic river water infiltrates the Rifle floodplain during these relatively short-term events. Simulation results indicate that episodic rainfall in the summer season leads to the formation of nitrogen hot moments associated with Colorado River rise and resulting river infiltration into the floodplain. The results further demonstrate that the naturally reduced zones (NRZs) present in sediments of the Rifle floodplain have a higher potential for nitrate removal, approximately 70% greater than non-NRZs for typical hydrological conditions. During river water infiltration, nitrate reduction capacity remains the same within the NRZs, however, these conditions impact non-NRZs to a greater extent (approximately 95% less nitrate removal). Model simulations indicate chemolithoautotrophs are primarily responsible for the removal of nitrate in the Rifle floodplain. These nitrogen hot spots and hot moments are sustained by microbial respiration and the chemolithoautotrophic oxidation of reduced minerals in the riparian zone.

Which offers more scope to suppress river phytoplankton blooms: reducing nutrient pollution or riparian shading?

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchins, M G; Johnson, A C; Deflandre-Vlandas, A; Comber, S; Posen, P; Boorman, D

2010-10-01

River flow and quality data, including chlorophyll-a as a surrogate for river phytoplankton biomass, were collated for the River Ouse catchment in NE England, which according to established criteria is a largely unpolluted network. Against these data, a daily river quality model (QUESTOR) was setup and successfully tested. Following a review, a river quality classification scheme based on phytoplankton biomass was proposed. Based on climate change predictions the model indicated that a shift from present day oligotrophic/mesotrophic conditions to a mesotrophic/eutrophic system could occur by 2080. Management options were evaluated to mitigate against this predicted decline in quality. Reducing nutrient pollution was found to be less effective at suppressing phytoplankton growth than the less costly option of establishing riparian shading. In the Swale tributary, ongoing efforts to reduce phosphorus loads in sewage treatment works will only reduce peak (95th percentile) phytoplankton by 11%, whereas a reduction of 44% is possible if riparian tree cover is also implemented. Likewise, in the Ure, whilst reducing nitrate loads by curtailing agriculture in the headwaters may bring about a 10% reduction, riparian shading would instead reduce levels by 47%. Such modelling studies are somewhat limited by insufficient field data but offer a potentially very valuable tool to assess the most cost-effective methods of tackling effects of eutrophication. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recovery of the Chaparral Riparian Zone After Wildfire

Science.gov (United States)

Frank W. Davis; Edward A. Keller; Anuja Parikh; Joan Florsheim

1989-01-01

After the Wheeler Fire in southern California in July 1985, we monitored sediment deposition and vegetation recovery in a section of the severely burned chaparral riparian zone of the North Fork of Matilija Creek, near Ojai, California. Increased runoff was accompanied by low magnitude debris flows and fluvial transport of gravel, most of which was added to the channel...

One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MODFLOW-OWHM)

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Randall T.; Boyce, Scott E.; Schmid, Wolfgang; Hughes, Joseph D.; Mehl, Steffen W.; Leake, Stanley A.; Maddock, Thomas; Niswonger, Richard G.

2014-01-01

The One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MF-OWHM) is a MODFLOW-based integrated hydrologic flow model (IHM) that is the most complete version, to date, of the MODFLOW family of hydrologic simulators needed for the analysis of a broad range of conjunctive-use issues. Conjunctive use is the combined use of groundwater and surface water. MF-OWHM allows the simulation, analysis, and management of nearly all components of human and natural water movement and use in a physically-based supply-and-demand framework. MF-OWHM is based on the Farm Process for MODFLOW-2005 (MF-FMP2) combined with Local Grid Refinement (LGR) for embedded models to allow use of the Farm Process (FMP) and Streamflow Routing (SFR) within embedded grids. MF-OWHM also includes new features such as the Surface-water Routing Process (SWR), Seawater Intrusion (SWI), and Riparian Evapotrasnpiration (RIP-ET), and new solvers such as Newton-Raphson (NWT) and nonlinear preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCGN). This IHM also includes new connectivities to expand the linkages for deformation-, flow-, and head-dependent flows. Deformation-dependent flows are simulated through the optional linkage to simulated land subsidence with a vertically deforming mesh. Flow-dependent flows now include linkages between the new SWR with SFR and FMP, as well as connectivity with embedded models for SFR and FMP through LGR. Head-dependent flows now include a modified Hydrologic Flow Barrier Package (HFB) that allows optional transient HFB capabilities, and the flow between any two layers that are adjacent along a depositional or erosional boundary or displaced along a fault. MF-OWHM represents a complete operational hydrologic model that fully links the movement and use of groundwater, surface water, and imported water for consumption by irrigated agriculture, but also of water used in urban areas and by natural vegetation. Supply and demand components of water use are analyzed under demand-driven and supply

Riparian woodland encroachment following flow regulation: a comparative study of Mediterranean and Boreal streams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dolores Bejarano M.

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Water development accompanying mankind development has turned rivers into endangered ecosystems. Improving the understanding of ecological responses to river management actions is a key issue for assuring sustainable water management. However, few studies have been published where ecological metrics have been quantified in response to various degrees of flow alteration. In this work, changes in natural distribution of trees and shrubs within the riparian corridor (as indicator of the ecological status of the fluvial ecosystem were quantified at multiple sites along a flow alteration gradient (as indicator of impact along two regulated river reaches, one Boreal and the other Mediterranean, each downstream of a dam. Based on the obtained relationships we evaluated differences in response trends related to local physico-climatic factors of the two biomes and regarding to differing life-forms. Woody vegetation establishment patterns represented objective indicators of ecological responses to flow alteration. We found different responses between life-forms. Both trees and shrubs migrated downwards to the channel after dam closure, but shrubs were most impacted under higher degrees of flow alteration in terms of lateral movement. In addition, our results show clear longitudinal recovery trends of natural patterns of tree and shrub distribution corresponding to a decrease in intensity of hydrologic alteration in the Boreal river. However, vegetation encroachment persisted along the entire Mediterranean study reach. This may result from a relatively low gradient of decrease of hydrologic alteration with distance from the dam, coupled with other overlapping pressures and the mediating effect of physico-climatic characteristics on vegetation responses.

2011 Los Alamos National Laboratory Riparian Inventory Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Norris, Elizabeth J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hansen, Leslie A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hathcock, Charles D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Keller, David C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Zemlick, Catherine M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-03-29

A total length of 36.7 kilometers of riparian habitat were inventoried within LANL boundaries between 2007 and 2011. The following canyons and lengths of riparian habitat were surveyed and inventoried between 2007 and 2011. Water Canyon (9,669 m), Los Alamos Canyon (7,131 m), Pajarito Canyon (6,009 m), Mortandad Canyon (3,110 m), Two-Mile Canyon (2,680 m), Sandia Canyon (2,181 m), Three-Mile Canyon (1,883 m), Canyon de Valle (1,835 m), Ancho Canyon (1,143 m), Canada del Buey (700 m), Sandia Canyon (221 m), DP Canyon (159 m) and Chaquehui Canyon (50 m). Effluent Canyon, Fence Canyon and Potrillo Canyon were surveyed but no areas of riparian habitat were found. Stretches of inventoried riparian habitat were classified for prioritization of treatment, if any was recommended. High priority sites included stretches of Mortandad Canyon, LA Canyon, Pajarito Canyon, Two-Mile Canyon, Sandia Canyon and Water Canyon. Recommended treatment for high priority sites includes placement of objects into the stream channel to encourage sediment deposition, elimination of channel incision, and to expand and slow water flow across the floodplain. Additional stretches were classified as lower priority, and, for other sites it was recommended that feral cattle and exotic plants be removed to aid in riparian habitat recovery. In June 2011 the Las Conchas Wildfire burned over 150,000 acres of land in the Jemez Mountains and surrounding areas. The watersheds above LA Canyon, Water Canyon and Pajarito Canyon were burned in the Las Conchas Wildfire and flooding and habitat alteration were observed in these canyon bottoms (Wright 2011). Post fire status of lower priority areas may change to higher priority for some of the sites surveyed prior to the Las Conchas Wildfire, due to changes in vegetation cover in the adjacent upland watershed.

Denitrification controls in urban riparian soils: implications for reducing urban nonpoint source nitrogen pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yangjie; Chen, Zhenlou; Lou, Huanjie; Wang, Dongqi; Deng, Huanguang; Wang, Chu

2014-09-01

pH. Nitrate supply and temperature finally decided the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of urban riparian denitrification. Considering both the low DR of existing riparian soils and the significance of nonpoint source nitrogen pollution, the substantial denitrification potential of urban riparian soils should be utilized to reduce nitrogen pollution using proper engineering measures that would collect the polluted urban rainfall runoff and make it flow through the riparian zones.

Influence of riparian vegetation on near-bank flow structure and erosion rates on a large meandering river

Science.gov (United States)

Konsoer, K. M.; Rhoads, B. L.; Langendoen, E. J.; Johnson, K.; Ursic, M.

2012-12-01

Rates of meander migration are dependent upon dynamic interactions between planform geometry, three-dimensional flow structure, sediment transport, and the erodibility and geotechnical properties of the channel banks and floodplains. Riparian vegetation can greatly reduce the rate of migration through root-reinforcement and increased flow resistance near the bank. In particular, forested riverbanks can also provide large woody debris (LWD) to the channel, and if located near the outer bank, can act to amour the bank by disrupting three-dimensional flow patterns and redirecting flow away from the bank-toe, the locus of erosion in meandering rivers. In this paper, three-dimensional flow patterns and migration rates are compared for two meander bends, one forested and one non-forested, on the Wabash River, near Grayville, Illinois. Flow data were obtained using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) for two large flow events in May and June 2011. LWD was mapped using a terrestrial LiDAR survey, and residence times for the LWD were estimated by comparing the survey data to time-series aerial photography. Rates of migration and planform evolution were determined through time-series analysis of aerial photography from 1938-2011. Results from this study show that near-bank LWD can have a significant influence on flow patterns through a meander bend and can disrupt helical flow near the outer bank, thereby reducing the effect of the high velocity core on the toe of the bank. Additionally, these effects influence migration rates and the planform evolution of meandering rivers.

Monitoring riparian-vegetation composition and cover along the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Palmquist, Emily C.; Ralston, Barbara E.; Sarr, Daniel A.; Johnson, Taylor C.

2018-06-05

Vegetation in the riparian zone (the area immediately adjacent to streams, such as stream banks) along the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, supports many ecosystem and societal functions. In both Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, this ecosystem has changed over time in response to flow alterations, invasive species, and recreational use. Riparian-vegetation cover and composition are likely to continue to change as these pressures persist and new ones emerge. Because this system is a valuable resource that is known to change in response to flow regime and other disturbances, a long-term monitoring protocol has been designed with three primary objectives:Annually measure and summarize the status (composition and cover) of native and non-native vascular-plant species within the riparian zone of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead.At 5-year intervals, assess change in vegetation composition and cover in the riparian zone, as related to geomorphic setting and dam operations, particularly flow regime.Collect data in a manner that can be used by multiple stakeholders, particularly the basinwide monitoring program overseen by the National Park Service’s Northern Colorado Plateau Network Inventory and Monitoring program.A protocol for the long-term monitoring of riparian vegetation is described in detail and standard operating procedures are included herein for all tasks. Visual estimates of foliar and ground covers are collected in conjunction with environmental measurements to assess correlations of foliar cover with abiotic and flow variables. Sample quadrats are stratified by frequency of inundation, geomorphic feature, and by river segment to account for differences in vegetation type. Photographs of sites are also taken to illustrate qualitative characteristics of the site at the time of sampling. Procedures for field preparation, generating random samples, data collection, data management, collecting and managing unknown

Feasibility of Mapping Riparian Habitats Under Natural Conditions in California

Science.gov (United States)

David R. Dawdy

1989-01-01

The California State Water Resources Control Board is conducting hearings to set quantity and quality standards for river flows into San Francisco Bay. Comparisons of present conditions with "natural conditions" prior to European settlement were introduced into the hearings. Consumptive use relations were developed for various riparian and water-related...

Long-term Water Table Monitoring of Rio Grande Riparian Ecosystems for Restoration Potential Amid Hydroclimatic Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Thibault, James R.; Cleverly, James R.; Dahm, Clifford N.

2017-12-01

Hydrological processes drive the ecological functioning and sustainability of cottonwood-dominated riparian ecosystems in the arid southwestern USA. Snowmelt runoff elevates groundwater levels and inundates floodplains, which promotes cottonwood germination. Once established, these phreatophytes rely on accessible water tables (WTs). In New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande corridor diminished flooding and deepening WTs threaten native riparian communities. We monitored surface flows and riparian WTs for up to 14 years, which revealed that WTs and surface flows, including peak snowmelt discharge, respond to basin climate conditions and resource management. WT hydrographs influence the composition of riparian communities and can be used to assess if potential restoration sites meet native vegetation tolerances for WT depths, rates of recession, and variability throughout their life stages. WTs were highly variable in some sites, which can preclude native vegetation less adapted to deep drawdowns during extended droughts. Rates of WT recession varied between sites and should be assessed in regard to recruitment potential. Locations with relatively shallow WTs and limited variability are likely to be more viable for successful restoration. Suitable sites have diminished greatly as the once meandering Rio Grande has been constrained and depleted. Increasing demands on water and the presence of invasive vegetation better adapted to the altered hydrologic regime further impact native riparian communities. Long-term monitoring over a range of sites and hydroclimatic extremes reveals attributes that can be evaluated for restoration potential.

Water use sources of desert riparian Populus euphratica forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Si, Jianhua; Feng, Qi; Cao, Shengkui; Yu, Tengfei; Zhao, Chunyan

2014-09-01

Desert riparian forests are the main body of natural oases in the lower reaches of inland rivers; its growth and distribution are closely related to water use sources. However, how does the desert riparian forest obtains a stable water source and which water sources it uses to effectively avoid or overcome water stress to survive? This paper describes an analysis of the water sources, using the stable oxygen isotope technique and the linear mixed model of the isotopic values and of desert riparian Populus euphratica forests growing at sites with different groundwater depths and conditions. The results showed that the main water source of Populus euphratica changes from water in a single soil layer or groundwater to deep subsoil water and groundwater as the depth of groundwater increases. This appears to be an adaptive selection to arid and water-deficient conditions and is a primary reason for the long-term survival of P. euphratica in the desert riparian forest of an extremely arid region. Water contributions from the various soil layers and from groundwater differed and the desert riparian P. euphratica forests in different habitats had dissimilar water use strategies.

Atrazine transport within a coastal zone in Southeastern Puerto Rico: a sensitivity analysis of an agricultural field model and riparian zone management model

Science.gov (United States)

Water quality models are used to predict effects of conservation practices to mitigate the transport of herbicides to water bodies. We used two models - the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) and the Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) to predict the movement of atrazine from ...

Long-term decrease in satellite vegetation indices in response to environmental variables in an iconic desert riparian ecosystem: the Upper San Pedro, Arizona, United States

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Uyen; Glenn, Edward P.; Nagler, Pamela L.; Scott, Russell L.

2015-01-01

The Upper San Pedro River is one of the few remaining undammed rivers that maintain a vibrant riparian ecosystem in the southwest United States. However, its riparian forest is threatened by diminishing groundwater and surface water inputs, due to either changes in watershed characteristics such as changes in riparian and upland vegetation, or human activities such as regional groundwater pumping. We used satellite vegetation indices to quantify the green leaf density of the groundwater-dependent riparian forest from 1984 to 2012. The river was divided into a southern, upstream (mainly perennial flow) reach and a northern, downstream (mainly intermittent and ephemeral flow) reach. Pre-monsoon (June) Landsat normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values showed a 20% drop for the northern reach (P  0·05). NDVI and enhanced vegetation index values were positively correlated (P deterioration of the riparian forest in the northern reach.

Water sources accessed by arid zone riparian trees in highly saline environments, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Costelloe, Justin F; Payne, Emily; Woodrow, Ian E; Irvine, Elizabeth C; Western, Andrew W; Leaney, Fred W

2008-05-01

The flow regimes of arid zone rivers are often highly variable, and shallow groundwater in the alluvial aquifers can be very saline, thus constraining the availability and quality of the major water sources available to riparian trees-soil water, shallow groundwater and stream water. We have identified water sources and strategies used by riparian trees in more highly saline and arid conditions than previously studied for riparian trees of arid zone rivers. Our research focused on the riparian species Eucalyptus coolabah, one of the major riparian trees of ephemeral arid zone rivers in Australia. The water sources available to this riparian tree were examined using delta(18)O isotope data from xylem, soil water, groundwater and surface water. Additionally, soil chloride and matric potential data were used to infer zones of water availability for root uptake. Despite the saline conditions, the trees used a mixture of soil water and groundwater sources, but they did not use surface water directly. The study identified three strategies used to cope with typically high groundwater and soil water salinities. Firstly, the trees preferentially grow in zones of most frequent flushing by infiltrating streamflow, such as the bank-tops of channels. Secondly, the trees limit water use by having low transpiration rates. Thirdly, the trees are able to extract water at very low osmotic potentials, with water uptake continuing at chloride concentrations of at least 20,000-30,000 mg L(-1).

Fine-Resolution Modeling of the Santa Cruz and San Pedro River Basins for Climate Change and Riparian System Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Robles-Morua, A.; Vivoni, E. R.; Volo, T. J.; Rivera, E. R.; Dominguez, F.; Meixner, T.

2011-12-01

This project is part of a multidisciplinary effort aimed at understanding the impacts of climate variability and change on the ecological services provided by riparian ecosystems in semiarid watersheds of the southwestern United States. Valuing the environmental and recreational services provided by these ecosystems in the future requires a numerical simulation approach to estimate streamflow in ungauged tributaries as well as diffuse and direct recharge to groundwater basins. In this work, we utilize a distributed hydrologic model known as the TIN-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator (tRIBS) in the upper Santa Cruz and San Pedro basins with the goal of generating simulated hydrological fields that will be coupled to a riparian groundwater model. With the distributed model, we will evaluate a set of climate change and population scenarios to quantify future conditions in these two river systems and their impacts on flood peaks, recharge events and low flows. Here, we present a model confidence building exercise based on high performance computing (HPC) runs of the tRIBS model in both basins during the period of 1990-2000. Distributed model simulations utilize best-available data across the US-Mexico border on topography, land cover and soils obtained from analysis of remotely-sensed imagery and government databases. Meteorological forcing over the historical period is obtained from a combination of sparse ground networks and weather radar rainfall estimates. We then focus on a comparison between simulation runs using ground-based forcing to cases where the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model is used to specify the historical conditions. Two spatial resolutions are considered from the WRF model fields - a coarse (35-km) and a downscaled (10- km) forcing. Comparisons will focus on the distribution of precipitation, soil moisture, runoff generation and recharge and assess the value of the WRF coarse and downscaled products. These results provide confidence in

Potential effects of four Flaming Gorge Dam hydropower operational scenarios on riparian vegetation of the Green River, Utah and Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaGory, K.E.; Van Lonkhuyzen, R.A.

1995-06-01

Four hydropower operational scenarios at Flaming Gorge Dam were evaluated to determine their potential effects on riparian vegetation along the Green River in Utah and Colorado. Data collected in June 1992 indicated that elevation above the river had the largest influence on plant distribution. A lower riparian zone occupied the area between the approximate elevations of 800 and 4,200-cfs flows--the area within the range of hydropower operational releases. The lower zone was dominated by wetland plants such as cattail, common spikerush, coyote willow, juncus, and carex. An upper riparian zone was above the elevation of historical maximum power plant releases from the dam (4,200 cfs), and it generally supported plants adapted to mesic, nonwetland conditions. Common species in the upper zone included box elder, rabbitbrush, grasses, golden aster, and scouring rush. Multispectral aerial videography of the Green River was collected in May and June 1992 to determine the relationship between flow and the areas of water and the riparian zone. From these relationships, it was estimated that the upper zone would decrease in extent by about 5% with year-round high fluctuation, seasonally adjusted high fluctuation, and seasonally adjusted moderate fluctuation, but it would increase by about 8% under seasonally adjusted steady flow. The lower zone would increase by about 13% for both year-round and seasonally adjusted high fluctuation scenarios but would decrease by about 40% and 74% for seasonally adjusted moderate fluctuation and steady flows, respectively. These changes are considered to be relatively minor and would leave pre-dam riparian vegetation unaffected. Occasional high releases above power plant capacity would be needed for long-term maintenance of this relict vegetation

Favorable fragmentation: river reservoirs can impede downstream expansion of riparian weeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Rood, Stewart B; Braatne, Jeffrey H; Goater, Lori A

2010-09-01

reservoirs may also interrupt hydrochory, the downstream flow of seeds and clonal fragments. We thus conclude that with some operational patterns, dams and reservoirs can impede the downstream expansion of riparian weeds.

Developing ecological site and state-and-transition models for grazed riparian pastures at Tejon Ranch, California

Science.gov (United States)

Felix P. Ratcliff; James Bartolome; Michele Hammond; Sheri Spiegal; Michael White

2015-01-01

Ecological site descriptions and associated state-and-transition models are useful tools for understanding the variable effects of management and environment on range resources. Models for woody riparian sites have yet to be fully developed. At Tejon Ranch, in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California, we are using ecological site theory to investigate the role of...

Radionuclide transport along a boreal hill slope - elevated soil water concentrations in riparian forest soils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lidman, Fredrik; Boily, Aasa; Laudon, Hjalmar [Dept. of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umeaa (Sweden); Koehler, Stephan J. [Dept. of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. 7050, 750 07 Uppsala (Sweden)

2014-07-01

The transport of radionuclides from forest ecosystems and out into surface waters is a crucial process for understanding the long-term fate of radionuclides in the boreal landscape. Boreal forests are typically dominated by podzol soils, but the streams draining the forests are often lined by highly organic, often peat-like soils, which the radionuclides must pass through in order to reach the stream. This so-called riparian zone therefore represents a fundamentally different biogeochemical environment than ordinary forest soils, e.g. by exhibiting significantly lower pH and higher concentrations of organic colloids, which significantly can affect the mobility of many radionuclides. Since the riparian zone is the last terrestrial environment that the groundwater is in contact with before it enters the stream, previous research has demonstrated its profound impact on the stream water chemistry. Hence, the riparian soils should also be important for the transport and accumulation of radionuclides. Therefore, soil water was sampled using suction lysimeters installed at different depths along a 22 m long forested hill slope transect in northern Sweden, following the flow pathway of the groundwater from the uphill podzol to the riparian zone near the stream channel. The analyses included a wide range of hydrochemical parameters and many radiologically important elements, e.g. U, Th, Ni, C, Sr, Cs, REEs and Cl. The sampling was repeated ten times throughout a year in order to also capture the temporal variability of the soil water chemistry. The water chemistry of the investigated transect displayed a remarkable change as the groundwater approached the stream channel. Strongly increased concentrations of many elements were observed in the riparian soils. For instance, the concentrations of Th were more than 100 times higher than in the riparian zone than in the uphill forest, suggesting that the riparian zone may be a hotspot for radionuclide accumulation. The reason

Scaling of Sediment Dynamics in a Reach-Scale Laboratory Model of a Sand-Bed Stream with Riparian Vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Gorrick, S.; Rodriguez, J. F.

2011-12-01

A movable bed physical model was designed in a laboratory flume to simulate both bed and suspended load transport in a mildly sinuous sand-bed stream. Model simulations investigated the impact of different vegetation arrangements along the outer bank to evaluate rehabilitation options. Preserving similitude in the 1:16 laboratory model was very important. In this presentation the scaling approach, as well as the successes and challenges of the strategy are outlined. Firstly a near-bankfull flow event was chosen for laboratory simulation. In nature, bankfull events at the field site deposit new in-channel features but cause only small amounts of bank erosion. Thus the fixed banks in the model were not a drastic simplification. Next, and as in other studies, the flow velocity and turbulence measurements were collected in separate fixed bed experiments. The scaling of flow in these experiments was simply maintained by matching the Froude number and roughness levels. The subsequent movable bed experiments were then conducted under similar hydrodynamic conditions. In nature, the sand-bed stream is fairly typical; in high flows most sediment transport occurs in suspension and migrating dunes cover the bed. To achieve similar dynamics in the model equivalent values of the dimensionless bed shear stress and the particle Reynolds number were important. Close values of the two dimensionless numbers were achieved with lightweight sediments (R=0.3) including coal and apricot pips with a particle size distribution similar to that of the field site. Overall the moveable bed experiments were able to replicate the dominant sediment dynamics present in the stream during a bankfull flow and yielded relevant information for the analysis of the effects of riparian vegetation. There was a potential conflict in the strategy, in that grain roughness was exaggerated with respect to nature. The advantage of this strategy is that although grain roughness is exaggerated, the similarity of

Sediment measurement and transport modeling: impact of riparian and filter strip buffers.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriasi, Daniel N; Steiner, Jean L; Arnold, Jeffrey G

2011-01-01

Well-calibrated models are cost-effective tools to quantify environmental benefits of conservation practices, but lack of data for parameterization and evaluation remains a weakness to modeling. Research was conducted in southwestern Oklahoma within the Cobb Creek subwatershed (CCSW) to develop cost-effective methods to collect stream channel parameterization and evaluation data for modeling in watersheds with sparse data. Specifically, (i) simple stream channel observations obtained by rapid geomorphic assessment (RGA) were used to parameterize the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model stream channel variables before calibrating SWAT for streamflow and sediment, and (ii) average annual reservoir sedimentation rate, measured at the Crowder Lake using the acoustic profiling system (APS), was used to cross-check Crowder Lake sediment accumulation rate simulated by SWAT. Additionally, the calibrated and cross-checked SWAT model was used to simulate impacts of riparian forest buffer (RF) and bermudagrass [ (L.) Pers.] filter strip buffer (BFS) on sediment yield and concentration in the CCSW. The measured average annual sedimentation rate was between 1.7 and 3.5 t ha yr compared with simulated sediment rate of 2.4 t ha yr Application of BFS across cropped fields resulted in a 72% reduction of sediment delivery to the stream, while the RF and the combined RF and BFS reduced the suspended sediment concentration at the CCSW outlet by 68 and 73%, respectively. Effective riparian practices have potential to increase reservoir life. These results indicate promise for using the RGA and APS methods to obtain data to improve water quality simulations in ungauged watersheds. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

Groundwater management institutions to protect riparian habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Orr, Patricia; Colby, Bonnie

2004-12-01

Groundwater pumping affects riparian habitat when it causes the water table to drop beyond the reach of riparian plants. Riparian habitat provides services that are not directly traded in markets, as is the case with many environmental amenities. There is no direct market where one may buy or sell the mix of services provided by a riparian corridor. The objective of this article is to review groundwater management mechanisms and assess their strengths and weaknesses for preserving the ecological integrity of riparian areas threatened by groundwater pumping. Policy instruments available to those concerned with the effects of groundwater pumping on riparian areas fall into three broad categories: (1) command and control (CAC), (2) incentive-based economic instruments, and (3) cooperative/suasive strategies. The case of the San Pedro River illustrates multiple and overlapping strategies applied in an ongoing attempt to reverse accumulating damage to a riparian ecosystem. Policy makers in the United States can choose among a broad menu of policy options to protect riparian habitat from groundwater pumping. They can capitalize on the clarity of command-and-control strategies, the flexibility and less obtrusive nature of incentive-based economic strategies, and the benefits that collaborative efforts can bring in the form of mutual consideration. While collaborative problem solving and market-based instruments are important policy tools, experience indicates that a well-formulated regulatory structure to limit regional groundwater pumping is an essential component of an effective riparian protection strategy.

Aquatic subsidies transport anthropogenic nitrogen to riparian spiders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akamatsu, Fumikazu, E-mail: f-akamt55@pwri.go.jp [Department of Environmental Sciences, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621 (Japan); Toda, Hideshige [Department of Environmental Sciences, Shinshu University, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621 (Japan)

2011-05-15

Stable nitrogen isotopic composition ({delta}{sup 15}N) of aquatic biota increases with anthropogenic N inputs such as sewage and livestock waste downstream. Increase in {delta}{sup 15}N of riparian spiders downstream may reflect the anthropogenic pollution exposure through predation on aquatic insects. A two-source mixing model based on stable carbon isotopic composition showed the greatest dependence on aquatic insects (84%) by horizontal web-building spiders, followed by intermediate (48%) and low (31%) dependence by cursorial and vertical web-building spiders, respectively. The spider body size was negatively correlated with the dietary proportion of aquatic insects and spider {delta}{sup 15}N. The aquatic subsidies transported anthropogenic N to smaller riparian spiders downstream. This transport of anthropogenic N was regulated by spider's guild designation and body size. - Highlights: > {delta}{sup 15}N of aquatic insects increases downstream with anthropogenic nitrogen inputs. > {delta}{sup 15}N of riparian spiders increases with a high dietary proportion of aquatic insects and smaller spider body size. > The aquatic subsidies transport anthropogenic nitrogen to smaller riparian spiders downstream. - Smaller spiders assimilate anthropogenic nitrogen through the predation on aquatic subsides.

Aquatic subsidies transport anthropogenic nitrogen to riparian spiders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akamatsu, Fumikazu; Toda, Hideshige

2011-01-01

Stable nitrogen isotopic composition (δ 15 N) of aquatic biota increases with anthropogenic N inputs such as sewage and livestock waste downstream. Increase in δ 15 N of riparian spiders downstream may reflect the anthropogenic pollution exposure through predation on aquatic insects. A two-source mixing model based on stable carbon isotopic composition showed the greatest dependence on aquatic insects (84%) by horizontal web-building spiders, followed by intermediate (48%) and low (31%) dependence by cursorial and vertical web-building spiders, respectively. The spider body size was negatively correlated with the dietary proportion of aquatic insects and spider δ 15 N. The aquatic subsidies transported anthropogenic N to smaller riparian spiders downstream. This transport of anthropogenic N was regulated by spider's guild designation and body size. - Highlights: → δ 15 N of aquatic insects increases downstream with anthropogenic nitrogen inputs. → δ 15 N of riparian spiders increases with a high dietary proportion of aquatic insects and smaller spider body size. → The aquatic subsidies transport anthropogenic nitrogen to smaller riparian spiders downstream. - Smaller spiders assimilate anthropogenic nitrogen through the predation on aquatic subsides.

Do riparian plant community characteristics differ between Tamarix (L.) invaded and non-invaded sites on the upper Verde River, Arizona?

Science.gov (United States)

Tyler D. Johnson; Thomas E. Kolb; Alvin L. Medina

2009-01-01

Invasion by Tamarix (L.) can severely alter riparian areas of the western U.S., which are globally rare ecosystems. The upper Verde River, Arizona, is a relatively free-flowing river and has abundant native riparian vegetation. Tamarix is present on the upper Verde but is a minor component of the vegetation (8% of stems). This...

Riparian planning in Yogyakarta City

Science.gov (United States)

Rachmawati, R.; Prakoso, E.; Sadali, M. I.; Yusuf, M. G.

2018-04-01

Riparian is a potential for slums in urban areas. The city of Yogyakarta is passed by three rivers namely Code, Gajahwong, and Winongo, crossing the city. Riparian in the three rivers are potential for slum if the area is not well managed. This paper is based on the survey results of the structured interview with the people living in the riparian area in Yogyakarta City. They were 75 respondents from the three riparian. The result shows that several reasons why people prefer to remain living in the area are limited spaces and high land price in the city as well as inherited from their parents. The facts that there are still several problems related to the condition of settlement environment in the riparian, i.e., The condition of densely-populated areas, limited availability of land, and limited public spaces. Efforts that can be done to solve problems related to the riparian planning are anticipating disasters like flood and landslide, paying attention to densely-populated and unwell-planned areas, and handling garbage that has been abandoned into the river. The program expected by those living along both riversides is intended to give priorities on providing some aid for those whose houses are not in good condition, controlling buildings without a permit, and building a dike along the river. Efficiency can be made by making use of the space adequately between the one for settlement and the other one for open-green space for both aesthetic and economic purposes.

Assessing riparian zone impacts on water and sediment movement: A new approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keesstra, S.D.; Kondrlova, E.; Czaika, A.; Seeger, K.M.; Maroulis, J.

2012-01-01

The state of river channels and their riparian zones in terms of geomorphology and vegetation has a significant effect on water and sediment transport in headwater catchments. High roughness in natural rivers due to vegetation and geomorphological attributes generate drag on flowing water. This drag

Biomass and carbon pools of disturbed riparian forests

Science.gov (United States)

Laura A. B. Giese; W. M. Aust; Randall K. Kolka; Carl C. Trettin

2003-01-01

Quantification of carbon pools as affected by forest age/development can facilitate riparian restoration and increase awareness of the potential for forests to sequester global carbon. Riparian forest biomass and carbon pools were quantified for four riparian forests representing different seral stages in the South Carolina Upper Coastal Plain. Three of the riparian...

Model analysis of riparian buffer effectiveness for reducing nutrient inputs to streams in agricultural landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

McKane, R. B.; M, S.; F, P.; Kwiatkowski, B. L.; Rastetter, E. B.

2006-12-01

Federal and state agencies responsible for protecting water quality rely mainly on statistically-based methods to assess and manage risks to the nation's streams, lakes and estuaries. Although statistical approaches provide valuable information on current trends in water quality, process-based simulation models are essential for understanding and forecasting how changes in human activities across complex landscapes impact the transport of nutrients and contaminants to surface waters. To address this need, we developed a broadly applicable, process-based watershed simulator that links a spatially-explicit hydrologic model and a terrestrial biogeochemistry model (MEL). See Stieglitz et al. and Pan et al., this meeting, for details on the design and verification of this simulator. Here we apply the watershed simulator to a generalized agricultural setting to demonstrate its potential for informing policy and management decisions concerning water quality. This demonstration specifically explores the effectiveness of riparian buffers for reducing the transport of nitrogenous fertilizers from agricultural fields to streams. The interaction of hydrologic and biogeochemical processes represented in our simulator allows several important questions to be addressed. (1) For a range of upland fertilization rates, to what extent do riparian buffers reduce nitrogen inputs to streams? (2) How does buffer effectiveness change over time as the plant-soil system approaches N-saturation? (3) How can buffers be managed to increase their effectiveness, e.g., through periodic harvest and replanting? The model results illustrate that, while the answers to these questions depend to some extent on site factors (climatic regime, soil properties and vegetation type), in all cases riparian buffers have a limited capacity to reduce nitrogen inputs to streams where fertilization rates approach those typically used for intensive agriculture (e.g., 200 kg N per ha per year for corn in the U

Integrated assessment of groundwater - surface water exchange in the hillslope - riparian interface of a montane catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Scheliga, Bernhard; Tetzlaff, Doerthe; Nuetzmann, Gunnar; Soulsby, Chris

2016-04-01

Groundwater-surface water dynamics play an important role in runoff generation and the hydrologic connectivity between hillslopes and streams. Here, we present findings from a suite of integrated, empirical approaches to increase our understanding of groundwater-surface water interlinkages in a 3.2 km ^ 2 experimental catchment in the Scottish Highlands. The montane catchment is mainly underlain by granite and has extensive (70%) cover of glacial drift deposits which are up to 40 m deep and form the main aquifer in the catchment. Flat valley bottom areas fringe the stream channel and are characterised by peaty soils (0.5-4 m deep) which cover about 10% of the catchment and receive drainage from upslope areas. The transition between the hillslopes and riparian zone forms a critical interface for groundwater-surface water interactions that controls both the dynamics of riparian saturation and stream flow generation. We nested observations using wells to assess the groundwater - surface water transition, LiDAR surveys to explore the influence of micro-topography on shallow groundwater efflux and riparian wells to examine the magnitude and flux rates of deeper groundwater sources. We also used electrical resistivity surveys to assess the architecture and storage properties of drift aquifers. Finally, we used isotopic tracers to differentiate recharge sources and associated residence times as well as quantifying how groundwater dynamics affect stream flow. These new data have provided a novel conceptual framework for local groundwater - surface water exchange that is informing the development of new deterministic models for the site.

Riparian Vegetation Mapping Along the Hanford Reach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

FOGWELL, T.W.

2003-01-01

During the biological survey and inventory of the Hanford Site conducted in the mid-1990s (1995 and 1996), preliminary surveys of the riparian vegetation were conducted along the Hanford Reach. These preliminary data were reported to The Nature Conservancy (TNC), but were not included in any TNC reports to DOE or stakeholders. During the latter part of FY2001, PNNL contracted with SEE Botanical, the parties that performed the original surveys in the mid 1990s, to complete the data summaries and mapping associated with the earlier survey data. Those data sets were delivered to PNNL and the riparian mapping by vegetation type for the Hanford Reach is being digitized during the first quarter of FY2002. These mapping efforts provide the information necessary to create subsequent spatial data layers to describe the riparian zone according to plant functional types (trees, shrubs, grasses, sedges, forbs). Quantification of the riparian zone by vegetation types is important to a number of DOE'S priority issues including modeling contaminant transport and uptake in the near-riverine environment and the determination of ecological risk. This work included the identification of vegetative zones along the Reach by changes in dominant plant species covering the shoreline from just to the north of the 300 Area to China Bar near Vernita. Dominant and indicator species included Agropyron dasytachyudA. smithii, Apocynum cannabinum, Aristida longiseta, Artemisia campestris ssp. borealis var scouleriana, Artemisa dracunculus, Artemisia lindleyana, Artemisia tridentata, Bromus tectorum, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Coreopsis atkinsoniana. Eleocharis palustris, Elymus cinereus, Equisetum hyemale, Eriogonum compositum, Juniperus trichocarpa, Phalaris arundinacea, Poa compressa. Salk exigua, Scirpus acutus, Solidago occidentalis, Sporobolus asper,and Sporobolus cryptandrus. This letter report documents the data received, the processing by PNNL staff, and additional data gathered in FY2002

Riparian Vegetation Mapping Along the Hanford Reach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

FOGWELL, T.W.

2003-07-11

During the biological survey and inventory of the Hanford Site conducted in the mid-1990s (1995 and 1996), preliminary surveys of the riparian vegetation were conducted along the Hanford Reach. These preliminary data were reported to The Nature Conservancy (TNC), but were not included in any TNC reports to DOE or stakeholders. During the latter part of FY2001, PNNL contracted with SEE Botanical, the parties that performed the original surveys in the mid 1990s, to complete the data summaries and mapping associated with the earlier survey data. Those data sets were delivered to PNNL and the riparian mapping by vegetation type for the Hanford Reach is being digitized during the first quarter of FY2002. These mapping efforts provide the information necessary to create subsequent spatial data layers to describe the riparian zone according to plant functional types (trees, shrubs, grasses, sedges, forbs). Quantification of the riparian zone by vegetation types is important to a number of DOE'S priority issues including modeling contaminant transport and uptake in the near-riverine environment and the determination of ecological risk. This work included the identification of vegetative zones along the Reach by changes in dominant plant species covering the shoreline from just to the north of the 300 Area to China Bar near Vernita. Dominant and indicator species included Agropyron dasytachyudA. smithii, Apocynum cannabinum, Aristida longiseta, Artemisia campestris ssp. borealis var scouleriana, Artemisa dracunculus, Artemisia lindleyana, Artemisia tridentata, Bromus tectorum, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Coreopsis atkinsoniana. Eleocharis palustris, Elymus cinereus, Equisetum hyemale, Eriogonum compositum, Juniperus trichocarpa, Phalaris arundinacea, Poa compressa. Salk exigua, Scirpus acutus, Solidago occidentalis, Sporobolus asper,and Sporobolus cryptandrus. This letter report documents the data received, the processing by PNNL staff, and additional data gathered in FY

Riparian Habitat - Product of 2 riparian habitat workshops

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — In two riparian habitat workshops held between 2001 and 2002, scientists and managers identified the need for determining the scope of a consistent and acceptable...

Biogeomorphic feedbacks within riparian corridors: the role of positive interactions between riparian plants

Science.gov (United States)

Corenblit, Dov; Steiger, Johannes; Till-Bottraud, Irène

2017-04-01

Riparian vegetation affects hydrogeomorphic processes and leads to the construction of wooded fluvial landforms within riparian corridors. Multiple plants form dense multi- and mono-specific stands that enhance plant resistance as grouped plants are less prone to be uprooted than free-standing individuals. Riparian plants which grow in dense stands also enhance their role as ecosystem engineers through the trapping of sediment, organic matter and nutrients. The wooded biogeomorphic landforms which originate from the effect of vegetation on geomorphology lead in return to an improved capacity of the plants to survive, exploit resources, and reach sexual maturity in the intervals between destructive floods. Thus, these vegetated biogeomorphic landforms likely represent a positive niche construction of riparian plants. The nature and intensity of biotic interactions between riparian plants of different species (inter-specific) or the same species (intra-specific) which form dense stands and construct together the niche remain unclear. We strongly suspect that indirect inter-specific positive interactions (facilitation) occur between plants but that more direct intra-specific interactions, such as cooperation and altruism, also operate during the niche construction process. Our aim is to propose an original theoretical framework of inter and intra-specific positive interactions between riparian plants. We suggest that positive interactions between riparian plants are maximized in river reaches with an intermediate level of hydrogeomorphic disturbance. During establishment, plants that grow within dense stands improve their survival and growth because individuals protect each other from shear stress. In addition to the improved capacity to trap mineral and organic matter, individuals which constitute the dense stand can cooperate to mutually support a mycorrhizal fungi network that will connect plants, soil and ground water and influence nutrient transfer, cycling and

Ecological Dose Modeling of Aquatic and Riparian Receptors to Strontium-90 with an Emphasis on Radiosensitive Organs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poston, Ted M.; Traub, Richard J.; Antonio, Ernest J.

2011-07-20

The 100-NR-2 site is the location of elevated releases of strontium-90 to the Columbia River via contaminated groundwater. The resulting dose to aquatic and riparian receptors was evaluated in 2005 (DOE 2009) and compared to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose guidance values. We have conducted additional dose assessments for a broader spectrum of aquatic and riparian organisms using RESRAD Biota and specific exposure scenarios. Because strontium-90 accumulates in bone, we have also modeled the dose to the anterior kidney, a blood-forming and immune system organ that lies close to the spinal column of fish. The resulting dose is primarily attributable to the yttrium-90 progeny of strontium-90 and very little of the dose is associated with the beta emission from strontium-90. All dose modeling results were calculated with an assumption of secular equilibrium between strontium-90 and yttrum-90.

Buffer Strips for Riparian Zone Management

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1991-01-01

This study provides a review of technical literature concerning the width of riparian buffer strips needed to protect water quality and maintain other important values provided by riparian ecosystem...

Novel plant communities limit the effects of a managed flood to restore riparian forests along a large regulated river

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, D.J.; Andersen, D.C.

2012-01-01

Dam releases used to create downstream flows that mimic historic floods in timing, peak magnitude and recession rate are touted as key tools for restoring riparian vegetation on large regulated rivers. We analysed a flood on the 5th-order Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam, Colorado, in a broad alluvial valley where Fremont cottonwood riparian forests have senesced and little recruitment has occurred since dam completion in 1962. The stable post dam flow regime triggered the development of novel riparian communities with dense herbaceous plant cover. We monitored cottonwood recruitment on landforms inundated by a managed flood equal in magnitude and timing to the average pre-dam flood. To understand the potential for using managed floods as a riparian restoration tool, we implemented a controlled and replicated experiment to test the effects of artificially modified ground layer vegetation on cottonwood seedling establishment. Treatments to remove herbaceous vegetation and create bare ground included herbicide application (H), ploughing (P), and herbicide plus ploughing (H+P). Treatment improved seedling establishment. Initial seedling densities on treated areas were as much as 1200% higher than on neighbouring control (C) areas, but varied over three orders of magnitude among the five locations where manipulations were replicated. Only two replicates showed the expected seedling density rank of (H+P)>P>H>C. Few seedlings established in control plots and none survived 1 year. Seedling density was strongly affected by seed rain density. Herbivory affected growth and survivorship of recruits, and few survived nine growing seasons. Our results suggest that the novel plant communities are ecologically and geomorphically resistant to change. Managed flooding alone, using flows equal to the pre-dam mean annual peak flood, is an ineffective riparian restoration tool where such ecosystem states are present and floods cannot create new habitat for seedling establishment

Pavement and riparian forest shape the bird community along an urban river corridor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J.W. McClure

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of habitat use by animals within urban-riparian corridors during the breeding season is important for conservation, yet remains understudied. We examined the bird community along an urban-riparian corridor through metropolitan Boise, Idaho and predicted that occupancy of individual species and species richness would be greater in forested areas than in urbanized areas. We surveyed birds throughout the summers of 2009 and 2010 and quantified the m2 of each cover-type within 50-m, 100-m, and 200-m buffers surrounding each survey location using satellite imagery. Occupancy modeling revealed that eight of 14 species analyzed were positively associated with riparian forest, and no species avoided forest. Species richness was negatively associated with the amount of paved surface within 100 m of a survey site with richness declining by more than two species for every hectare of paved surface. Most associations with cover-types–especially riparian forest–were at ⩾100 m. Therefore, the riparian forest within 100 m of a given site along an urban-riparian corridor should be the most important for maintaining species richness.

Bat activity following restoration prescribed burning in the central Appalachian Upland and riparian habitats

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Lauren V.; Silvis, Alexander; Ford, W. Mark; Muthersbaugh, Michael; Powers, Karen E.

2018-01-01

After decades of fire suppression in eastern North America, land managers now are prioritizing prescribed fire as a management tool to restore or maintain fire-adapted vegetation communities. However, in long—fire-suppressed landscapes, such as the central and southern Appalachians, it is unknown how bats will respond to prescribed fire in both riparian and upland forest habitats. To address these concerns, we conducted zero-crossing acoustic surveys of bat activity in burned, unburned, riparian, and non-riparian areas in the central Appalachians, Virginia, USA. Burn and riparian variables had model support (ΔAICc fire differently between upland and riparian forest habitats, but overall, large landscape-level prescribed fire has a slightly positive to neutral impact on all bats species identified at our study site post—fire application.

Down by the riverside: urban riparian ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Peter M. Groffman; Daniel J. Bain; Lawrence E. Band; Kenneth T. Belt; Grace S. Brush; J. Morgan Grove; Richard V. Pouyat; Ian C. Yesilonis; Wayne C. Zipperer

2003-01-01

Riparian areas are hotspots of interactions between plants, soil, water, microbes, and people. While urban land use change has been shown to have dramatic effects on watershed hydrology, there has been surprisingly little analysis of its effects on riparian areas. Here we examine the ecology of urban riparian zones, focusing on work done in the Baltimore Ecosystem...

Water Quality Changes in a Short-Rotation Woody Crop Riparian Buffer

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa, D.; Clausen, J.; Kuzovkina, J.

2016-12-01

Converting riparian buffers in agricultural areas from annual row crops to short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) grown for biofuel can provide both water quality benefits and a financial incentive for buffer adoption among agricultural producers. A randomized complete block design was used to determine water quality changes resulting from converting plots previously cultivated in corn to SRWC willow (Salix. spp) adjacent to a stream in Storrs, CT. Both overland flow and ground water samples were analyzed for total nitrogen (TN), nitrate + nitrite (NO2+NO3-N), and total phosphorus (TP). Overland flow was also analyzed for suspended solids concentration (SSC). Lower (p = 0.05) concentrations of TN (56%) and TP (61%) were observed in post-coppice surface runoff from willow plots than from corn plots. Shallow ground water concentrations at the edge of willow plots were lower in TN (56%) and NO3+NO2-N (64%), but 35% higher in TP, than at the edge of corn plots. SSC was also lower (72%) in overland flow associated with willow compared to corn. The treatment had no effect on discharge or mass export. These results suggest conversion from corn to a SRWC in a riparian area can provide water quality benefits similar to those observed in restored and established buffers.

Riparian bird density decline in response to biocontrol of Tamarix from riparian ecosystems along the Dolores River in SW Colorado, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Darrah, Abigail J.; van Riper, Charles

2018-01-01

Biocontrol of invasive tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in the arid Southwest using the introduced tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda elongata) has been hypothesized to negatively affect some breeding bird species, but no studies to date have documented the effects of beetle-induced defoliation on riparian bird abundance. We assessed the effects of tamarisk defoliation by monitoring defoliation rates, changes in vegetation composition, and changes in density of six obligate riparian breeding bird species at two sites along the Dolores River in Colorado following the arrival of tamarisk beetles. We conducted bird point counts from 2010 to 2014 and modeled bird density as a function of native vegetation density and extent of defoliation using hierarchical distance sampling. Maximum annual defoliation decreased throughout the study period, peaking at 32–37% in 2009–2010 and dropping to 0.5–15% from 2011–2014. Stem density of both tamarisk and native plants declined throughout the study period until 2014. Density of all bird species declined throughout most of the study, with Song Sparrow disappearing from the study sites after 2011. Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Yellow Warbler densities were negatively related to defoliation in the previous year, while Lazuli Bunting exhibited a positive relationship with defoliation. These findings corroborate earlier predictions of species expected to be sensitive to defoliation as a result of nest site selection. Tamarisk defoliation thus had short-term negative impacts on riparian bird species; active restoration may be needed to encourage the regrowth of native riparian vegetation, which in the longer-term may result in increased riparian bird density.

Riparian ecotone: A functional definition and delineation for resource assessment

Science.gov (United States)

E. S Verry; C. A Dolloff; M. E. Manning

2004-01-01

We propose a geomorphic basis for defining riparian areas using the term: riparian ecotone, discuss how past definitions fall short, and illustrate how a linked sequence of definition, delineation, and riparian sampling are used to accurately assess riparian resources on the ground. Our riparian ecotone is based on the width of the valley (its floodprone area width)...

Evapotranspiration Rates of Riparian Forests, Platte River, Nebraska, 2002-06

Science.gov (United States)

Landon, Matthew K.; Rus, David L.; Dietsch, Benjamin J.; Johnson, Michaela R.; Eggemeyer, Kathleen D.

2009-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) in riparian areas is a poorly understood component of the regional water balance in the Platte River Basin, where competing demands have resulted in water shortages in the ground-water/surface-water system. From April 2002 through March 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study Group, and Central Platte Natural Resources District conducted a micrometeorological study of water and energy balances at two sites in central Nebraska near Odessa and Gothenburg to improve understanding of ET rates and factors affecting them in Platte River riparian forests. A secondary objective of the study was to constrain estimates of ground-water use by riparian vegetation to satisfy ET consumptive demands, a useful input to regional ground-water flow models. Both study sites are located on large islands within the Platte River characterized by a cottonwood-dominated forest canopy on primarily sandy alluvium. Although both sites are typical of riparian forests along the Platte River in Nebraska, the Odessa understory is dominated by deciduous shrubs, whereas the Gothenburg understory is dominated by eastern redcedars. Additionally, seasonal ground-water levels fluctuated more at Odessa than at Gothenburg. The study period of April 2002 through March 2006 encompassed precipitation conditions ranging from dry to wet. This study characterized the components of the water balance in the riparian zone of each site. ET was evaluated from eddy-covariance sensors installed on towers above the forest canopy at a height of 26.1 meters. Precipitation was measured both above and below the forest canopy. A series of sensors measured soil-moisture availability within the unsaturated zone in two different vertical profiles at each site. Changes in ground-water altitude were evaluated from piezometers. The areal footprint represented in the water balance extended up to 800 meters from each tower. During the study, ET was less variable

Inter-species competition-facilitation in stochastic riparian vegetation dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Tealdi, Stefano; Camporeale, Carlo; Ridolfi, Luca

2013-02-07

Riparian vegetation is a highly dynamic community that lives on river banks and which depends to a great extent on the fluvial hydrology. The stochasticity of the discharge and erosion/deposition processes in fact play a key role in determining the distribution of vegetation along a riparian transect. These abiotic processes interact with biotic competition/facilitation mechanisms, such as plant competition for light, water, and nutrients. In this work, we focus on the dynamics of plants characterized by three components: (1) stochastic forcing due to river discharges, (2) competition for resources, and (3) inter-species facilitation due to the interplay between vegetation and fluid dynamics processes. A minimalist stochastic bio-hydrological model is proposed for the dynamics of the biomass of two vegetation species: one species is assumed dominant and slow-growing, the other is subdominant, but fast-growing. The stochastic model is solved analytically and the probability density function of the plant biomasses is obtained as a function of both the hydrologic and biologic parameters. The impact of the competition/facilitation processes on the distribution of vegetation species along the riparian transect is investigated and remarkable effects are observed. Finally, a good qualitative agreement is found between the model results and field data. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The long-term legacy of geomorphic and riparian vegetation feedbacks on the dammed Bill Williams River, Arizona, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Kui, Li; Stella, John C.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; House, P. Kyle; Wilcox, Andrew C.

2017-01-01

On alluvial rivers, fluvial landforms and riparian vegetation communities codevelop as a result of feedbacks between plants and abiotic processes. The influence of vegetation on river channel and floodplain geomorphology can be particularly strong on dammed rivers with altered hydrology and reduced flood disturbance. We used a 56-year series of aerial photos on the dammed Bill Williams River (Arizona, USA) to investigate how (a) different woody riparian vegetation types influence river channel planform and (b) how different fluvial landforms drive the composition of riparian plant communities over time. We mapped vegetation types and geomorphic surfaces and quantified how relations between fluvial and biotic processes covaried over time using linear mixed models. In the decades after the dam was built, woody plant cover within the river's bottomland nearly doubled, narrowing the active channel by 60% and transforming its planform from wide and braided to a single thread and more sinuous channel. Compared with native cottonwood–willow vegetation, nonnative tamarisk locally induced a twofold greater reduction in channel braiding. Vegetation expanded at different rates depending on the type of landform, with tamarisk cover on former high-flow channels increasing 17% faster than cottonwood–willow. Former low-flow channels with frequent inundation supported a greater increase in cottonwood–willow relative to tamarisk. These findings give insight into how feedbacks between abiotic and biotic processes in river channels accelerate and fortify changes triggered by dam construction, creating river systems increasingly distinct from predam ecological communities and landforms, and progressively more resistant to restoration of predam forms and processes.

Obtaining natural-like flow releases in diverted river reaches from simple riparian benefit economic models.

Science.gov (United States)

Perona, Paolo; Dürrenmatt, David J; Characklis, Gregory W

2013-03-30

We propose a theoretical river modeling framework for generating variable flow patterns in diverted-streams (i.e., no reservoir). Using a simple economic model and the principle of equal marginal utility in an inverse fashion we first quantify the benefit of the water that goes to the environment in relation to that of the anthropic activity. Then, we obtain exact expressions for optimal water allocation rules between the two competing uses, as well as the related statistical distributions. These rules are applied using both synthetic and observed streamflow data, to demonstrate that this approach may be useful in 1) generating more natural flow patterns in the river reach downstream of the diversion, thus reducing the ecodeficit; 2) obtaining a more enlightened economic interpretation of Minimum Flow Release (MFR) strategies, and; 3) comparing the long-term costs and benefits of variable versus MFR policies and showing the greater ecological sustainability of this new approach. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of near-stream riparian zones in the hydrology of steep upland catchments

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Jeffery J.; McGlynn, B.L.; Kendall, K.; Shanley, J.; Kendall, C.

1998-01-01

Surface and subsurface waters were monitored and sampled at various topographic positions in a 40.5-ha headwater catchment to test several hypotheses of runoff generation and stream chemical and isotopic evolution during snowmelt. Transmissivity feedback was observed on the hillslopes during the melt period. Groundwater levels and stream DOC were highly correlated with stream discharge. Hysteresis in the groundwater-streamflow relation suggests that localized water flux from the riparian areas controlled the rising limb and main peak response of the melt hydrograph, whilst hillslope drainage controlled the timing and volume of the falling limb. Lateral flow from upslope positions was detected in the riparian zone.

RESEARCH NEEDS IN RIPARIAN BUFFER RESTORATION

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian buffer restorations are used as management tools to produce favorable water quality impacts; moreover, the basis for riparian buffers as an instrument of water quality restoration rests on a relatively firm foundation. However, the extent to which buffers can restore rip...

Riparian zone hydrology and biogeochemistry as a function of stream evolution stage in glaciated landscapes of the US Northeast

Science.gov (United States)

Rook, S. P.; Vidon, P.; Walter, M. T.

2011-12-01

The management of riparian buffer strips is often regarded as one of the most economical and sustainable methods of managing non-point source pollution and water quality. However, current riparian management often follows a 'one size fits all' design, which fails to recognize the complexity of the many biogeochemical processes that regulate pollutant transformation and retention in these systems. This study addresses two critical gaps in knowledge: (1) How carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and iron cycles interact with one another (rather than individually). (2) How stream channel geometry and evolution regulate these nutrient cycles and greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics in the near stream zone. This project specifically explores the hydrological and biogeochemical functioning of riparian zones across a gradient of stream meander evolution stages, with the primary goal of understanding and predicting potential interactions between nutrient dynamics in these systems. Key research questions include: (1) How does stream meander curvature affect riparian zone hydrology? (2) How does stream meander curvature influence riparian zone biogeochemistry? (3) What relationships exist among N, P, Fe, and GHG dynamics? We instrumented three riparian sites near Ithaca, NY, with a dense network of wells, piezometers, and static chambers. These sites represent three riparian zones along three evolution stages of stream meanders: an inner meander, a straight stream section, and an outer bend of the stream with an oxbow lake formation. In spring through fall 2011, water samples and gas samples were collected at a tri-weekly bases at each of the three sites. Water samples were analyzed for oxidation-reduction potential, dissolved oxygen, temperature, FeII/FeIII, nutrients (NO3-, NH4+, PO43-) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). GHG fluxes at the soil-atmosphere interface were measured for N2O, CO2, and CH4 gases. We predict that stream curvature will significantly affect groundwater flow

Riparian Inventory

Data.gov (United States)

Kansas Data Access and Support Center — This dataset is a digital representation of the 1:24,000 Land Use Riparian Areas Inventory for the state of Kansas. The dataset includes a 100 foot buffer around all...

Modeling the ecological impacts of Flaming Gorge Dam operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin, S.C.L.; LaGory, K.E.; Hayse, J.W.; Hlohowskyj, I.; Van Lonkhuyzen, R.A.; Cho, H.E.

1996-01-01

Hydropower operations at Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River in Utah, US, can produce rapid downstream changes in flow and stage during a day. These changes can, in turn, affect ecological resources below the dam, including riparian vegetation, trout, and endangered fish. Four hydropower operational scenarios featuring varying degrees of hydropower-induced flow fluctuation were evaluated with hydrologic models and multispectral aerial videography of the river. Year-round high fluctuations would support the least amount of stable spawning habitat for trout and nursery habitat for endangered fish, and would have the greatest potential for reducing growth and over winter survival of fish. Seasonally, adjusted moderate fluctuation and seasonally adjusted steady flow scenarios could increase food production and over winter survival and would provide the greatest amount of spawning and nursery habitat for fish. The year-round high fluctuation, seasonally adjusted high fluctuation, and seasonally adjusted moderate fluctuation scenarios would result in a 5% decrease in upper riparian zone habitat. the seasonally adjusted steady flow scenario would result in an 8% increase in upper riparian zone habitat. Lower riparian zone habitat would increase by about 17% for year-round and seasonally adjusted high fluctuating flow scenarios but decrease by about 24% and 69% for seasonally adjusted moderate fluctuating and steady flow scenarios, respectively

Hydrogeologic controls on the transport and fate of nitrate in ground water beneath riparian buffer zones: Results from thirteen studies across the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Puckett, L.J.

2004-01-01

During the last two decades there has been growing interest in the capacity of riparian buffer zones to remove nitrate from ground waters moving through them. Riparian zone sediments often contain organic carbon, which favors formation of reducing conditions that can lead to removal of nitrate through denitrification. Over the past decade the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program has investigated the transport and fate of nitrate in ground and surface waters in study areas across the United States. In these studies riparian zone efficiency in removing nitrate varied widely as a result of variations in hydrogeologic factors. These factors include (1) denitrification in the up-gradient aquifer due to the presence of organic carbon or other electron donors, (2) long residence times (>50 years) along ground-water flow paths allowing even slow reactions to completely remove nitrate, (3) dilution of nitrate enriched waters with older water having little nitrate, (4) bypassing of riparian zones due to extensive use of drains and ditches, and (5) movement of ground water along deep flow paths below reducing zones. By developing a better understanding of the hydrogeologic settings in which riparian buffer zones are likely to be inefficient we can develop improved nutrient management plans. ?? US Government 2004.

Methods for evaluating riparian habitats with applications to management

Science.gov (United States)

Platts, William S.; Armour, C.L.; Booth, G.D.; Bryant, M.; Bufford, J.L.; Cuplin, P.; Jensen, S.; Lienkaemper, G.W.; Minshall, G.W.; Monsen, S.T.; Nelson, R.L.; Sedell, J.R.; Tuhy, J.S.

1987-01-01

Riparian area planning and management is a major national issues today--something that should have been the case a century ago. A century of additive effects of land use has resulted in major impacts on many riparian stream habitats and their fisheries, wildlife, and domestic livestock use. Before scientists can evaluate the influences of various land and water uses on riparian environments, they must first understand these environments. This means being able to detect and measure with confidence the natural and artificial variation and instantaneous conditions of the riparian habitat. These conditions must then be related to the production capability of riparian habitat and any extraneous factors affecting this production potential.

A hydro-sedimentary modeling system for flash flood propagation and hazard estimation under different agricultural practices

Science.gov (United States)

Kourgialas, N. N.; Karatzas, G. P.

2014-03-01

A modeling system for the estimation of flash flood flow velocity and sediment transport is developed in this study. The system comprises three components: (a) a modeling framework based on the hydrological model HSPF, (b) the hydrodynamic module of the hydraulic model MIKE 11 (quasi-2-D), and (c) the advection-dispersion module of MIKE 11 as a sediment transport model. An important parameter in hydraulic modeling is the Manning's coefficient, an indicator of the channel resistance which is directly dependent on riparian vegetation changes. Riparian vegetation's effect on flood propagation parameters such as water depth (inundation), discharge, flow velocity, and sediment transport load is investigated in this study. Based on the obtained results, when the weed-cutting percentage is increased, the flood wave depth decreases while flow discharge, velocity and sediment transport load increase. The proposed modeling system is used to evaluate and illustrate the flood hazard for different riparian vegetation cutting scenarios. For the estimation of flood hazard, a combination of the flood propagation characteristics of water depth, flow velocity and sediment load was used. Next, a well-balanced selection of the most appropriate agricultural cutting practices of riparian vegetation was performed. Ultimately, the model results obtained for different agricultural cutting practice scenarios can be employed to create flood protection measures for flood-prone areas. The proposed methodology was applied to the downstream part of a small Mediterranean river basin in Crete, Greece.

Modeling complex flow structures and drag around a submerged plant of varied posture

Science.gov (United States)

Boothroyd, Richard J.; Hardy, Richard J.; Warburton, Jeff; Marjoribanks, Timothy I.

2017-04-01

Although vegetation is present in many rivers, the bulk of past work concerned with modeling the influence of vegetation on flow has considered vegetation to be morphologically simple and has generally neglected the complexity of natural plants. Here we report on a combined flume and numerical model experiment which incorporates time-averaged plant posture, collected through terrestrial laser scanning, into a computational fluid dynamics model to predict flow around a submerged riparian plant. For three depth-limited flow conditions (Reynolds number = 65,000-110,000), plant dynamics were recorded through high-definition video imagery, and the numerical model was validated against flow velocities collected with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter. The plant morphology shows an 18% reduction in plant height and a 14% increase in plant length, compressing and reducing the volumetric canopy morphology as the Reynolds number increases. Plant shear layer turbulence is dominated by Kelvin-Helmholtz type vortices generated through shear instability, the frequency of which is estimated to be between 0.20 and 0.30 Hz, increasing with Reynolds number. These results demonstrate the significant effect that the complex morphology of natural plants has on in-stream drag, and allow a physically determined, species-dependent drag coefficient to be calculated. Given the importance of vegetation in river corridor management, the approach developed here demonstrates the necessity to account for plant motion when calculating vegetative resistance.

Principles for Establishing Ecologically Successful Riparian Corridors

Science.gov (United States)

Principles for establishing riparian areas. Riparian areas are three‐dimensional ecotones of interaction that include terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, that extend down into the groundwater, up above the canopy, outward across the floodplain.

Landscape-scale processes influence riparian plant composition along a regulated river

Science.gov (United States)

Palmquist, Emily C.; Ralston, Barbara; Merritt, David M.; Shafroth, Patrick B.

2018-01-01

Hierarchical frameworks are useful constructs when exploring landscape- and local-scale factors affecting patterns of vegetation in riparian areas. In drylands, which have steep environmental gradients and high habitat heterogeneity, landscape-scale variables, such as climate, can change rapidly along a river's course, affecting the relative influence of environmental variables at different scales. To assess how landscape-scale factors change the structure of riparian vegetation, we measured riparian vegetation composition along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, determined which factors best explain observed changes, identified how richness and functional diversity vary, and described the implications of our results for river management. Cluster analysis identified three divergent floristic groups that are distributed longitudinally along the river. These groups were distributed along gradients of elevation, temperature and seasonal precipitation, but were not associated with annual precipitation or local-scale factors. Species richness and functional diversity decreased as a function of distance downstream showing that changing landscape-scale factors result in changes to ecosystem characteristics. Species composition and distribution remain closely linked to seasonal precipitation and temperature. These patterns in floristic composition in a semiarid system inform management and provide insights into potential future changes as a result of shifts in climate and changes in flow management.

Temperature Effects of Point Sources, Riparian Shading, and Dam Operations on the Willamette River, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Rounds, Stewart A.

2007-01-01

Water temperature is an important factor influencing the migration, rearing, and spawning of several important fish species in rivers of the Pacific Northwest. To protect these fish populations and to fulfill its responsibilities under the Federal Clean Water Act, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality set a water temperature Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) in 2006 for the Willamette River and the lower reaches of its largest tributaries in northwestern Oregon. As a result, the thermal discharges of the largest point sources of heat to the Willamette River now are limited at certain times of the year, riparian vegetation has been targeted for restoration, and upstream dams are recognized as important influences on downstream temperatures. Many of the prescribed point-source heat-load allocations are sufficiently restrictive that management agencies may need to expend considerable resources to meet those allocations. Trading heat allocations among point-source dischargers may be a more economical and efficient means of meeting the cumulative point-source temperature limits set by the TMDL. The cumulative nature of these limits, however, precludes simple one-to-one trades of heat from one point source to another; a more detailed spatial analysis is needed. In this investigation, the flow and temperature models that formed the basis of the Willamette temperature TMDL were used to determine a spatially indexed 'heating signature' for each of the modeled point sources, and those signatures then were combined into a user-friendly, spreadsheet-based screening tool. The Willamette River Point-Source Heat-Trading Tool allows the user to increase or decrease the heating signature of each source and thereby evaluate the effects of a wide range of potential point-source heat trades. The predictions of the Trading Tool were verified by running the Willamette flow and temperature models under four different trading scenarios, and the predictions typically were accurate

Distinctive channel geometry and riparian vegetation: A geomorphic classification for arid ephemeral streams

Science.gov (United States)

Sutfin, N.; Shaw, J. R.; Wohl, E. E.; Cooper, D.

2012-12-01

Interactions between hydrology, channel form, and riparian vegetation along arid ephemeral streams are not thoroughly understood and current stream classifications do not adequately represent variability in channel geometry and associated riparian communities. Relatively infrequent hydrologic disturbances in dryland environments are responsible for creation and maintenance of channel form that supports riparian communities. To investigate the influence of channel characteristics on riparian vegetation in the arid southwestern United States, we develop a geomorphic classification for arid ephemeral streams based on the degree of confinement and the composition of confining material that provide constraints on available moisture. Our conceptual model includes five stream types: 1) bedrock channels entirely confined by exposed bedrock and devoid of persistent alluvium; 2) bedrock with alluvium channels at least partially confined by bedrock but containing enough alluvium to create bedforms that persist through time; 3) incised alluvium channels bound only by unconsolidated alluvial material into which they are incised; 4) braided washes that exhibit multi-thread, braided characteristics regardless of the composition of confining material; and 5) piedmont headwater 0-2nd order streams (Strahler) confined only by unconsolidated alluvium and which initiate as secondary channels on piedmont surfaces. Eighty-six study reaches representing the five stream types were surveyed on the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona. Non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) indicates significant differences between the five stream types with regards to channel geometry (i.e., stream gradient, width-to-depth ratio, the ratio between valley width and channel width (Wv/Wc), shear stress, and unit stream power) and riparian vegetation (i.e., presence and canopy coverage by species, canopy stratum, and life form). Discriminant analysis

Analysis of the impact of biomechanical traits of European black Poplar on riverbank flow resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Battista Chirico, Giovanni; Saulino, Luigi; Pasquino, Vittorio; Villani, Paolo; Rita, Angelo; Todaro, Luigi; Saracino, Antonio

2016-04-01

Predicting the effects of riparian plants on river flow dynamics is fundamental for an appropriate river management. Riparian woody vegetation enhances bank cohesion and provides ecosystem services by mitigating nutrient and sediment loads to the river flow and enhancing biodiversity. However riparian trees also contribute to river flow resistance and thus can have a significant impact on flow dynamics during flood events. The flow-plant interaction mainly depends on plant morphological characters (e.g. diameter, height, canopy size, foliage density) and biomechanical properties, such as its flexural rigidity. This study aims at testing the hypothesis that the hydrodynamic behaviour of the European black Poplar (∖textit{Populus nigra} L.), a common woody riparian plant, is influenced by specific biomechanical traits developed as result of its adaptation to different river ecosystems. We examine the morphological and biomechanical properties of living stems of black Poplar sampled in two different riverine environments in Southern Italy located only a few kilometres apart. The two sample sets of living stems exhibit similar morphological traits but significantly different Young module of elasticity. We compared the drag forces that the flow would exert on these two different sets of plants for a wide range of flow velocities, by employing a numerical model that accounts for the bending behaviour of the woody plant due to the hydrodynamic load, under the hypothesis of complete submergence. A Monte Carlo approach was applied in order to account for the stochastic variability of the morphological and mechanical parameters affecting plant biomechanical behaviour. We identified a threshold value of the plant diameter, above which the two sets of European black Poplars are subjected to drag forces that differ by more than 25{∖%} on average, for flow velocities larger than 1 m/s.

Surface runoff water quality in a managed three zone riparian buffer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowrance, Richard; Sheridan, Joseph M

2005-01-01

Managed riparian forest buffers are an important conservation practice but there are little data on the water quality effects of buffer management. We measured surface runoff volumes and nutrient concentrations and loads in a riparian buffer system consisting of (moving down slope from the field) a grass strip, a managed forest, and an unmanaged forest. The managed forest consisted of sections of clear-cut, thinned, and mature forest. The mature forest had significantly lower flow-weighted concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, total Kjeldahl N (TKN), sediment TKN, total N (nitrate + TKN), dissolved molybdate reactive P (DMRP), total P, and chloride. The average buffer represented the conditions along a stream reach with a buffer system in different stages of growth. Compared with the field output, flow-weighted concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, DMRP, and total P decreased significantly within the buffer and flow-weighted concentrations of TKN, total N, and chloride increased significantly within the buffer. All loads decreased significantly from the field to the middle of the buffer, but most loads increased from the middle of the buffer to the sampling point nearest the stream because surface runoff volume increased near the stream. The largest percentage reduction of the incoming nutrient load (at least 65% for all nutrient forms) took place in the grass buffer zone because of the large decrease (68%) in flow. The average buffer reduced loadings for all nutrient species, from 27% for TKN to 63% for sediment P. The managed forest and grass buffer combined was an effective buffer system.

Water body and riparian buffer strip characteristics in a vineyard area to support aquatic pesticide exposure assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohliger, Renja; Schulz, Ralf

2010-10-15

The implementation of a geodata-based probabilistic pesticide exposure assessment for surface waters in Germany offers the opportunity to base the exposure estimation on more differentiated assumptions including detailed landscape characteristics. Since these characteristics can only be estimated using field surveys, water body width and depth, hydrology, riparian buffer strip width, ground vegetation cover, existence of concentrated flow paths, and riparian vegetation were characterised at 104 water body segments in the vineyard region Palatinate (south-west Germany). Water body segments classified as permanent (n=43) had median values of water body width and depth of 0.9m and 0.06m, respectively, and the determined median width:depth ratio was 15. Thus, the deterministic water body model (width=1m; depth=0.3m) assumed in regulatory exposure assessment seems unsuitable for small water bodies in the study area. Only 25% of investigated buffer strips had a dense vegetation cover (>70%) and allow a laminar sheet flow as required to include them as an effective pesticide runoff reduction landscape characteristic. At 77 buffer strips, bordering field paths and erosion rills leading into the water body were present, concentrating pesticide runoff and consequently decreasing buffer strip efficiency. The vegetation type shrubbery (height>1.5m) was present at 57 (29%) investigated riparian buffer strips. According to their median optical vegetation density of 75%, shrubberies may provide a spray drift reduction of 72±29%. Implementing detailed knowledge in an overall assessment revealed that exposure via drift might be 2.4 and via runoff up to 1.6 fold higher than assumed by the deterministic approach. Furthermore, considering vegetated buffer strips only by their width leads to an underestimation of exposure by a factor of as much as four. Our data highlight that the deterministic model assumptions neither represent worst-case nor median values and therefore cannot

The Riparianness of a Desert Herpetofauna

Science.gov (United States)

Charles H. Lowe

1989-01-01

Within the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Desert subdivisions of the North American Desert in the U.S., more than half of 143 total amphibian and reptilian species perform as riparian and/or wetland taxa. For the reptiles, but not the amphibians, there is a significant inverse relationship between riparianness (obligate through preferential and facultative to...

PLANT INVASIONS IN RHODE ISLAND RIPARIAN ZONES

Science.gov (United States)

The vegetation in riparian zones provides valuable wildlife habitat while enhancing instream habitat and water quality. Forest fragmentation, sunlit edges, and nutrient additions from adjacent development may be sources of stress on riparian zones. Landscape plants may include no...

Riparian zones attenuate nitrogen loss following bark beetle-induced lodgepole pine mortality

Science.gov (United States)

Biederman, Joel A.; Meixner, Thomas; Harpold, Adrian A.; Reed, David E.; Gutmann, Ethan D.; Gaun, Janelle A.; Brooks, Paul D.

2016-03-01

A North American bark beetle infestation has killed billions of trees, increasing soil nitrogen and raising concern for N loss impacts on downstream ecosystems and water resources. There is surprisingly little evidence of stream N response in large basins, which may result from surviving vegetation uptake, gaseous loss, or dilution by streamflow from unimpacted stands. Observations are lacking along hydrologic flow paths connecting soils with streams, challenging our ability to determine where and how attenuation occurs. Here we quantified biogeochemical concentrations and fluxes at a lodgepole pine-dominated site where bark beetle infestation killed 50-60% of trees. We used nested observations along hydrologic flow paths connecting hillslope soils to streams of up to third order. We found soil water NO3 concentrations increased 100-fold compared to prior research at this and nearby southeast Wyoming sites. Nitrogen was lost below the major rooting zone to hillslope groundwater, where dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) increased by 3-10 times (mean 1.65 mg L-1) and NO3-N increased more than 100-fold (3.68 mg L-1) compared to preinfestation concentrations. Most of this N was removed as hillslope groundwater drained through riparian soils, and NO3 remained low in streams. DON entering the stream decreased 50% within 5 km downstream, to concentrations typical of unimpacted subalpine streams (~0.3 mg L-1). Although beetle outbreak caused hillslope N losses similar to other disturbances, up to 5.5 kg ha-1y-1, riparian and in-stream removal limited headwater catchment export to <1 kg ha-1y-1. These observations suggest riparian removal was the dominant mechanism preventing hillslope N loss from impacting streams.

Legal Mechanisms for Protecting Riparian Resource Values

Science.gov (United States)

Lamb, Berton L.; Lord, Eric

1992-04-01

Riparian resources include the borders of rivers, lakes, ponds, and potholes. These border areas are very important for a number of reasons, including stream channel maintenance, flood control, aesthetics, erosion control, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and water quality maintenance. These diverse functions are not well protected by law or policy. We reviewed law and policies regarding endangered species habitat designation, land use planning, grazing management, water allocation, takings, and federal permits and licenses, along with the roles of federal, state, and local governments. We discuss the politics of implementing these policies, focusing on the difficulties in changing entrenched water and land use practices. Our review indicates a lack of direct attention to riparian ecosystem issues in almost all environmental and land use programs at every level of government. Protection of riparian resource values requires a means to integrate existing programs to focus on riparian zones.

Tribal experiences and lessons learned in riparian ecosystem restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Ronald K. Miller; James E. Enote; Cameron L. Martinez

1996-01-01

Riparian ecosystems have been part of the culture of land use of native peoples in the Southwest United States for thousands of years. The experiences of tribal riparian initiatives to incorporate modern elements of environment and development with cultural needs are relatively few. This paper describes tribal case examples and approaches in riparian management which...

Riparian Raptors on USACE Projects: Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mitchell, Wilma A; Wolters, M. S

2000-01-01

...) reservoir operations. For management purposes, these raptors are considered riparian generalists because they inhabit riparian zones surrounding streams and lakes on Corps project lands but may seasonally use adjacent...

Ecological assessment of riparian forests in Benin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Natta, A.K.

2003-01-01

The present research deals with the flora, phytosociology and ecology of riparian forests. The overall objective of this research is to contribute to a better knowledge of the flora, diversity and ecology of riparian forests in

An Application of BLM's Riparian Inventory Procedure to Rangeland Riparian Resources in the Kern and Kaweah River Watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Patricia Gradek; Lawrence Saslaw; Steven Nelson

1989-01-01

The Bakersfield District of the Bureau of Land Management conducted an inventory of rangeland riparian systems using a new method developed by a Bureau-wide task force to inventory, monitor and classify riparian areas. Data on vegetation composition were collected for 65 miles of streams and entered into a hierarchical vegetation classification system. Ratings of...

Decomposition of leaf litter from a native tree and an actinorhizal invasive across riparian habitats.

Science.gov (United States)

Harner, Mary J; Crenshaw, Chelsea L; Abelho, Manuela; Stursova, Martina; Shah, Jennifer J Follstad; Sinsabaugh, Robert L

2009-07-01

Dynamics of nutrient exchange between floodplains and rivers have been altered by changes in flow management and proliferation of nonnative plants. We tested the hypothesis that the nonnative, actinorhizal tree, Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), alters dynamics of leaf litter decomposition compared to native cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. wislizeni) along the Rio Grande, a river with a modified flow regime, in central New Mexico (U.S.A.). Leaf litter was placed in the river channel and the surface and subsurface horizons of forest soil at seven riparian sites that differed in their hydrologic connection to the river. All sites had a cottonwood canopy with a Russian olive-dominated understory. Mass loss rates, nutrient content, fungal biomass, extracellular enzyme activities (EEA), and macroinvertebrate colonization were followed for three months in the river and one year in forests. Initial nitrogen (N) content of Russian olive litter (2.2%) was more than four times that of cottonwood (0.5%). Mass loss rates (k; in units of d(-1)) were greatest in the river (Russian olive, k = 0.0249; cottonwood, k = 0.0226), intermediate in subsurface soil (Russian olive, k = 0.0072; cottonwood, k = 0.0031), and slowest on the soil surface (Russian olive, k = 0.0034; cottonwood, k = 0.0012) in a ratio of about 10:2:1. Rates of mass loss in the river were indistinguishable between species and proportional to macroinvertebrate colonization. In the riparian forest, Russian olive decayed significantly faster than cottonwood in both soil horizons. Terrestrial decomposition rates were related positively to EEA, fungal biomass, and litter N, whereas differences among floodplain sites were related to hydrologic connectivity with the river. Because nutrient exchanges between riparian forests and the river have been constrained by flow management, Russian olive litter represents a significant annual input of N to riparian forests, which now retain a large portion of slowly

Developing rapid methods for analyzing upland riparian functions and values.

Science.gov (United States)

Hruby, Thomas

2009-06-01

Regulators protecting riparian areas need to understand the integrity, health, beneficial uses, functions, and values of this resource. Up to now most methods providing information about riparian areas are based on analyzing condition or integrity. These methods, however, provide little information about functions and values. Different methods are needed that specifically address this aspect of riparian areas. In addition to information on functions and values, regulators have very specific needs that include: an analysis at the site scale, low cost, usability, and inclusion of policy interpretations. To meet these needs a rapid method has been developed that uses a multi-criteria decision matrix to categorize riparian areas in Washington State, USA. Indicators are used to identify the potential of the site to provide a function, the potential of the landscape to support the function, and the value the function provides to society. To meet legal needs fixed boundaries for assessment units are established based on geomorphology, the distance from "Ordinary High Water Mark" and different categories of land uses. Assessment units are first classified based on ecoregions, geomorphic characteristics, and land uses. This simplifies the data that need to be collected at a site, but it requires developing and calibrating a separate model for each "class." The approach to developing methods is adaptable to other locations as its basic structure is not dependent on local conditions.

Modeling the effects of anadromous fish nitrogen on the carbon balance of riparian forests in central Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Noble Stuen, A. J.; Kavanagh, K.; Wheeler, T.

2010-12-01

Wild anadromous fish such as Pacific Chinook salmon (Oncorynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhyncus mykiss) were once abundant in Idaho, where they deposited their carcasses, rich in marine-derived nutrients (MDN), in the tributaries of the Columbia River. Anadromous fish are believed to have been a historically important nutrient source to the relatively nutrient-poor inland ecosystems of central Idaho, but no longer reach many inland watersheds due to presence of dams. This study investigates the multi-decadal cumulative effect of presence versus absence of anadromous fish nitrogen on net ecosystem exchange (NEE), or net carbon uptake, of riparian forests along historically salmon-bearing streams in the North Fork Boise River watershed, Idaho, in the context of a changing climate. The ecosystem process model BIOME-BGC is used to develop a representative forest ecosystem and predict the impact of decades of addition and continuing absence of MDN on NEE and net primary production (NPP). The study has 2 objectives: 1) to determine whether BIOME-BGC can reasonably simulate the riparian forests of central Idaho. A potentially confounding factor is the complex terrain of the region, particularly regarding soil water: water accumulation in valley bottoms and their riparian zones may lead to discrepancies in soil moisture and productivity of the riparian forest and of the simulations. The model is parameterized using local ecophysiology and site data and validated using field measurements of leaf area and soil moisture. Objective 2): to determine the effects on forest carbon balance and productivity of the presence or ongoing absence of anadromous-fish derived nitrogen. The forest simulation developed in objective 1 is run under two scenarios into the mid-20th century; one continuing without any supplemental nitrogen and one with nitrogen added in levels consistent with estimates of historical deposition by anadromous fish. Both scenarios incorporate warming due to

Hydrogeological constraints on riparian buffers for reduction of diffuse pollution: examples from the Bear Creek watershed in Iowa, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpkins, W W; Wineland, T R; Andress, R J; Johnston, D A; Caron, G C; Isenhart, T M; Schultz, R C

2002-01-01

Riparian Management Systems (RiMS) have been proposed to minimize the impacts of agricultural production and improve water quality in Iowa in the Midwestern USA. As part of RiMS, multispecies riparian buffers have been shown to decrease nutrient, pesticide, and sediment concentrations in runoff from adjacent crop fields. However, their effect on nutrients and pesticides moving in groundwater beneath buffers has been discussed only in limited and idealized hydrogeologic settings. Studies in the Bear Creek watershed of central Iowa show the variability inherent in hydrogeologic systems at the watershed scale, some of which may be favorable or unfavorable to future implementation of buffers. Buffers may be optimized by choosing hydrogeologic systems where a shallow groundwater flow system channels water directly through the riparian buffer at velocities that allow for processes such as denitrification to occur.

Simulation of Soil Quality with Riparian Forests and Cultivated with Sugarcane

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Luiz Gabriel; Colato, Alexandre; Casagrande, José Carlos; Soares, Marcio Roberto; Perissatto Meneghin, Silvana

2013-04-01

Riparian forests are entrusted with important hydrological functions, such as riparian zone protection, filtering sediments and nutrients and mitigation of the amount of nutrients and xenobiotic molecules from the surrounding agro ecosystems. The soil was sampled in the depths of 0-0,2 and 0.2-0.4 m and its chemical (nutrient content and organic matter, cationic exchange capacity - CEC, sum of bases-SB, bases saturation, V%, and aluminum saturation, m%); physical (particle size distribution, density and porosity) and microbiological attributes (basal respiration and microbial biomass) were determined. This work aimed to study the liner method of combining data, figures of merit (FoM), weighing process and the scoring functions developed by Wymore and asses the quality of the soil (SQI) by means of chemical, physical and microbiological soil attributes, employing the additive pondered model for two areas of riparian forest at different stages of ecological succession and an adjacent area cultivated with sugar cane, located on the dam shores of Sugar Mill Saint Lucia-Araras/SP. Some hierarchical functions containing FoMs and their parameters were constructed, and from them weights were assigned to each FoM and parameter, in a way that cluster of structures with the same FoMs and parameters with different weights were formed. These clusters were used to calculate the SQI for all vegetal formations considering two types of soil (Oxisol and Podzol), in that way, the SQI was calculated for each combination of vegetation and soil. The SQIs values were usually higher in the oldest riparian forest, while the recent riparian forest showed the smallest SQI values, for both types of soil. The variation of values within a combination vegetation/soil was also different between all combinations, being that the set of values from the oldest riparian forest presented the lowest amplitude. It was also observed that the Oxisols, regardless of the vegetation, presented higher SQIs

META-ANALYSIS OF NITROGEN REMOVAL IN RIPARIAN BUFFERS

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian buffer zones, the vegetated region adjacent to streams and wetlands, are thought to be effective at intercepting and controlling nitrogen loads entering water bodies. Riparian buffer width may be positively related to nitrogen removal effectiveness by influencing nitrog...

Stream water responses to timber harvest: Riparian buffer width effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Barton D. Clinton

2011-01-01

Vegetated riparian buffers are critical for protecting aquatic and terrestrial processes and habitats in southern Appalachian ecosystems. In this case study, we examined the effect of riparian buffer width on stream water quality following upland forest management activities in four headwater catchments. Three riparian buffer widths were delineated prior to cutting; 0m...

Tamarisk coalition - native riparian plant materials program

Science.gov (United States)

Stacy Kolegas

2012-01-01

The Tamarisk Coalition (TC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to riparian restoration in the western United States, has created a Native Plant Materials Program to address the identified need for native riparian plant species for use in revegetation efforts on the Colorado Plateau. The specific components of the Native Plant Materials Program include: 1) provide seed...

River water infiltration enhances denitrification efficiency in riparian groundwater.

Science.gov (United States)

Trauth, Nico; Musolff, Andreas; Knöller, Kay; Kaden, Ute S; Keller, Toralf; Werban, Ulrike; Fleckenstein, Jan H

2018-03-01

Nitrate contamination in ground- and surface water is a persistent problem in countries with intense agriculture. The transition zone between rivers and their riparian aquifers, where river water and groundwater interact, may play an important role in mediating nitrate exports, as it can facilitate intensive denitrification, which permanently removes nitrate from the aquatic system. However, the in-situ factors controlling riparian denitrification are not fully understood, as they are often strongly linked and their effects superimpose each other. In this study, we present the evaluation of hydrochemical and isotopic data from a 2-year sampling period of river water and groundwater in the riparian zone along a 3rd order river in Central Germany. Based on bi- and multivariate statistics (Spearman's rank correlation and partial least squares regression) we can show, that highest rates for oxygen consumption and denitrification in the riparian aquifer occur where the fraction of infiltrated river water and at the same time groundwater temperature, are high. River discharge and depth to groundwater are additional explanatory variables for those reaction rates, but of minor importance. Our data and analyses suggest that at locations in the riparian aquifer, which show significant river water infiltration, heterotrophic microbial reactions in the riparian zone may be fueled by bioavailable organic carbon derived from the river water. We conclude that interactions between rivers and riparian groundwater are likely to be a key control of nitrate removal and should be considered as a measure to mitigate high nitrate exports from agricultural catchments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Riparian Raptors on USACE Projects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mitchell, Wilma

2000-01-01

...) reservoir operations. For management purposes, these raptors are considered riparian generalists because they inhabit the riparian zones surrounding streams and lakes of Corps projects but may seasonally use adjacent...

Evaluation of the riparian forest state program in Pitangueiras county, Parana

OpenAIRE

Peres, Marli Candalaft Alcantara Parra; Universidade Estadual de Londrina/UEL; Ralisch, Ricardo; Universidade Estadual de Londrina/UEL; Ripol, Cristovon Videira; Instituto Paranaense de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural do Paraná/EMATER

2009-01-01

Riparian forest restoration is fundamental for maintenance of vegetable, animal and human life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a Riparian Forest state program in the enlargement of the riparian forests in Pitangueiras county, state of Paraná, in the period of 2004 to 2006. Concerning the riparian reforestation, it was ansewered the reasons that convinced the farmers to join the program, the main difficulties found in its execution, and their views on environment...

Regeneration of Salicaceae riparian forests in the Northern Hemisphere: A new framework and management tool

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Eduardo; Martinez-Fernandez, Vanesa; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Sher, Anna A.; Henry, Annie L.; Garofano-Gomez, Virginia; Corenblit, Dov

2018-01-01

Human activities on floodplains have severely disrupted the regeneration of foundation riparian shrub and tree species of the Salicaceae family (Populus and Salix spp.) throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Restoration ecologists initially tackled this problem from a terrestrial perspective that emphasized planting. More recently, floodplain restoration activities have embraced an aquatic perspective, inspired by the expanding practice of managing river flows to improve river health (environmental flows). However, riparian Salicaceae species occupy floodplain and riparian areas, which lie at the interface of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems along watercourses. Thus, their regeneration depends on a complex interaction of hydrologic and geomorphic processes that have shaped key life-cycle requirements for seedling establishment. Ultimately, restoration needs to integrate these concepts to succeed. However, while regeneration of Salicaceae is now reasonably well-understood, the literature reporting restoration actions on Salicaceae regeneration is sparse, and a specific theoretical framework is still missing. Here, we have reviewed 105 peer-reviewed published experiences in restoration of Salicaceae forests, including 91 projects in 10 world regions, to construct a decision tree to inform restoration planning through explicit links between the well-studied biophysical requirements of Salicaceaeregeneration and 17 specific restoration actions, the most popular being planting (in 55% of the projects), land contouring (30%), removal of competing vegetation (30%), site selection (26%), and irrigation (24%). We also identified research gaps related to Salicaceae forest restoration and discuss alternative, innovative and feasible approaches that incorporate the human component.

Regeneration of Salicaceae riparian forests in the Northern Hemisphere: A new framework and management tool.

Science.gov (United States)

González, Eduardo; Martínez-Fernández, Vanesa; Shafroth, Patrick B; Sher, Anna A; Henry, Annie L; Garófano-Gómez, Virginia; Corenblit, Dov

2018-04-25

Human activities on floodplains have severely disrupted the regeneration of foundation riparian shrub and tree species of the Salicaceae family (Populus and Salix spp.) throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Restoration ecologists initially tackled this problem from a terrestrial perspective that emphasized planting. More recently, floodplain restoration activities have embraced an aquatic perspective, inspired by the expanding practice of managing river flows to improve river health (environmental flows). However, riparian Salicaceae species occupy floodplain and riparian areas, which lie at the interface of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems along watercourses. Thus, their regeneration depends on a complex interaction of hydrologic and geomorphic processes that have shaped key life-cycle requirements for seedling establishment. Ultimately, restoration needs to integrate these concepts to succeed. However, while regeneration of Salicaceae is now reasonably well-understood, the literature reporting restoration actions on Salicaceae regeneration is sparse, and a specific theoretical framework is still missing. Here, we have reviewed 105 peer-reviewed published experiences in restoration of Salicaceae forests, including 91 projects in 10 world regions, to construct a decision tree to inform restoration planning through explicit links between the well-studied biophysical requirements of Salicaceae regeneration and 17 specific restoration actions, the most popular being planting (in 55% of the projects), land contouring (30%), removal of competing vegetation (30%), site selection (26%), and irrigation (24%). We also identified research gaps related to Salicaceae forest restoration and discuss alternative, innovative and feasible approaches that incorporate the human component. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From microbes to water districts: Linking observations across scales to uncover the implications of riparian and channel management on water quality in an irrigated agricultural landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, A.; Cadenasso, M. L.

2016-12-01

Interactions among runoff, riparian and stream ecosystems, and water quality remain uncertain in many settings, particularly those heavily impacted by human activities. For example, waterways in the irrigated agricultural landscape of California's Central Valley are seasonally disconnected from groundwater tables and are extensively modified by infrastructure and management. These conditions make the impact of riparian and channel management difficult to predict across scales, which hinders efforts to promote best management practices to improve water quality. We seek to link observations across catchment, reach, and patch scales to understand patterns of nitrate and turbidity in waterways draining irrigated cropland. Data was collected on 80 reaches spanning two water management districts. At the catchment scale, water districts implemented waterway and riparian management differently: one water district had a decentralized approach, allowing individual land owners to manage their waterway channels and banks, while the other had a centralized approach, in which land owners defer management to a district-run program. At the reach scale, riparian and waterway vegetation, geomorphic complexity, and flow conditions were quantified. Reach-scale management such as riparian planting projects and channel dredging frequency were also considered. At the patch scale, denitrification potential and organic matter were measured in riparian toe-slope soils and channel sediments, along with associated vegetation and geomorphic features. All factors were tested for their ability to predict water quality using generalized linear mixed effects models and the consistency of predictors within and across scales was evaluated. A hierarchy of predictors emerges: catchment-scale management regimes predict reach-scale geomorphic and vegetation complexity, which in turn predicts sediment denitrification potential - the patch-scale factor most associated with low nitrate. Similarly

Nitrate removal in a restored riparian groundwater system: functioning and importance of individual riparian zones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Peter

2012-11-01

Full Text Available For the design and the assessment of river restoration projects, it is important to know to what extent the elimination of reactive nitrogen (N can be improved in the riparian groundwater. We investigated the effectiveness of different riparian zones, characterized by a riparian vegetation succession, for nitrate (NO₃⁻ removal from infiltrating river water in a restored and a still channelized section of the river Thur, Switzerland. Functional genes of denitrification (nirS and nosZ were relatively abundant in groundwater from willow bush and mixed forest dominated zones, where oxygen concentrations remained low compared to the main channel and other riparian zones. After flood events, a substantial decline in NO₃⁻ concentration (> 50% was observed in the willow bush zone but not in the other riparian zones closer to the river. In addition, the characteristic enrichment of ¹⁵N and ¹⁸O in the residual NO₃⁻ pool (by up to 22‰ for δ¹⁵N and up to 12‰ for δ¹⁸O provides qualitative evidence that the willow bush and forest zones were sites of active denitrification and, to a lesser extent, NO₃⁻ removal by plant uptake. Particularly in the willow bush zone during a period of water table elevation after a flooding event, substantial input of organic carbon into the groundwater occurred, thereby fostering post-flood denitrification activity that reduced NO₃⁻ concentration with a rate of ~21 μmol N l⁻¹ d⁻¹. Nitrogen removal in the forest zone was not sensitive to flood pulses, and overall NO₃⁻ removal rates were lower (~6 μmol l⁻¹ d⁻¹. Hence, discharge-modulated vegetation–soil–groundwater coupling was found to be a key driver for riparian NO₃⁻ removal. We estimated that

Quantifying the performance of automated GIS-based geomorphological approaches for riparian zone delineation using digital elevation models

OpenAIRE

D. Fernández; J. Barquín; M. Álvarez-Cabria; F. J. Peñas

2012-01-01

Riparian zone delineation is a central issue for managing rivers and adjacent areas; however, criteria used to delineate them are still under debate. The area inundated by a 50-yr flood has been indicated as an optimal hydrological descriptor for riparian areas. This detailed hydrological information is usually only available for populated areas at risk of flooding. In this work we created several floodplain surfaces by means of two different GIS-based geomorphological appro...

Altered stream-flow regimes and invasive plant species: The Tamarix case

Science.gov (United States)

Stromberg, J.C.; Lite, S.J.; Marler, R.; Paradzick, C.; Shafroth, P.B.; Shorrock, D.; White, J.M.; White, M.S.

2007-01-01

Aim: To test the hypothesis that anthropogenic alteration of stream-flow regimes is a key driver of compositional shifts from native to introduced riparian plant species. Location: The arid south-western United States; 24 river reaches in the Gila and Lower Colorado drainage basins of Arizona. Methods: We compared the abundance of three dominant woody riparian taxa (native Populus fremontii and Salix gooddingii, and introduced Tamarix) between river reaches that varied in stream-flow permanence (perennial vs. intermittent), presence or absence of an upstream flow-regulating dam, and presence or absence of municipal effluent as a stream water source. Results: Populus and Salix were the dominant pioneer trees along the reaches with perennial flow and a natural flood regime. In contrast, Tamarix had high abundance (patch area and basal area) along reaches with intermittent stream flows (caused by natural and cultural factors), as well as those with dam-regulated flows. Main conclusions: Stream-flow regimes are strong determinants of riparian vegetation structure, and hydrological alterations can drive dominance shifts to introduced species that have an adaptive suite of traits. Deep alluvial groundwater on intermittent rivers favours the deep-rooted, stress-adapted Tamarix over the shallower-rooted and more competitive Populus and Salix. On flow-regulated rivers, shifts in flood timing favour the reproductively opportunistic Tamarix over Populus and Salix, both of which have narrow germination windows. The prevailing hydrological conditions thus favour a new dominant pioneer species in the riparian corridors of the American Southwest. These results reaffirm the importance of reinstating stream-flow regimes (inclusive of groundwater flows) for re-establishing the native pioneer trees as the dominant forest type. ?? 2007 The Authors Journal compilation ?? 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Responses of riparian reptile communities to damming and urbanization

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Stephanie D.; Guzy, Jacquelyn C.; Price, Steven J.; Halstead, Brian J.; Eskew, Evan A.; Dorcas, Michael E.

2013-01-01

Various anthropogenic pressures, including habitat loss, threaten reptile populations worldwide. Riparian zones are critical habitat for many reptile species, but these habitats are also frequently modified by anthropogenic activities. Our study investigated the effects of two riparian habitat modifications-damming and urbanization-on overall and species-specific reptile occupancy patterns. We used time-constrained search techniques to compile encounter histories for 28 reptile species at 21 different sites along the Broad and Pacolet Rivers of South Carolina. Using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis, we modeled reptile occupancy responses to a site's distance upstream from dam, distance downstream from dam, and percent urban land use. The mean occupancy response by the reptile community indicated that reptile occupancy and species richness were maximized when sites were farther upstream from dams. Species-specific occupancy estimates showed a similar trend of lower occupancy immediately upstream from dams. Although the mean occupancy response of the reptile community was positively related to distance downstream from dams, the occupancy response to distance downstream varied among species. Percent urban land use had little effect on the occupancy response of the reptile community or individual species. Our results indicate that the conditions of impoundments and subsequent degradation of the riparian zones upstream from dams may not provide suitable habitat for a number of reptile species.

Influences of watershed geomorphology on extent and composition of riparian vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Blake M. Engelhardt; Peter J. Weisberg; Jeanne C. Chambers

2011-01-01

Watershed (drainage basin) morphometry and geology were derived from digital data sets (DEMs and geologic maps). Riparian corridors were classified into five vegetation types (riparian forest, riparian shrub, wet/mesic meadow, dry meadow and shrub dry meadow) using high-resolution aerial photography. Regression and multivariate analyses were used to relate geomorphic...

Finite Element Simulation of Total Nitrogen Transport in Riparian Buffer in an Agricultural Watershed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaosheng Lin

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Riparian buffers can influence water quality in downstream lakes or rivers by buffering non-point source pollution in upstream agricultural fields. With increasing nitrogen (N pollution in small agricultural watersheds, a major function of riparian buffers is to retain N in the soil. A series of field experiments were conducted to monitor pollutant transport in riparian buffers of small watersheds, while numerical model-based analysis is scarce. In this study, we set up a field experiment to monitor the retention rates of total N in different widths of buffer strips and used a finite element model (HYDRUS 2D/3D to simulate the total N transport in the riparian buffer of an agricultural non-point source polluted area in the Liaohe River basin. The field experiment retention rates for total N were 19.4%, 26.6%, 29.5%, and 42.9% in 1,3,4, and 6m-wide buffer strips, respectively. Throughout the simulation period, the concentration of total N of the 1mwide buffer strip reached a maximum of 1.27 mg/cm3 at 30 min, decreasing before leveling off. The concentration of total N about the 3mwide buffer strip consistently increased, with a maximum of 1.05 mg/cm3 observed at 60 min. Under rainfall infiltration, the buffer strips of different widths showed a retention effect on total N transport, and the optimum effect was simulated in the 6mwide buffer strip. A comparison between measured and simulated data revealed that finite element simulation could simulate N transport in the soil of riparian buffer strips.

Integrated monitoring of hydrogeomorphic, vegetative, and edaphic conditions in riparian ecosystems of Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Beever, Erik A.; Pyke, D.A.

2004-01-01

In semiarid regions such as the Great Basin, riparian areas function as oases of cooler and more stable microclimates, greater relative humidity, greater structural complexity, and a steady flow of water and nutrients relative to upland areas. These qualities make riparian areaʼs attractive not only to resident and migratory wildlife, but also to visitors in recreation areas such as Great Basin National Park in the Snake Range, east-central Nevada. To expand upon the system of ten permanent plots sampled in 1992 (Smith et al. 1994) and 2001 (Beever et al. in press), we established a collection of 31 cross-sectional transects of 50-m width across the mainstems of Strawberry, Lehman, Baker, and Snake creeks. Our aims in this research were threefold: a) map riparian vegetative communities in greater detail than had been done by past efforts; b) provide a monitoring baseline of hydrogeomorphology; structure, composition, and function of upland- and riparianassociated vegetation; and edaphic properties potentially sensitive to management; and c) test whether instream conditions or physiographic variables predicted vegetation patterns across the four target streams.

Function, Design, and Establishment of Riparian Forest Buffers: A Review

OpenAIRE

Klapproth, Julia Caldwell

1999-01-01

Through the interaction of their soils, hydrology, and biotic communities, riparian forests protect and improve water quality, provide habitat for plants and animals, support aquatic communities, and provide many benefits to humans. Virginia, along with other states in the Chesapeake Bay region, has recognized the importance of riparian forests by implementing a plan to restore forested buffers along streams, rivers, and lakes. This project reviews selected literature on riparian forest bu...

Riparian plant community responses to increased flooding: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Garssen, Annemarie G; Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette; Voesenek, Laurentius A C J; Verhoeven, Jos T A; Soons, Merel B

2015-08-01

A future higher risk of severe flooding of streams and rivers has been projected to change riparian plant community composition and species richness, but the extent and direction of the expected change remain uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize globally available experimental evidence and assess the effects of increased flooding on (1) riparian adult plant and seedling survival, (2) riparian plant biomass and (3) riparian plant species composition and richness. We evaluated which plant traits are of key importance for the response of riparian plant species to flooding. We identified and analysed 53 papers from ISI Web of Knowledge which presented quantitative experimental results on flooding treatments and corresponding control situations. Our meta-analysis demonstrated how longer duration of flooding, greater depth of flooding and, particularly, their combination reduce seedling survival of most riparian species. Plant height above water level, ability to elongate shoots and plasticity in root porosity were decisive for adult plant survival and growth during longer periods of flooding. Both 'quiescence' and 'escape' proved to be successful strategies promoting riparian plant survival, which was reflected in the wide variation in survival (full range between 0 and 100%) under fully submerged conditions, while plants that protrude above the water level (>20 cm) almost all survive. Our survey confirmed that the projected increase in the duration and depth of flooding periods is sufficient to result in species shifts. These shifts may lead to increased or decreased riparian species richness depending on the nutrient, climatic and hydrological status of the catchment. Species richness was generally reduced at flooded sites in nutrient-rich catchments and sites that previously experienced relatively stable hydrographs (e.g. rain-fed lowland streams). Species richness usually increased at sites in desert and semi-arid climate regions (e.g. intermittent

Riparian Habitat Management for Mammals on Corps of Engineers Projects

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Martin, Chester

2002-01-01

.... This note provides an overview of the importance of riparian ecosystems to mammals, discusses regional variation in mammal communities characteristic of riparian zones, identifies potential impacts...

Impact of dam-induced hydrological changes on riparian vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Tealdi, Stefano; Camporeale, Carlo; Ridolfi, Luca

2010-05-01

Hydrological disturbances are a key factor for the riparian vegetation, which is a highly dynamic ecosystem prone to external forcing. Random fluctuations of water stages drive in fact the alternation of periods of floods and exposure of the vegetated plots. During flooding, the plots are submerged and vegetation is damaged by burial, uprooting and anoxia, while during exposure periods vegetation grows according to the soil moisture content and the phreatic water table depth. The distribution of vegetation along the riparian transect is then directly connected to the stochasticity of river discharges. River damming can have remarkable impacts on the hydrology of a river and, consequently, on the riparian vegetation. Several field studies show how the river regulation induced by artificial reservoirs can greatly modify the statistical moments and the autocorrelation of the discharge time series. The vegetation responds to these changes reducing its overall heterogeneity, declining - substituted by exotic species - and shifting its starting position nearer or far away from the channel center. These latter processes are known as narrowing and widening, respectively. In our work we explore the effects of dam-induced hydrological changes on the narrowing/widening process and on the total biomass along the transect. To this aim we use an eco-hydrological stochastic model developed by Camporeale and Ridolfi [2006], which is able to give a realistic distribution of the biomass along the transect as a function of a few hydrologic, hydraulic and vegetation parameters. We apply the model to an exemplifying case, by investigating the vegetation response to a set of changes in mean discharge and coefficient of variation. The range of these changes is deduced from the analysis of field data in pre- and post-dam conditions. Firstly, we analyze the narrowing/widening process. In particular, we analyze two percentage differences of the starting transversal position with respect to

Adaptation of the QBR index for use in riparian forests of central Ohio

Science.gov (United States)

Stephanie R. Colwell; David M. Hix

2008-01-01

Although high quality riparian forests are an endangered ecosystem type throughout the world, there has been no ecological index to measure the habitat quality of riparian forests in Ohio. The QBR (qualitat del bosc de ribera, or riparian forest quality) index was developed to assess the quality of habitat in Mediterranean forested riparian areas, and we have modified...

SNAG AND LARGE WOODY DEBRIS DYNAMICS IN RIPARIAN FORESTS

Science.gov (United States)

Important components of riparian forests are snags and streamside large woody debris (LWD) because they are functional in maintaining water quality and providing habitat for numerous plants and animals. To effectively manage riparian forests, it is important to understand the dy...

An Ecohydrological Approach to Riparian Restoration Planning in the American Southwest

Science.gov (United States)

Leverich, G. T.; Orr, B.; Diggory, Z.; Dudley, T.; Hatten, J.; Hultine, K. R.; Johnson, M. P.; Orr, D.

2014-12-01

Riparian systems across the American southwest region are under threat from a growing and intertwined cast of natural and anthropogenic stressors, including flooding, drought, invasion by non-native plants, wildfire, urban encroachment, and land- and water-use practices. In relatively remote and unregulated systems like the upper Gila River in Arizona, riparian habitat value has persisted reasonably well despite much of it being densely infested with non-native tamarisk (salt cedar). A new concern in the watershed, however, is the eventual arrival of the tamarisk leaf beetle that is expected to soon colonize the tamarisk-infested riparian corridor as the beetle continues to spread across the southwest region. While there are numerous potential benefits to tamarisk suppression (e.g., groundwater conservation, riparian habitat recovery, fire-risk reduction), short-term negative consequences are also possible, such as altered channel hydraulics and canopy defoliation during bird nesting season (e.g., the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher). In preparation for anticipated impacts following beetle colonization, we developed a holistic restoration framework to promote recovery of native riparian habitat and subsequent local increases in avian population. Pivotal to this process was an ecohydrological assessment that identified sustainable restoration sites based on consideration of natural and anthropogenic factors that, together, influence restoration opportunities—flood-scour dynamics, vegetation community structure and resilience, surface- and groundwater availability, soil texture and salinity, wildfire potential, and land-use activities. Data collected included high-resolution remote-sensing products, GIS-based delineation of geomorphic activity, and vegetation field mapping. These data along with other information generated, including pre-biocontrol vegetation monitoring and flycatcher-habitat modeling, were synthesized to produce a comprehensive

Variation and Genetic Structure in Platanus mexicana (Platanaceae along Riparian Altitudinal Gradient

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Dulce M. Galván-Hernández

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Platanus mexicana is a dominant arboreal species of riparian ecosystems. These ecosystems are associated with altitudinal gradients that can generate genetic differences in the species, especially in the extremes of the distribution. However, studies on the altitudinal effect on genetic variation to riparian species are scarce. In Mexico, the population of P. mexicana along the Colipa River (Veracruz State grows below its reported minimum altitude range, possibly the lowest where this tree grows. This suggests that altitude might be an important factor in population genetics differentiation. We examined the genetic variation and population structuring at four sites with different altitudes (70, 200, 600 and 1700 m a.s.l. using ten inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR markers. The highest value for Shannon index and Nei’s gene diversity was obtained at 1700 m a.s.l. (He = 0.27, Ne = 1.47, I = 0.42 and polymorphism reached the top value at the middle altitude (% p = 88.57. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA and STRUCTURE analysis indicated intrapopulation genetic differentiation. The arithmetic average (UPGMA dendrogram identified 70 m a.s.l. as the most genetically distant site. The genetic structuring resulted from limited gene flow and genetic drift. This is the first report of genetic variation in populations of P. mexicana in Mexico. This research highlights its importance as a dominant species, and its ecological and evolutionary implications in altitudinal gradients of riparian ecosystems.

From soil water to surface water – how the riparian zone controls element transport from a boreal forest to a stream

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F. Lidman

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Boreal headwaters are often lined by strips of highly organic soils, which are the last terrestrial environment to leave an imprint on discharging groundwater before it enters a stream. Because these riparian soils are so different from the Podzol soils that dominate much of the boreal landscape, they are known to have a major impact on the biogeochemistry of important elements such as C, N, P and Fe and the transfer of these elements from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. For most elements, however, the role of the riparian zone has remained unclear, although it should be expected that the mobility of many elements is affected by changes in, for example, pH, redox potential and concentration of organic carbon as they are transported through the riparian zone. Therefore, soil water and groundwater was sampled at different depths along a 22 m hillslope transect in the Krycklan catchment in northern Sweden using soil lysimeters and analysed for a large number of major and trace elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Si, Sr, Th, Ti, U, V, Zn, Zr and other parameters such as sulfate and total organic carbon (TOC. The results showed that the concentrations of most investigated elements increased substantially (up to 60 times as the water flowed from the uphill mineral soils and into the riparian zone, largely as a result of higher TOC concentrations. The stream water concentrations of these elements were typically somewhat lower than in the riparian zone, but still considerably higher than in the uphill mineral soils, which suggests that riparian soils have a decisive impact on the water quality of boreal streams. The degree of enrichment in the riparian zone for different elements could be linked to the affinity for organic matter, indicating that the pattern with strongly elevated concentrations in riparian soils is typical for organophilic substances. One likely explanation is that the

Riparian Raptors on USACE Projects: Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mitchell, Wilma

2000-01-01

...) reservoir operations. For management purposes, these raptors are considered riparian generalists because they inhabit the riparian zones surrounding streams and lakes on Corps project lands but may seasonally use adjacent...

Floodplain Vegetation Dynamics Modeling Using Coupled RiPCAS-DFLOW (CoRD): Jemez Canyon, Jemez River, New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, S. J.; Gregory, A. E.; Turner, M. A.; Chaulagain, S.; Cadol, D.; Stone, M. C.; Sheneman, L.

2017-12-01

Interactions among precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, runoff and other landscape properties set the stage for complex streamflow regimes and cascading riparian habitat impacts, particularly in semi-arid regions. A consortium of New Mexico, Nevada, and Idaho, funded through NSF-EPSCoR, has promulgated the Western Consortium for Watershed Analysis, Visualization, and Exploration (WC-WAVE). Two WC-WAVE objectives are to advance understanding of hydrologic interactions and ecosystem services, and to develop a virtual watershed platform (VWP) cyber-infrastructure to unite and streamline coordination among teams, databases and modeling tools. To provide proof of concept for the VWP and to study coevolution of riparian habitat mosaics and flood dynamics, the study team selected two models and developed a model coupling system for the Jemez River Canyon, Jemez River, NM. DFLOW is a 2-D hydrodynamic model for steady and unsteady flow conditions; the Riparian Community Alteration and Succession (RipCAS) model, developed using concepts from a vegetation disturbance and succession model (CASiMiR), uses shear stresses and flood depths from DFLOW to evolve riparian vegetation maps with associated roughness. The Coupled RipCAS-DFLOW (CoRD) model allows serial annual time step feedback of changes in peak-flow-derived depth and shear stress and vegetation-derived roughness values. An intuitive command-line interface on a computing cluster is used to call CoRD, which provides commands to calculate boundary conditions, perform multiple file and data format conversions and archive and compress decades of data. Four thirty-year synthetic annual maximum flood scenarios were selected for CoRD simulations, representing a historical wet period (1957-1986) a historical dry period (1986-2015), and flows doubling the historical wet period and halving the historical dry period. Event-driven coupled modeling simulates the spatial distribution of floodplain vegetation community evolution

Insects of the riparian

Science.gov (United States)

Terrence J. Rogers

1996-01-01

This paper describes life histories, defoliation problems and other activities of insects associated with forest tree species growing along high elevation streams and river banks. In addition, examples of insects and diseases associated with lower elevation riparian areas are given.

Riparian Habitat Management for Reptiles and Amphibians on Corps of Engineers Projects

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dickerson, Dena

2001-01-01

... important taxonomic groups such as reptiles and amphibians. This note provides an overview of the importance of riparian habitat at Corps projects for reptiles and amphibians, identifies riparian zone functions and habitat characteristics, provides examples of representative taxa and regional comparisons, and describes impacts of riparian habitat modification.

Riparian forests, a unique but endangered ecosystem in Benin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Natta, A.K.; Sinsin, B.; Maesen, van der L.J.G.

2002-01-01

Riparian forests are often small in area, but are of extreme ecological and economic value for local people. The interest of riparian forests lies in their resources: basically fertile and moist soils, water, wood and non-timber forest products that are utilised by neighbouring populations to

Reconstructing Historical Riparian Conditions of Two River Basins in Eastern Oregon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, Lynne S.

2008-09-01

As land use continues to alter riparian areas, historical information is increasingly needed to help establish reference conditions for monitoring and assessment. I developed and applied a procedure in the John Day and Deschutes river basins of eastern Oregon for synthesizing historical documentary records available across broad spatial areas to reconstruct 19th-century riparian conditions. The study area was stratified by ecoregion and stream physical characteristics to partition regional variability. Three primary data sources—General Land Office survey notes, historical photographs, and written accounts—provided descriptive records, which were grouped by topic to develop common riparian attributes. The number of records for each attribute was tallied by stratum to compare and contrast riparian structure and composition across strata and ecoregions. Detailed descriptions of historical riparian conditions using the original documentary records further illustrated the unique riparian conditions in each stratum. Similarities and differences in historical riparian structure and composition at the stratum and ecoregion levels were evident based on the distributional pattern and numbers of records of attributes across strata. A high number of repeated observations within and among primary data sources helped to corroborate descriptive data. Although these reference data cannot provide the detail needed for rigorous quantitative assessments, they do describe a range of conditions approaching a minimally disturbed condition and provide an important perspective for conducting riparian assessments in highly disturbed regions where least-disturbed reference sites are often poor examples of a desired condition.

GIS applications in riparian management

Science.gov (United States)

Carrie Christman; Douglas W. Shaw; Charles L. Spann; Penny Luehring

1996-01-01

GIS was used to prioritize watersheds for treatment needs across the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region. Factors in this analysis included soil condition, riparian habitat, population centers and mining sites.

Comparing herbaceous plant communities in active and passive riparian restoration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elise S Gornish

Full Text Available Understanding the efficacy of passive (reduction or cessation of environmental stress and active (typically involving planting or seeding restoration strategies is important for the design of successful revegetation of degraded riparian habitat, but studies explicitly comparing restoration outcomes are uncommon. We sampled the understory herbaceous plant community of 103 riparian sites varying in age since restoration (0 to 39 years and revegetation technique (active, passive, or none to compare the utility of different approaches on restoration success across sites. We found that landform type, percent shade, and summer flow helped explain differences in the understory functional community across all sites. In passively restored sites, grass and forb cover and richness were inversely related to site age, but in actively restored sites forb cover and richness were inversely related to site age. Native cover and richness were lower with passive restoration compared to active restoration. Invasive species cover and richness were not significantly different across sites. Although some of our results suggest that active restoration would best enhance native species in degraded riparian areas, this work also highlights some of the context-dependency that has been found to mediate restoration outcomes. For example, since the effects of passive restoration can be quite rapid, this approach might be more useful than active restoration in situations where rapid dominance of pioneer species is required to arrest major soil loss through erosion. As a result, we caution against labeling one restoration technique as better than another. Managers should identify ideal restoration outcomes in the context of historic and current site characteristics (as well as a range of acceptable alternative states and choose restoration approaches that best facilitate the achievement of revegetation goals.

Incorporating climate change projections into riparian restoration planning and design

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Laura G.; Reynolds, Lindsay V.; Beechie, Timothy J.; Collins, Mathias J.; Shafroth, Patrick B.

2015-01-01

Climate change and associated changes in streamflow may alter riparian habitats substantially in coming decades. Riparian restoration provides opportunities to respond proactively to projected climate change effects, increase riparian ecosystem resilience to climate change, and simultaneously address effects of both climate change and other human disturbances. However, climate change may alter which restoration methods are most effective and which restoration goals can be achieved. Incorporating climate change into riparian restoration planning and design is critical to long-term restoration of desired community composition and ecosystem services. In this review, we discuss and provide examples of how climate change might be incorporated into restoration planning at the key stages of assessing the project context, establishing restoration goals and design criteria, evaluating design alternatives, and monitoring restoration outcomes. Restoration planners have access to numerous tools to predict future climate, streamflow, and riparian ecology at restoration sites. Planners can use those predictions to assess which species or ecosystem services will be most vulnerable under future conditions, and which sites will be most suitable for restoration. To accommodate future climate and streamflow change, planners may need to adjust methods for planting, invasive species control, channel and floodplain reconstruction, and water management. Given the considerable uncertainty in future climate and streamflow projections, riparian ecological responses, and effects on restoration outcomes, planners will need to consider multiple potential future scenarios, implement a variety of restoration methods, design projects with flexibility to adjust to future conditions, and plan to respond adaptively to unexpected change.

Estimating riparian and agricultural evapotranspiration by reference crop evapotranspiration and MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index

Science.gov (United States)

Nagler, Pamela L.; Glenn, Edward P.; Nguyen, Uyen; Scott, Russell; Doody, Tania

2013-01-01

Dryland river basins frequently support both irrigated agriculture and riparian vegetation and remote sensing methods are needed to monitor water use by both crops and natural vegetation in irrigation districts. We developed an algorithm for estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa) based on the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensor on the EOS-1 Terra satellite and locally-derived measurements of reference crop ET (ETo). The algorithm was calibrated with five years of ETa data from three eddy covariance flux towers set in riparian plant associations on the upper San Pedro River, Arizona, supplemented with ETa data for alfalfa and cotton from the literature. The algorithm was based on an equation of the form ETa = ETo [a(1 − e−bEVI) − c], where the term (1 − e−bEVI) is derived from the Beer-Lambert Law to express light absorption by a canopy, with EVI replacing leaf area index as an estimate of the density of light-absorbing units. The resulting algorithm capably predicted ETa across riparian plants and crops (r2 = 0.73). It was then tested against water balance data for five irrigation districts and flux tower data for two riparian zones for which season-long or multi-year ETa data were available. Predictions were within 10% of measured results in each case, with a non-significant (P = 0.89) difference between mean measured and modeled ETa of 5.4% over all validation sites. Validation and calibration data sets were combined to present a final predictive equation for application across crops and riparian plant associations for monitoring individual irrigation districts or for conducting global water use assessments of mixed agricultural and riparian biomes.

Estimating Riparian and Agricultural Actual Evapotranspiration by Reference Evapotranspiration and MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Russell L. Scott

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Dryland river basins frequently support both irrigated agriculture and riparian vegetation and remote sensing methods are needed to monitor water use by both crops and natural vegetation in irrigation districts. We developed an algorithm for estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa based on the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS sensor on the EOS-1 Terra satellite and locally-derived measurements of reference crop ET (ETo. The algorithm was calibrated with five years of ETa data from three eddy covariance flux towers set in riparian plant associations on the upper San Pedro River, Arizona, supplemented with ETa data for alfalfa and cotton from the literature. The algorithm was based on an equation of the form ETa = ETo [a(1 − e−bEVI − c], where the term (1 − e−bEVI is derived from the Beer-Lambert Law to express light absorption by a canopy, with EVI replacing leaf area index as an estimate of the density of light-absorbing units. The resulting algorithm capably predicted ETa across riparian plants and crops (r2 = 0.73. It was then tested against water balance data for five irrigation districts and flux tower data for two riparian zones for which season-long or multi-year ETa data were available. Predictions were within 10% of measured results in each case, with a non-significant (P = 0.89 difference between mean measured and modeled ETa of 5.4% over all validation sites. Validation and calibration data sets were combined to present a final predictive equation for application across crops and riparian plant associations for monitoring individual irrigation districts or for conducting global water use assessments of mixed agricultural and riparian biomes.

Random River Fluctuations Shape the Root Profile of Riparian Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Perona, P.; Tron, S.; Gorla, L.; Schwarz, M.; Laio, F.; Ridolfi, L.

2015-12-01

Plant roots are recognized to play a key role in the riparian ecosystems: they contribute to the plant as well as to the streambank and bedforms stability, help to enhance the water quality of the river, and sustain the belowground biodiversity. The complexity of the root-system architecture recalls their remarkable ability to respond to environmental conditions, notably including soil heterogeneity, resource availability, and climate. In fluvial environments where nutrient availability is not a limiting factor for plant to grow, the root growth of phreatophytic plants is strongly influenced by water and oxygen availability in the soil. In this work, we demonstrate that the randomness of water table fluctuations, determined by streamflow stochastic variability, is likely to be the main driver for the root development strategy of riparian plants. A collection of root measurements from field and outdoor controlled experiments is used to demonstrate that the vertical root density distribution can be described by a simple analytical expression, whose parameters are linked to properties of soil, plant and water table fluctuations. This physically-based expression is able to predict riparian plant roots adaptability to different hydrological and pedologic scenarios in riverine environments. Hence, this model has great potential towards the comprehension of the effects of future climate and environmental changing conditions on plant adaptation and river ecomorphodynamic processes. Finally, we present an open access graphical user interface that we developed in order to estimate the vertical root distribution in fluvial environments and to make the model easily available to a wider scientific and professional audience.

Delineation of the riparian zone in data-scarce regions using fuzzy membership functions: An evaluation based on the case of the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan

Science.gov (United States)

Betz, Florian; Lauermann, Magdalena; Cyffka, Bernd

2018-04-01

Riparian zones contain important ecosystems with a high biodiversity and relevant ecosystem services. From a process point of view, riparian zones are characterized by the interaction of hydrological, geomorphological and ecological processes. Consequently, their boundary is dynamic and blurred as it depends on not only the local valley morphology but also the hydrological regime. This makes a delineation of riparian zones from digital elevation data a challenging task as it should represent this blurred nature of riparian zone boundaries. While the application of high resolution topography from LIDAR and hydraulic models have become standard in many developed countries, studies and applications in remote areas still commonly rely on the freely available coarse resolution digital elevation models. In this article, we present the delineation of riparian zones from the SRTM-1 elevation model and fuzzy membership functions for the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan having a length of approximately 700 km. We evaluate the extraction of the underlying channel network as well as the different indicator variables. The maximum user's accuracy for the delineation of riparian zones along the entire Naryn River is 82.14% reflecting the uncertainty arising from the heterogeneity of the riverscape as well as from the quality of the underlying elevation data. Despite the uncertainty, the fuzzy membership approach is considered as an appropriate method for riparian zone delineation as it reflects their dynamic, transitional character and can be used as indicator of connectivity within a riverscape.

Explaining landholders' decisions about riparian zone management: the role of behavioural, normative, and control beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Fielding, Kelly S; Terry, Deborah J; Masser, Barbara M; Bordia, Prashant; Hogg, Michael A

2005-10-01

Water quality is a key concern in the current global environment, with the need to promote practices that help to protect water quality, such as riparian zone management, being paramount. The present study used the theory of planned behaviour as a framework for understanding how beliefs influence decisions about riparian zone management. Respondents completed a survey that assessed their behavioural, normative, and control beliefs in relation to intentions to manage riparian zones on their property. The results of the study showed that, overall, landholders with strong intentions to manage their riparian zones differed significantly in terms of their beliefs compared to landholders who had weak intentions to manage their riparian zones. Strong intentions to manage riparian zones were associated with a favourable cost-benefit analysis, greater perceptions of normative support for the practice and lower perceptions of the extent to which barriers would impede management of riparian zones. It was also evident that willingness to comply with the recommendations of salient referents, beliefs about the benefits of riparian zone management and perceptions of the extent to which barriers would impede riparian zone management were most important for determining intentions to manage riparian zones. Implications for policy and extension practice are discussed.

Interactions Study of Hydrodynamic-Morphology-Vegetation for Dam-Break Flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingliang Zhang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study models a dam-break flow over a bed by using a depth-averaged numerical model based on finite-volume method and computes the dam-break flow and bed morphology characteristics. The generalized shallow water equations considering the sediment transport and bed change on dam-break flow are adopted in the numerical model, and the vegetation effects on the flow and morphological changes are considered. The model is verified against three cases from the laboratory and field data documented in the literature. The numerical results are consistent with the measured results, which show that the model could accurately simulate the evolution of the dam-break flows and the morphology evolution of bed within a computational domain with complex plant distribution. The results show that the riparian vegetation in the waterway narrows the channel and reduces the conveyance capacity of river. The flood flow is diverted away from the vegetation community toward two sides and forms a weak flow region behind the vegetation domain. The resistance of plants markedly reduces the flow velocity, which directly alters the fluvial processes and influences the waterway morphology.

Understanding the Science Behind Riparian Forest Buffers: Effects on Plant and Animal Communities

OpenAIRE

Klapproth, Julia C.; Johnson, James E. (James Eric), 1952-

2009-01-01

Discusses riparian forests' ability to support many species of wildlife and explains that the importance of a particular riparian area for wildlife will depend on the size of the area, adjoining land uses, riparian vegetation, features inside the area, and the wildlife species of interest.

Riparian and Upland Restoration at the U.S. Department of Energy Rocky Flats, Colorado, Site - 12360

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nelson, Jody K. [S.M. Stoller Corporation, Contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management, Westminster, Colorado 80021 (United States)

2012-07-01

Remedial investigation and cleanup at the Rocky Flats, Colorado, Site was completed in 2005. Uplands, riparian, and wetland habitat were disturbed during cleanup and closure activities and required extensive revegetation. Unavoidable disturbances to habitat of the Preble's meadow jumping mouse (a federally listed species) and wetlands required consultation with regulatory agencies and mitigation. Mitigation wetlands were constructed in two drainages, and a third developed naturally where a soil borrow area intercepted the groundwater table. During the 50-plus years of site operations, 12 ponds were constructed in three drainages to manage and retain runoff and sewage treatment plant discharges prior to release off site. A batch-release protocol has been used for the past several decades at the terminal ponds, which has affected the riparian communities downstream. To return the hydrologic regime to a more natural flow-through system similar to the pre-industrial-use conditions, seven interior dams (of 12) have been breached, and the remaining five dams are scheduled for breaching between 2011 and 2020. At the breached dams, the former open water areas have transformed to emergent wetlands, and the stream reaches have returned to a flow-through system. Riparian and wetland vegetation has established very well. The valves of the terminal ponds were opened in fall 2011 to begin flow-through operations and provide water to the downstream plant communities while allowing reestablishment of vegetation in the former pond bottoms prior to breaching. A number of challenges and issues were addressed during the revegetation effort. These included reaching an agreement on revegetation goals, addressing poor substrate quality and soil compaction problems, using soil amendments and topsoil, selecting seeds, determining the timing and location of revegetation projects relative to continuing closure activities, weed control, erosion control, revegetation project field

Soil water nitrate concentrations in giant cane and forest riparian buffer zones

Science.gov (United States)

Jon E. Schoonover; Karl W. J. Williard; James J. Zaczek; Jean C. Mangun; Andrew D. Carver

2003-01-01

Soil water nitrate concentrations in giant cane and forest riparian buffer zones along Cypress Creek in southern Illinois were compared to determine if the riparian zones were sources or sinks for nitrogen in the rooting zone. Suction lysimeters were used to collect soil water samples from the lower rooting zone in each of the two vegetation types. The cane riparian...

Riparian Habitat - San Joaquin River

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — The immediate focus of this study is to identify, describe and map the extent and diversity of riparian habitats found along the main stem of the San Joaquin River,...

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG GEOMORPHOLOGY, HYDROLOGY, AND VEGETATION IN RIPARIAN MEADOWS: RESTORATION IMPLICATIONS

Science.gov (United States)

Vegetation patterns and dynamics within riparian corridors are controlled largely by geomorphic position, substrate characteristics and hydrologic regimes. Understanding management and restoration options for riparian meadow complexes exhibiting stream incision requires knowledge...

Quantifying the contribution of riparian soils to the provision of ecosystem services.

Science.gov (United States)

de Sosa, Laura L; Glanville, Helen C; Marshall, Miles R; Prysor Williams, A; Jones, Davey L

2018-05-15

Riparian areas, the interface between land and freshwater ecosystems, are considered to play a pivotal role in the supply of regulating, provisioning, cultural and supporting services. Most previous studies, however, have tended to focus on intensive agricultural systems and only on a single ecosystem function. Here, we present the first study which attempts to assess a wide range of ecological processes involved in the provision of the ecosystem service of water quality regulation across a diverse range of riparian typologies. Specifically, we focus on 1) evaluating the spatial variation in riparian soils properties with respect to distance with the river and soil depth in contrasting habitat types; 2) gaining further insights into the underlying mechanisms of pollutant removal (i.e. pesticide sorption/degradation, denitrification, etc.) by riparian soils; and 3) quantify and evaluate how riparian vegetation across different habitat types contribute to the provision of watercourse shading. All the habitats were present within a single large catchment and included: (i) improved grassland, (ii) unimproved (semi-natural) grassland, (iii) broadleaf woodland, (iv) coniferous woodland, and (iv) mountain, heath and bog. Taking all the data together, the riparian soils could be statistically separated by habitat type, providing evidence that they deliver ecosystem services to differing extents. Overall, however, our findings seem to contradict the general assumption that soils in riparian area are different from neighbouring (non-riparian) areas and that they possess extra functionality in terms of ecosystem service provision. Watercourse shading was highly habitat specific and was maximal in forests (ca. 52% shade cover) in comparison to the other habitat types (7-17%). Our data suggest that the functioning of riparian areas in less intensive agricultural areas, such as those studied here, may be broadly predicted from the surrounding land use, however, further research

Assessing Riparian Vegetation Condition and Function in Disturbed Sites of the Arid Northwestern Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lara Cornejo-Denman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Transformation or modification of vegetation distribution and structure in arid riparian ecosystems can lead to the loss of ecological function. Mexico has 101,500,000 ha of arid lands, however there is a general lack of information regarding how arid riparian ecosystems are being modified. To assess these modifications, we use eight sites in the San Miguel River (central Sonora to analyze (1 riparian vegetation composition, structure and distribution using field sampling and remote sensing data from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV; (2 productivity (proxies, using vegetation indices derived from satellite data; and (3 variability posed by riparian vegetation and vegetation adjacent to riparian habitats. The development of a simple yet informative Anthropogenic-disturbance Index (ADI allowed us to classify and describe each study site. We found sharp differences in vegetation composition and structure between sites due to the absence/presence of obligate-riparian species. We also report significant difference between EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index values for the dry season among vegetation types that develop near the edges of the river but differ in composition, suggesting that land cover changes form obligate-riparian to facultative-riparian species can lead to a loss in potential productivity. Finally, our tests suggest that sites with higher disturbance present lower photosynthetic activity.

Riparian ecosystems and buffers - multiscale structure, function, and management: introduction

Science.gov (United States)

Kathleen A. Dwire; Richard R. Lowrance

2006-01-01

Given the importance of issues related to improved understanding and management of riparian ecosystems and buffers, the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) sponsored a Summer Specialty Conference in June 2004 at Olympic Valley, California, entitled 'Riparian Ecosystems and Buffers: Multiscale Structure, Function, and Management.' The primary objective...

Protocols for Mapping and Characterizing Land Use/Land Cover in Riparian Zones

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johnson, Michaela R; Zelt, Ronald B

2005-01-01

.... Characterization of riparian systems is critical to a comprehensive understanding of nutrient enrichment effects on stream ecosystems because riparian functions provide an important ecological...

Links between riparian landcover, instream environment and fish assemblages in headwater streams of south-eastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Bruna B.; Miranda, Leandro E.; Cetra, Mauricio

2013-01-01

We hypothesised and tested a hierarchical organisation model where riparian landcover would influence bank composition and light availability, which in turn would influence instream environments and control fish assemblages. The study was conducted during the dry season in 11 headwater tributaries of the Sorocaba River in the upper Paraná River Basin, south-eastern Brazil. We focused on seven environmental factors each represented by one or multiple environmental variables and seven fish functional traits each represented by two or more classes. Multivariate direct gradient analyses suggested that riparian zone landcover can be considered a higher level causal factor in a network of relations that control instream characteristics and fish assemblages. Our results provide a framework for a hierarchical conceptual model that identifies singular and collective influences of variables from different scales on each other and ultimately on different aspects related to stream fish functional composition. This conceptual model is focused on the relationships between riparian landcover and instream variables as causal factors on the organisation of stream fish assemblages. Our results can also be viewed as a model for headwater stream management in that landcover can be manipulated to influence factors such as bank composition, substrates and water quality, whereas fish assemblage composition can be used as indicators to monitor the success of such efforts.

Riparian restoration in the context of Tamarix control in the western United States: Chapter 23

Science.gov (United States)

Shafroth, Patrick B.; Merritt, David M.; Briggs, Mark K.; Beauchamp, Vanessa B.; Lair, Kenneth D.; Scott, Michael L.; Sher, Anna; Sher, Anna; Quigley, Martin F.

2013-01-01

This chapter focuses on the restoration of riparian systems in the context of Tamarix control—that is, Tamarix-dominated sites are converted to a replacement vegetation type that achieves specific management goals and helps return parts of the system to a desired and more natural state or dynamic. It reviews research related to restoring native riparian vegetation following tamarix control or removal. The chapter begins with an overview of objective setting and the planning of tamarix control and proceeds by emphasizing the importance of considering site-specific factors and of context in selecting and prioritizing sites for restoration. In particular, it considers valley and bottomland geomorphology, along with river flow regime and associated fluvial disturbance, surface water and groundwater availability, and soil salinity and texture. The chapter concludes with a discussion of costs and benefits associated with active, passive, and combined ecological restoration approaches, as well as the key issues to consider in carrying out restoration projects at a range of scales.

Importance of riparian remnants for frog species diversity in a highly fragmented rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Mendoza, Clara; Pineda, Eduardo

2010-12-23

Tropical forests undergo continuous transformation to other land uses, resulting in landscapes typified by forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic habitats. Small forest fragments, specifically strip-shaped remnants flanking streams (referred to as riparian remnants), can be particularly important for the maintenance and conservation of biodiversity within highly fragmented forests. We compared frog species diversity between riparian remnants, other forest fragments and cattle pastures in a tropical landscape in Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. We found similar species richness in the three habitats studied and a similar assemblage structure between riparian remnants and forest fragments, although species composition differed by 50 per cent. Frog abundance was halved in riparian remnants compared with forest fragments, but was twice that found in pastures. Our results suggest that riparian remnants play an important role in maintaining a portion of frog species diversity in a highly fragmented forest, particularly during environmentally stressful (hot and dry) periods. In this regard, however, the role of riparian remnants is complementary, rather than substitutive, with respect to the function of other forest fragments within the fragmented forest.

Costs of Producing Biomass from Riparian Buffer Strips

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turhollow, A.

2000-09-01

Nutrient runoff from poultry litter applied to agricultural fields in the Delmarva Peninsula contributes to high nutrient loadings in Chesapeake Bay. One potential means of ameliorating this problem is the use of riparian buffer strips. Riparian buffer strips intercept overland flows of water, sediments, nutrients, and pollutants; and ground water flows of nutrients and pollutants. Costs are estimated for three biomass systems grown on buffer strips: willow planted at a density of 15,300 trees/ha (6200 trees/acre); poplar planted at a density of 1345 trees/ha (545 trees/acre); and switchgrass. These costs are estimated for five different scenarios: (1) total economic costs, where everything is costed [cash costs, noncash costs (e.g., depreciation), land rent, labor]; (2) costs with Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments (which pays 50% of establishment costs and an annual land rent); (3) costs with enhanced CRP payments (which pays 95% of establishment costs and an annual payment of approximately 170% of land rent for trees and 150% of land rent for grasses); (4) costs when buffer strips are required, but harvest of biomass is not required [costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities (e.g., fertilization), harvest, and transport]; and (5) costs when buffer strips are required. and harvest of biomass is required to remove nutrients (costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities and transport). CRP regulations would have to change to allow harvest. Delivered costs of willow, poplar, and switchgrass [including transportation costs of $0.38/GJ ($0.40/million Btu) for switchgrass and $0.57/GJ ($0.60/million Btu) for willow and poplar] at 11.2 dry Mg/ha-year (5 dry tons/acre-year) for the five cost scenarios listed above are [$/GJ ($million BIN)]: (1) 3.30-5.45 (3.45-5.75); (2) 2.30-3.80 (2.45-4.00); (3) 1.70-2.45 (1.80-2.60); (4) l-85-3.80 (1.95-4.05); and (5) 0.80-1.50 (0.85-1.60). At yields of 15.7 to 17.9 GJ/ha-year (7 to 8 dry tons

Monitoring and mapping selected riparian habitat along the lower Snake River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Downs, J. L; Tiller, B. L [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Witter, M. [Shannon and Wilson, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States). Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants, Seattle, Washington (United States); Mazaika, R. [Corps of Engineers, Portland, OR (United States)

1996-01-01

Studies in this document were initiated to establish baseline information on riparian and wetland habitat conditions at the areas studied under the current reservoir operations on the lower Snake River. Two approaches were used to assess habitat at 28 study sites selected on the four pools on the lower Snake River. These areas all contribute significant riparian habitat along the river, and several of these areas are designated habitat management units. At 14 of the 28 sites, we monitored riparian habitat on three dates during the growing season to quantify vegetation abundance and composition along three transects: soil nutrients, moisture, and pH and water level and pH. A second approach involved identifying any differences in the extent and amount of riparian/wetland habitat currently found at the study areas from that previously documented. We used both ground and boat surveys to map and classify the changes in vegetative cover along the shoreline at the 14 monitoring sites and at 14 additional sites along the lower Snake selected to represent various riparian/wetland habitat conditions. Results of these mapping efforts are compared with maps of cover types previously generated using aerial photography taken in 1987.

Riparian Meadow Response to Modern Conservation Grazing Management

Science.gov (United States)

Oles, Kristin M.; Weixelman, Dave A.; Lile, David F.; Tate, Kenneth W.; Snell, Laura K.; Roche, Leslie M.

2017-09-01

Riparian meadows occupy a small proportion of the public lands in the western United States but they provide numerous ecosystem services, including the production of high-quality forage for livestock grazing. Modern conservation management strategies (e.g., reductions in livestock stocking rates and adoption of new riparian grazing standards) have been implemented to better balance riparian conservation and livestock production objectives on publicly managed lands. We examined potential relationships between long-term changes in plant community, livestock grazing pressure and environmental conditions at two spatial scales in meadows grazed under conservation management strategies. Changes in plant community were not associated with either livestock stocking rate or precipitation at the grazing allotment (i.e., administrative) scale. Alternatively, both grazing pressure and precipitation had significant, albeit modest, associations with changes in plant community at the meadow (i.e., ecological site) scale. These results suggest that reductions in stocking rate have improved the balance between riparian conservation and livestock production goals. However, associations between elevation, site wetness, precipitation, and changes in plant community suggest that changing climate conditions (e.g., reduced snowpack and changes in timing of snowmelt) could trigger shifts in plant communities, potentially impacting both conservation and agricultural services (e.g., livestock and forage production). Therefore, adaptive, site-specific management strategies are required to meet grazing pressure limits and safeguard ecosystem services within individual meadows, especially under more variable climate conditions.

Managing water and riparian habitats on the Bill Williams River with scientific benefit for other desert river systems

Science.gov (United States)

John Hickey,; Woodrow Fields,; Andrew Hautzinger,; Steven Sesnie,; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Dick Gilbert,

2016-01-01

This report details modeling to: 1) codify flow-ecology relationships for riparian species of the Bill Williams River as operational guidance for water managers, 2) test the guidance under different climate scenarios, and 3) revise the operational guidance as needed to address the effects of climate change. Model applications detailed herein include the River Analysis System  (HEC-RAS) and the Ecosystem Functions Model  (HEC-EFM), which was used to generate more than three million estimates of local seedling recruitment areas. Areas were aggregated and compared to determine which scenarios generated the most seedling area per unit volume of water. Scenarios that maximized seedling area were grouped into a family of curves that serve as guidance for water managers. This work has direct connections to water management decision-making and builds upon and adds to the rich history of science-based management for the Bill Williams River, Arizona, USA. 

Metal concentrations in urban riparian sediments along an urbanization gradient

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel J. Bain; Ian D. Yesilonis; Richard V. Pouyat

2012-01-01

Urbanization impacts fluvial systems via a combination of changes in sediment chemistry and basin hydrology. While chemical changes in urban soils have been well characterized, similar surveys of riparian sediments in urbanized areas are rare. Metal concentrations were measured in sediments collected from riparian areas across the urbanization gradient in Baltimore, MD...

Drivers of increased organic carbon concentrations in stream water following forest disturbance: Separating effects of changes in flow pathways and soil warming

Science.gov (United States)

Schelker, J.; Grabs, T.; Bishop, K.; Laudon, H.

2013-12-01

disturbance such as clear-cutting has been identified as an important factor for increasing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in boreal streams. We used a long-term data set of soil temperature, soil moisture, shallow groundwater (GW) levels, and stream DOC concentrations from three boreal first-order streams to investigate mechanisms causing these increases. Clear-cutting was found to alter soil conditions with warmer and wetter soils during summer. The application of a riparian flow concentration integration model (RIM) explained a major part of variation in stream [DOC] arising from changing flow pathways in riparian soils during the pretreatment period (r2 = 0.4-0.7), but less well after the harvest. Model residuals were sensitive to changes in soil temperature. The linear regression models for the temperature dependence of [DOC] in soils were not different in the disturbed and undisturbed catchments, whereas a nonlinear response to soil moisture was found. Overall these results suggest that the increased DOC mobilization after forest disturbance is caused by (i) increased GW levels leading to increased water fluxes in shallow flow path in riparian soils and (ii) increased soil temperature increasing the DOC availability in soils during summer. These relationships indicate that the mechanisms of DOC mobilization after forest disturbance are not different to those of undisturbed catchments, but that catchment soils respond to the higher hydro-climatic variation observed after clear-cutting. This highlights the sensitivity of boreal streams to changes in the energy and water balance, which may be altered as a result of both land management and climate change.

Identification of flow paths and quantification of return flow volumes and timing at field scale

Science.gov (United States)

Claes, N.; Paige, G. B.; Parsekian, A.

2017-12-01

Flood irrigation, which constitutes a large part of agricultural water use, accounts for a significant amount of the water that is diverted from western streams. Return flow, the portion of the water applied to irrigated areas that returns to the stream, is important for maintaining base flows in streams and ecological function of riparian zones and wetlands hydrologically linked with streams. Prediction of timing and volumes of return flow during and after flood irrigation pose a challenge due to the heterogeneity of pedogenic and soil physical factors that influence vadose zone processes. In this study, we quantify volumes of return flow and potential pathways in the subsurface through a vadose zone flow model that is informed by both hydrological and geophysical observations in a Bayesian setting. We couple a two-dimensional vadose zone flow model through a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach with time lapse ERT, borehole NMR datasets that are collected during and after flood irrigation experiments, and soil physical lab analysis. The combination of both synthetic models and field observations leads to flow path identification and allows for quantification of volumes and timing and associated uncertainties of subsurface return that stems from flood irrigation. The quantification of the impact of soil heterogeneity enables us to translate these results to other sites and predict return flow under different soil physical settings. This is key when managing irrigation water resources and predictions of outcomes of different scenarios have to be evaluated.

Riparian adaptive management symposium: a conversation between scientists and management

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas F. Ryan; John M. Calhoun

2010-01-01

Scientists, land managers and policy makers discussed whether riparian (stream side) forest management and policy for state, federal and private lands in western Washington are consistent with current science. Answers were mixed: some aspects of riparian policy and management have a strong basis in current science, while other aspects may not. Participants agreed that...

THE INFLUENCE OF CHECK DAMS ON FLUVIAL PROCESSES AND RIPARIAN VEGETATION IN MOUNTAIN REACHES OF TORRENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Bombino

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The complex hydrogeomorphological processes within the active channel of rivers strongly influence riparian vegetation development and organization, particularly in mountain streams where such processes can be remarkably impacted by engineering control works. In four mountain reaches of Calabrian fiumaras we analyze, through previously arranged methods (integrated by a multivariate statistic analysis, the relationships among hydrogeomorphological river characteristics and structure and the development of riparian vegetation within the active channel in transects located in proximity of check dams and in less disturbed sites. The results of this study demonstrate clear and relevant contrasts, due to the presence of check dams, in the physical and vegetation properties of upstream, downstream and intermediate sites around check dams. The multivariate statistical approach through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA highlighted evident relationships in all transects between groups of physical and vegetation properties. The regression analysis performed between the vegetation properties and the width:depth ratio or the specific discharge showed very different relationships between groups of transects, due to evident changes in channel morphology and in flow regime locally induced by check dams. Overall we have shown that check dams have far reaching effects in the extent and development of riparian vegetation of mountain torrent reaches, which extend far beyond physical adjustments to changed morphological, hydraulic and sedimentary conditions.

A framework for profiling a lake's riparian area development potential

Science.gov (United States)

Pamela J. Jakes; Ciara Schlichting; Dorothy H. Anderson

2003-01-01

Some of the greatest challenges for managing residential development occur at the interface between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems -in a lake`s riparian area. Land use planners need a framework they can use to identify development hotspots, areas were the next push for development will most likely occur. Lake riparian development profiles provide a framework...

Nitrous oxide emission from cropland and adjacent riparian buffers in contrasting hydrogeomorphic settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, K; Jacinthe, P A; Vidon, P; Liu, X; Baker, M E

2014-01-01

Riparian buffers are important nitrate (NO) sinks in agricultural watersheds, but limited information is available regarding the intensity and control of nitrous oxide (NO) emission from these buffers. This study monitored (December 2009-May 2011) NO fluxes at two agricultural riparian buffers in the White River watershed in Indiana to assess the impact of land use and hydrogeomorphologic (HGM) attributes on emission. The study sites included a riparian forest in a glacial outwash/alluvium setting (White River [WR]) and a grassed riparian buffer in tile-drained till plains (Leary Weber Ditch [LWD]). Adjacent corn ( L.) fields were monitored for land use assessment. Analysis of variance identified season, land use (riparian buffer vs. crop field), and site geomorphology as major drivers of NO fluxes. Strong relationships between N mineralization and NO fluxes were found at both sites, but relationships with other nutrient cycling indicators (C/N ratio, dissolved organic C, microbial biomass C) were detected only at LWD. Nitrous oxide emission showed strong seasonal variability; the largest NO peaks occurred in late spring/early summer as a result of flooding at the WR riparian buffer (up to 27.8 mg NO-N m d) and N fertilizer application to crop fields. Annual NO emission (kg NO-N ha) was higher in the crop fields (WR: 7.82; LWD: 6.37) than in the riparian areas. A significant difference ( LWD, respectively), and this difference was attributed to site geomorphology and flooding (WR is flood prone; no flooding occurred at tile-drained LWD). The study results demonstrate the significance of landscape geomorphology and land-stream connection (i.e., flood potential) as drivers of NO emission in riparian buffers and therefore argue that an HGM-based approach should be especially suitable for determination of regional NO budget in riparian ecosystems. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Population and Habitat Objectives for Avian Conservation in California's Central Valley Riparian Ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristen E. Dybala

2017-03-01

Full Text Available https://doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2017v15iss1art5Riparian ecosystems provide important ecosystem services and recreational opportunities for people, and habitat for wildlife. In California’s Central Valley, government agencies and private organizations are working together to protect and restore riparian ecosystems, and the Central Valley Joint Venture provides leadership in the formulation of goals and objectives for avian conservation in riparian ecosystems. We defined a long-term conservation goal as the establishment of riparian ecosystems that provide sufficient habitat to support genetically robust, self-sustaining, and resilient bird populations. To achieve this goal, we selected a suite of 12 breeding riparian landbird focal species as indicators of the state of riparian ecosystems in each of four major Central Valley planning regions. Using recent bird survey data, we estimated that over half of the regional focal species populations are currently small (< 10,000 and may be vulnerable to extirpation, and two species have steeply declining population trends. For each focal species in each region, we defined long-term (100-year population objectives that are intended to be conservation endpoints that we expect to meet the goal of genetically robust, self-sustaining, and resilient populations. We then estimated the long-term species density and riparian restoration objectives required to achieve the long-term population objectives. To track progress toward the long-term objectives, we propose short-term (10- year objectives, including the addition of 12,919 ha (31,923 ac of riparian vegetation in the Central Valley (by planning region: 3,390 ha in Sacramento, 2,390 ha in Yolo–Delta, 3,386 ha in San Joaquin, and 3,753 ha in Tulare. We expect that reaching these population, density, and habitat objectives through threat abatement, habitat restoration, and habitat enhancement will result in improvements to riparian ecosystem function and

Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Salamanders in Riparian Forests: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah L. Clipp

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Salamanders and riparian forests are intimately interconnected. Salamanders are integral to ecosystem functions, contributing to vertebrate biomass and complex food webs in riparian forests. In turn, these forests are critical ecosystems that perform many environmental services, facilitate high biodiversity and species richness, and provide habitat to salamander populations. Due to the global decline of amphibians, it is important to understand, as thoroughly and holistically as possible, the roles of environmental parameters and the impact of human activities on salamander abundance and diversity in riparian forests. To determine the population responses of salamanders to a variety of environmental factors and anthropogenic activities, we conducted a review of published literature that compared salamander abundance and diversity, and then summarized and synthesized the data into general patterns. We identify stream quality, leaf litter and woody debris, riparian buffer width, and soil characteristics as major environmental factors influencing salamander populations in riparian forests, describe and explain salamander responses to those factors, and discuss the effects of anthropogenic activities such as timber harvest, prescribed fires, urbanization, road construction, and habitat fragmentation. This review can assist land and natural resource managers in anticipating the consequences of human activities and preparing strategic conservation plans.

Community Structure of Riparian Community of Sematang Borang River of South Sumatera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yetty Hastiana

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Vegetasi riparian adalah sebagai ekoton antara habitat teresterial dengan sistem perairan (sungai. Penyangga riparian berfungsi untuk menjaga kelestarian fungsi sungai dengan cara menahan atau menangkap tanah (lumpur yang tererosi serta unsur hara dan bahan kimia termasuk pestisida yang terbawa dari lahan dibagian kiri kanan sungai agar tidak masuk ke perairan. Sungai Sematang Borang merupakan bagian dari Daerah Aliran Sungai (DAS Musi, Sungai Sematang Borang memiliki karaketeristik struktur sungai dengan panjang seitar 5 km, lebar sungai mencapai 70 m dan kedalaman sekitar 10 m. Saat ini sungai ini mulai terancam mengalami penurunan kualitas baik fisik, kimia maupun biologi Selain kehilangan habitat alami ikan yang akan berdampak pada penurunan kelimpahan dan biodiversity, perairan ini juga mengalami abrasi pada sisi kiri kanan tebing sungai. Keberadaan vegetasi riparian menjadi penting, selain untuk mencegah abrasi, juga berperan dalam produksi serasah. Produksi serasah berkontribusi dalam transfer bahan organik vegetasi ke dalam tanah. Unsur hara yang dhasilkan dari proses dekomposisi serasah dalam tanah sangat penting bagi kelangsungan hidup vegetasi dan sebagai sumber detritus bagi ekosistem dalam menyokong kehidupan organisme akuatik. Pentingnya kontribusi vegetasi riparian dalam suatu ekosistem, maka perlu dilakukan penelitian terhadap diversitas dan profil vegetasi. Kajian aspek vegetasi, diperkuat dengan melakukan pengamatan terhadap kondisi fisik kimia perairan Sematang Borang. Parameter fisik kimiaperairan yang diamati meliputi: suhu, kedalaman, kecepatan arus, COD, BOD, DO, pH, dan Salinitas. Penelitian menerapkan metode ekologi deskriptif kuantitatif dan kualitatif, untuk analisis kualitas fisik kimia perairan didukung analisis laboratorium dan survei. Hasil penelitian teridentifikasi 15 species riparian dengan kategori indeks keanekaragaman riparian 0,09-1,03 dan memiliki pola penyebaran cenderung berkelompok

Susceptibility of riparian wetland plants to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) accumulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mudumbi, J B N; Ntwampe, S K O; Muganza, M; Okonkwo, J O

2014-01-01

As plants have been shown to accumulate organic compounds from contaminated sediments, there is a potential for long-lasting ecological impact as a result of contaminant accumulation in riparian areas of wetlands, particularly the accumulation of non-biodegradable contaminants such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). In this study, commonly found riparian wetland plants including reeds, i.e., Xanthium strumarium, Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus corymbosus, Ruppia maritime; Populus canescens, Polygonum salicifolium, Cyperus congestus; Persicaria amphibian, Ficus carica, Artemisia schmidtiana, Eichhornia crassipes, were studied to determine their susceptibility to PFOA accumulation from PFOA contaminated riparian sediment with a known PFOA concentration, using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The bioconcentration factor (BCF) indicated that the plants affinity to PFOA accumulation was; E. crassipes, > P. sali-cifolium, > C. congestus, > P. x canescens, > P. amphibian, > F. carica, > A. schmidtiana, > X. strumarium,> P. australis, > R. maritime, > S. corymbosus. The concentration of PFOA in the plants and/or reeds was in the range 11.7 to 38 ng/g, with a BCF range of 0.05 to 0.37. The highest BCF was observed in sediment for which its core water had a high salinity, total organic carbon and a pH which was near neutral. As the studied plants had a higher affinity for PFOA, the resultant effect is that riparian plants such as E. crassipes, X. strumarium, and P. salicifolium, typified by a fibrous rooting system, which grow closer to the water edge, exacerbate the accumulation of PFOA in riparian wetlands.

Post-wildfire natural restoration of riparian vegetation under stable hydro-geomorphic conditions: Nahal Grar, Northern Negev Desert, Israel

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Egozi, Roey

2015-04-01

Wildfires are common to the Mediterranean region due to its defined dry season and long historical anthropogenic activities. Most of post-wildfire studies focus on mountains areas and thus refer to the hill-slope and its physical characteristics, e.g. morphology, length, angles, and aspect; its soil characteristics, e.g. type, infiltration rate, repellency; and its vegetative covers, e.g. planted trees vs. natural forest or native vs. exotic vegetation. In contrary there is very limited literature focusing on ecological and hydro-geomorphic aspects of post-wildfire of riparian vegetation / zone probably because of its negligible burned area relative to the spread of the fire, sometimes, over the whole watershed area. The limited literature on the topic is surprising given the fact that riparian vegetation zone has been acknowledged as a unique and important habitat supporting rich biodiversity. Herein we report on a wildfire event occurred on October 14th 2009 in a river section of Nahal Grar, Northern Negev Desert, Israel. The wildfire although was limited in its area (only 3 hectare) extended over the channel alone from bank to bank and thus provide a unique case study of completely burn down of riparian vegetation, mainly dense stands of Common Red (Australis Phragmites. Therefore a detailed study of this event provides an opportunity to tackle one of the basics questions which is determining the rate of natural restoration process that act at the immediate time after the wildfire event occurred. This type of information is most valuable to professional and stakeholders for better management of post-fire riparian zones. The results of the study suggest that under stable conditions, i.e. no major flood events occurred; disturbance time was short and ranged over 200 days due to, almost, immediate recovery of the riparian vegetation. However the re-growth of the riparian vegetation was not even but rather deferential and more complex then reported in the literature

The importance of the riparian zone and in-stream processes in nitrate attenuation in undisturbed and agricultural watersheds – a review of the scientific literature

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Ranalli, Anthony J.; Macalady, Donald L.

2010-01-01

We reviewed published studies from primarily glaciated regions in the United States, Canada, and Europe of the (1) transport of nitrate from terrestrial ecosystems to aquatic ecosystems, (2) attenuation of nitrate in the riparian zone of undisturbed and agricultural watersheds, (3) processes contributing to nitrate attenuation in riparian zones, (4) variation in the attenuation of nitrate in the riparian zone, and (5) importance of in-stream and hyporheic processes for nitrate attenuation in the stream channel. Our objectives were to synthesize the results of these studies and suggest methodologies to (1) monitor regional trends in nitrate concentration in undisturbed 1st order watersheds and (2) reduce nitrate loads in streams draining agricultural watersheds. Our review reveals that undisturbed headwater watersheds have been shown to be very retentive of nitrogen, but the importance of biogeochemical and hydrological riparian zone processes in retaining nitrogen in these watersheds has not been demonstrated as it has for agricultural watersheds. An understanding of the role of the riparian zone in nitrate attenuation in undisturbed watersheds is crucial because these watersheds are increasingly subject to stressors, such as changes in land use and climate, wildfire, and increases in atmospheric nitrogen deposition. In general, understanding processes controlling the concentration and flux of nitrate is critical to identifying and mapping the vulnerability of watersheds to water quality changes due to a variety of stressors. In undisturbed and agricultural watersheds we propose that understanding the importance of riparian zone processes in 2nd order and larger watersheds is critical. Research is needed that addresses the relative importance of how the following sources of nitrate along any given stream reach might change as watersheds increase in size and with flow: (1) inputs upstream from the reach, (2) tributary inflow, (3) water derived from the riparian zone

Do Adaptive Comanagement Processes Lead to Adaptive Comanagement Outcomes? A Multicase Study of Long-term Outcomes Associated with the National Riparian Service Team's Place-based Riparian Assistance

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Jill A. Smedstad

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Adaptive comanagement (ACM is a novel approach to environmental governance that combines the dynamic learning features of adaptive management with the linking and network features of collaborative management. There is growing interest in the potential for ACM to resolve conflicts around natural resource management and contribute to greater social and ecological resilience, but little is known about how to catalyze long lasting ACM arrangements. We contribute to knowledge on this topic by evaluating the National Riparian Service Team's (NRST efforts to catalyze ACM of public lands riparian areas in seven cases in the western U.S. We found that the NRST's approach offers a relatively novel model for integrating joint fact-finding, multiple forms of knowledge, and collaborative problem solving to improve public lands riparian grazing management. With this approach, learning and dialogue often helped facilitate the development of shared understanding and trust, key features of ACM. Their activities also influenced changes in assessment, monitoring, and management approaches to public lands riparian area grazing, also indicative of a transition to ACM. Whereas these effects often aligned with the NRST's immediate objectives, i.e., to work through a specific issue or point of conflict, there was little evidence of long-term effects beyond the specific issue or intervention; that is, in most cases the initiative did not influence longer term changes in place-based governance and institutions. Our results suggest that the success of interventions aimed at catalyzing the transformation of governance arrangements toward ACM may hinge on factors external to the collaborative process such as the presence or absence of (1 dynamic local leadership and (2 high quality agreements regarding next steps for the group. Efforts to establish long lasting ACM institutions may also face significant constraints and barriers, including existing laws and regulations

Arthropod prey for riparian associated birds in headwater forests of the Oregon Coast Range

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Hagar, Joan C.; Li, Judith; Sobota, Janel; Jenkins, Stephanie

2012-01-01

Headwater riparian areas occupy a large proportion of the land base in Pacific Northwest forests, and thus are ecologically and economically important. Although a primary goal of management along small headwater streams is the protection of aquatic resources, streamside habitat also is important for many terrestrial wildlife species. However, mechanisms underlying the riparian associations of some terrestrial species have not been well studied, particularly for headwater drainages. We investigated the diets of and food availability for four bird species associated with riparian habitats in montane coastal forests of western Oregon, USA. We examined variation in the availability of arthropod prey as a function of distance from stream. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that (1) emergent aquatic insects were a food source for insectivorous birds in headwater riparian areas, and (2) the abundances of aquatic and terrestrial arthropod prey did not differ between streamside and upland areas during the bird breeding season. We found that although adult aquatic insects were available for consumption throughout the study period, they represented a relatively small proportion of available prey abundance and biomass and were present in only 1% of the diet samples from only one of the four riparian-associated bird species. Nonetheless, arthropod prey, comprised primarily of insects of terrestrial origin, was more abundant in streamside than upland samples. We conclude that food resources for birds in headwater riparian areas are primarily associated with terrestrial vegetation, and that bird distributions along the gradient from streamside to upland may be related to variation in arthropod prey availability. Because distinct vegetation may distinguish riparian from upland habitats for riparian-associated birds and their terrestrial arthropod prey, we suggest that understory communities be considered when defining management zones for riparian habitat.

Effects of riparian zone buffer widths on vegetation diversity in southern Appalachian headwater catchments

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Katherine J. Elliott; James M. Vose

2016-01-01

In mountainous areas such as the southern Appalachians USA, riparian zones are difficult to define. Vegetation is a commonly used riparian indicator and plays a key role in protecting water resources, but adequate knowledge of floristic responses to riparian disturbances is lacking. Our objective was to quantify changes in stand-level floristic diversity of...

Assessing critical source areas in watersheds for conservation buffer planning and riparian restoration.

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Qiu, Zeyuan

2009-11-01

A science-based geographic information system (GIS) approach is presented to target critical source areas in watersheds for conservation buffer placement. Critical source areas are the intersection of hydrologically sensitive areas and pollutant source areas in watersheds. Hydrologically sensitive areas are areas that actively generate runoff in the watershed and are derived using a modified topographic index approach based on variable source area hydrology. Pollutant source areas are the areas in watersheds that are actively and intensively used for such activities as agricultural production. The method is applied to the Neshanic River watershed in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The capacity of the topographic index in predicting the spatial pattern of runoff generation and the runoff contribution to stream flow in the watershed is evaluated. A simple cost-effectiveness assessment is conducted to compare the conservation buffer placement scenario based on this GIS method to conventional riparian buffer scenarios for placing conservation buffers in agricultural lands in the watershed. The results show that the topographic index reasonably predicts the runoff generation in the watershed. The GIS-based conservation buffer scenario appears to be more cost-effective than the conventional riparian buffer scenarios.

Soil organic carbon in riparian forests, rice fields, and pastures in Piedras, Tolima, Colombia.

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Hernán Jair Andrade-Castañeda

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to estimate the soil organic carbon (SOC storage in the interface between riparian forests and a matrix of rice fields and pastures with organic management. The study took place in Piedras, Tolima, Colombia. Two plots in production (rice and pasture were selected and SOC was estimated in these areas and in the edge and the interior of adjacent riparian forests at a depth of 0 to 20 cm. Bulk density and SOC concentration were quantified between May and July, 2013. Potential change in SOC storage due to land use change among rice fields, pastures, and riparian forests was estimated. The interfaces rice field-riparian forest and pasture-riparian forest stored an average of 65.6 and 61.3 t C/ha, respectively, with no statistical differences (p>0.05. Statistical differences were not detected (p>0.05 between agricultural matrices (rice fields and pastures in any of the variables. The sampling position (matrix and the edge and interior of forests had a significant impact (p<0.05 just in bulk density: 1.7 vs 1.1 vs 1.0 g/cm3 in interior and edge of the riparian forests and the matrix, respectively. SOC was not statistically affected (p>0.05 by the position in the riparian forest-matrix interface. Conversion from riparian forests to rice fields or pastures with organic management is not emitting greenhouse gases, on the contrary, it is increasing SOC in 3.2 t C/ha. 

Quantifying water requirements of riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia: Implications for the management of environmental flows

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Doody, Tanya M.; Colloff, Matthew J.; Davies, Micah; Koul, Vijay; Benyon, Richard G.; Nagler, Pamela L.

2015-01-01

Water resource development and drought have altered river flow regimes, increasing average flood return intervals across floodplains in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, causing health declines in riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forests and woodlands. Environmental flow allocations helped to alleviate water stress during the recent Millennium Drought (1997–2010), however, quantification of the flood frequency required to support healthy E. camaldulensis communities is still needed. We quantified water requirements of E. camaldulensis for two years across a flood gradient (trees inundated at frequencies of 1:2, 1:5 and 1:10 years) at Yanga National Park, New South Wales to help inform management decision-making and design of environmental flows. Sap flow, evaporative losses and soil moisture measurements were used to determine transpiration, evapotranspiration and plant-available soil water before and after flooding. A formula was developed using plant-available soil water post-flooding and average annual rainfall, to estimate maintenance time of soil water reserves in each flood frequency zone. Results indicated that soil water reserves could sustain 1:2 and 1:5 trees for 15 months and six years, respectively. Trees regulated their transpiration rates, allowing them to persist within their flood frequency zone, and showed reduction in active sapwood area and transpiration rates when flood frequencies exceeded 1:2 years. A leaf area index of 0.5 was identified as a potential threshold indicator of severe drought stress. Our results suggest environmental water managers may have greater flexibility to adaptively manage floodplains in order to sustain E. camaldulensis forests and woodlands than has been appreciated hitherto.

Riparian spiders as sentinels of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination across heterogeneous aquatic ecosystems

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Kraus, Johanna M.; Gibson, Polly P.; Walters, David M.; Mills, Marc A.

2017-01-01

Riparian spiders are being used increasingly to track spatial patterns of contaminants in and fluxing from aquatic ecosystems.However, our understanding of the circumstances under which spiders are effective sentinels of aquatic pollution is limited. The present study tests the hypothesis that riparian spiders may be effectively used to track spatial patterns of sediment pollution by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in aquatic ecosystems with high habitat heterogeneity. The spatial pattern of ΣPCB concentrations in 2 common families of riparian spiders sampled in 2011 to 2013 generally tracked spatial variation in sediment ΣPCBs across all sites within the Manistique River Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC), a rivermouth ecosystem located on the south shore of the Upper Peninsula, Manistique (MI,USA) that includes harbor, river, backwater, and lake habitats. Sediment ΣPCB concentrations normalized for total organic carbon explained 41% of the variation in lipid-normalized spider ΣPCB concentrations across 11 sites. Furthermore, 2 common riparian spider taxa (Araneidae and Tetragnathidae) were highly correlated (r2> 0.78) and had similar mean ΣPCB concentrations when averaged acrossall years. The results indicate that riparian spiders may be useful sentinels of relative PCB availability to aquatic and riparian food webs in heterogeneous aquatic ecosystems like rivermouths where habitat and contaminant variability may make the use of aquatic taxa lesseffective. Furthermore, the present approach appears robust to heterogeneity in shoreline development and riparian vegetation that support different families of large web-building spiders. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;9999:1–9. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Nesting ecology of Greater Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) in riparian and palustrine wetlands of eastern Idaho

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McWethy, D.B.; Austin, J.E.

2009-01-01

Little information exists on breeding Greater Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) in riparian wetlands of the Intermountain West. We examined the nesting ecology of Sandhill Cranes associated with riparian and palustrine wetlands in the Henry's Fork Watershed in eastern Idaho in 2003. We located 36 active crane nests, 19 in riparian wetlands and 17 in palustrine wetlands. Nesting sites were dominated by rushes (Juncus spp.), sedges (Carex spp.), Broad-leaved Cattail (Typha latifolia) and willow (Salix spp.), and adjacent foraging areas were primarily composed of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.),Rabbitbrush (Ericameria bloomeri) bunch grasses, upland forbs, Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) and cottonwood (Populus spp.). Mean water depth surrounding nests was 23 cm (SD = 22). A majority of nests (61%) were surrounded by vegetation between 3060 cm, 23% by vegetation 60 cm in height. We were able to determine the fate of 29 nests, of which 20 were successful (69%). Daily nest survival was 0.986 (95% LCI 0.963, UCI 0.995), equivalent to a Mayfield nest success of 0.654 (95% LCI 0.324, UCI 0.853). Model selection favored models with the covariates vegetation type, vegetation height, and water depth. Nest survival increased with increasing water depth surrounding nest sites. Mean water depth was higher around successful nests (30 cm, SD = 21) than unsuccessful nests (15 cm, SD 22). Further research is needed to evaluate the relative contribution of cranes nesting in palustrine and riparian wetlands distributed widely across the Intermountain West.

The interactive effects of climate change, riparian management, and a nonnative predator on stream-rearing salmon.

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Lawrence, David J; Stewart-Koster, Ben; Olden, Julian D; Ruesch, Aaron S; Torgersen, Christian E; Lawler, Joshua J; Butcher, Don P; Crown, Julia K

2014-06-01

Predicting how climate change is likely to interact with myriad other stressors that threaten species of conservation concern is an essential challenge in aquatic ecosystems. This study provides a framework to accomplish this task in salmon-bearing streams of the northwestern United States, where land-use-related reductions in riparian shading have caused changes in stream thermal regimes, and additional warming from projected climate change may result in significant losses of coldwater fish habitat over the next century. Predatory, nonnative smallmouth bass have also been introduced into many northwestern streams, and their range is likely to expand as streams warm, presenting an additional challenge to the persistence of threatened Pacific salmon. The goal of this work was to forecast the interactive effects of climate change, riparian management, and nonnative species on stream-rearing salmon and to evaluate the capacity of restoration to mitigate these effects. We intersected downscaled global climate forecasts with a local-scale water temperature model to predict mid- and end-of-century temperatures in streams in the Columbia River basin. We compared one stream that is thermally impaired due to the loss of riparian vegetation and another that is cooler and has a largely intact riparian corridor. Using the forecasted stream temperatures in conjunction with fish-habitat models, we predicted how stream-rearing chinook salmon and bass distributions would change as each stream warmed. In the highly modified stream, end-of-century warming may cause near total loss of chinook salmon-rearing habitat and a complete invasion of the upper watershed by bass. In the less modified stream, bass were thermally restricted from the upstream-most areas. In both systems, temperature increases resulted in higher predicted spatial overlap between stream-rearing chinook salmon and potentially predatory bass in the early summer (two- to fourfold increase) and greater abundance of

In Situ Groundwater Denitrification in the Riparian Zone of a Short-Rotation Woody Crop Experimental Watershed

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Jeffers, J. B.; Jackson, C. R.; Rau, B.; Pringle, C. M.; Matteson, C.

2017-12-01

The southeastern United States has potential to become a major producer of short rotation woody crops (SRWC) for the production of biofuels, but this will require converting to more intensive forest management practices that will increase nitrate (NO3-) loading and alter nitrogen cycling in nearby freshwater ecosystems. Water quality monitoring in an experimental short-rotation woody crop watershed in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina has shown increased concentrations of NO3- in groundwater but no evidence of increased NO3- in riparian groundwater or surface waters. Forested riparian areas established as streamside management zones (SMZ) are known to act as buffers to surface water bodies by mitigating nutrients. The objectives of this study were to quantify denitrification by measuring dinitrogen (N2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations along groundwater flow paths and analyze relationships between denitrification estimates, nutrients, and water chemistry parameters. A network of piezometers has been established in the Fourmile Experimental Watershed at the Department of Energy - Savannah River Site. Water samples were collected monthly and were analyzed for concentrations of nutrients (temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, dissolved organic carbon) and dissolved gases (N2, Ar, N2O). Preliminary data showed greater dissolved N2O concentrations than dissolved N2 concentrations in groundwater. The ratios of N2O to combined end products of denitrification (N2O / N2O+N2) ranged from 0.33 to 0.99. Mean N2O+N2 concentrations were greater in groundwater samples in the SRWC plot and along the SMZ boundary than along the ephemeral stream within the riparian zone. Correlations between water chemistry parameters and N2 concentrations are indicative of known biogeochemical driving factors of denitrification. Continued monthly sampling will be coupled with analysis of nutrient concentrations (NO3-, NH4+, TN) to help determine transport and processing

Water-use dynamics of an alien-invaded riparian forest within the Mediterranean climate zone of the Western Cape, South Africa

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Scott-Shaw, Bruce C.; Everson, Colin S.; Clulow, Alistair D.

2017-09-01

In South Africa, the invasion of riparian forests by alien trees has the potential to affect the country's limited water resources. Tree water-use measurements have therefore become an important component of recent hydrological studies. It is difficult for South African government initiatives, such as the Working for Water (WfW) alien clearing program, to justify alien tree removal and implement rehabilitation unless hydrological benefits are known. Consequently, water use within a riparian forest along the Buffeljags River in the Western Cape of South Africa was monitored over a 3-year period. The site consisted of an indigenous stand of Western Cape afrotemperate forest adjacent to a large stand of introduced Acacia mearnsii. The heat ratio method of the heat pulse velocity sap flow technique was used to measure the sap flow of a selection of indigenous species in the indigenous stand, a selection of A. mearnsii trees in the alien stand and two clusters of indigenous species within the alien stand. The indigenous trees in the alien stand at Buffeljags River showed significant intraspecific differences in the daily sap flow rates varying from 15 to 32 L day-1 in summer (sap flow being directly proportional to tree size). In winter (June), this was reduced to only 7 L day-1 when limited energy was available to drive the transpiration process. The water use in the A. mearnsii trees showed peaks in transpiration during the months of March 2012, September 2012 and February 2013. These periods had high average temperatures, rainfall and high daily vapor pressure deficits (VPDs - average of 1.26 kPa). The average daily sap flow ranged from 25 to 35 L in summer and approximately 10 L in the winter. The combined accumulated daily sap flow per year for the three Vepris lanceolata and three A. mearnsii trees was 5700 and 9200 L, respectively, clearly demonstrating the higher water use of the introduced Acacia trees during the winter months. After spatially upscaling the

Influence of Gully Erosion Control on Amphibian and Reptile Communities within Riparian Zones of Channelized Streams

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Riparian zones of streams in northwestern Mississippi have been impacted by agriculture, channelization, channel incision, and gully erosion. Riparian gully formation has resulted in the fragmentation of remnant riparian zones within agricultural watersheds. One widely used conservation practice for...

Effect of emergent aquatic insects on bat foraging in a riparian forest.

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Fukui, Dai; Murakami, Masashi; Nakano, Shigeru; Aoi, Toshiki

2006-11-01

1. Riparian zones serve several ecological functions for bats. They provide a source of prey and likely provide favourable structural habitats and shelter from predators. Many studies have shown that bats use the space above streams, ponds or riparian vegetation as feeding habitat. These studies, however, have never distinguished between the effects of habitat structure and prey availability on the foraging activities of bats. Such effects can only be distinguished by an experimental approach. We predicted that bat activity along a stream is influenced by the number of emerged aquatic insects. 2. We evaluated the response of terrestrial consumers, insectivorous bats, to changes in the abundance of emergent aquatic insects by conducting a manipulative field experiment. In a deciduous riparian forest in Japan, aquatic insect flux from the stream to the riparian zone was controlled with an insect-proof cover over a 1.2 km stream reach. 3. We estimated the abundance of emergent aquatic and flying terrestrial arthropods near the treatment and control reaches using Malaise traps. The foraging activity of bats was evaluated in both treatment and control reaches using ultrasonic detectors. 4. The insect-proof cover effectively reduced the flux of emergent aquatic insects to the riparian zone adjacent to the treatment reach. Adjacent to the control reach, adult aquatic insect biomass was highest in spring, and then decreased gradually. Terrestrial insect biomass increased gradually during the summer at both treatment and control reaches. 5. Foraging activity of bats was correlated with insect abundance. In spring, foraging activity of bats at the control reach was significantly greater than at the treatment reach, and increased at both sites with increasing terrestrial insect abundance. 6. Our result suggests that the flux of aquatic insects emerging from streams is one of the most important factors affecting the distribution of riparian-foraging bats. As is the case with

Beyond cool: adapting upland streams for climate change using riparian woodlands.

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Thomas, Stephen M; Griffiths, Siân W; Ormerod, Steve J

2016-01-01

Managed adaptation could reduce the risks of climate change to the world's ecosystems, but there have been surprisingly few practical evaluations of the options available. For example, riparian woodland is advocated widely as shade to reduce warming in temperate streams, but few studies have considered collateral effects on species composition or ecosystem functions. Here, we use cross-sectional analyses at two scales (region and within streams) to investigate whether four types of riparian management, including those proposed to reduce potential climate change impacts, might also affect the composition, functional character, dynamics and energetic resourcing of macroinvertebrates in upland Welsh streams (UK). Riparian land use across the region had only small effects on invertebrate taxonomic composition, while stable isotope data showed how energetic resources assimilated by macroinvertebrates in all functional guilds were split roughly 50:50 between terrestrial and aquatic origins irrespective of riparian management. Nevertheless, streams draining the most extensive deciduous woodland had the greatest stocks of coarse particulate matter (CPOM) and greater numbers of 'shredding' detritivores. Stream-scale investigations showed that macroinvertebrate biomass in deciduous woodland streams was around twice that in moorland streams, and lowest of all in streams draining non-native conifers. The unexpected absence of contrasting terrestrial signals in the isotopic data implies that factors other than local land use affect the relative incorporation of allochthonous subsidies into riverine food webs. Nevertheless, our results reveal how planting deciduous riparian trees along temperate headwaters as an adaptation to climate change can modify macroinvertebrate function, increase biomass and potentially enhance resilience by increasing basal resources where cover is extensive (>60 m riparian width). We advocate greater urgency in efforts to understand the ecosystem

[Floristic composition and distribution of the Andean subtropical riparian forests of Lules River, Tucuman, Argentina].

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Sirombra, Martín G; Mesa, Leticia M

2010-03-01

We studied the floristic composition and distribution of the riparian forest of two hydrographical systems in a subtropical Andean region. Using uni and multivariate techniques, we tested the hypotheses that a differentiable riparian forest exists, composed by native vegetation typical of the Yungas phytogeographical province, and that the distribution of vegetation varied significantly with geomorphologic characteristics. Parallel transects along the water courses were used to collect presence-absence data of vegetation in eleven sites. Detrended Correspondence Analysis defined a group of common riparian species for the studied area (Solanum riparium, Phenax laevigatus, Tipuana tipu, Cestrum parqui, Carica quercifolia, Acacia macracantha, Celtis iguanaea, Juglans australis, Pisoniella arborescens, Baccharis salicifolia, Cinnamomum porphyrium and Eugenia uniflora) and identified two reference sites. The distribution of the riparian vegetation varied significantly with the geomorphic characteristics along the studied sites. Riparian habitats were composed by native and exotic species. A distinct riparian flora, different in structure and function from adjacent terrestrial vegetation, could not be identified. Riparian species were similar to the adjacent terrestrial strata. These species would not be limited by the proximity to the river. Anthropogenic impacts were important factors regulating the introduction and increase of exotic vegetation. The lack of regulation of some activities in the zone could cause serious problems in the integrity of this ecosystem.

Implementation of a subcanopy solar radiation model on a forested headwater basin in the Southern Appalachians to estimate riparian canopy density and stream insolation for stream temperature models

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Belica, L.; Petras, V.; Iiames, J. S., Jr.; Caldwell, P.; Mitasova, H.; Nelson, S. A. C.

2016-12-01

Water temperature is a key aspect of water quality and understanding how the thermal regimes of forested headwater streams may change in response to climatic and land cover changes is increasingly important to scientists and resource managers. In recent years, the forested mountain watersheds of the Southeastern U.S. have experienced changing climatic patterns as well as the loss of a keystone riparian tree species and anticipated hydrologic responses include lower summer stream flows and decreased stream shading. Solar radiation is the main source of thermal energy to streams and a key parameter in heat-budget models of stream temperature; a decrease in flow volume combined with a reduction in stream shading during summer have the potential to increase stream temperatures. The high spatial variability of forest canopies and the high spatio-temporal variability in sky conditions make estimating the solar radiation reaching small forested headwater streams difficult. The Subcanopy Solar Radiation Model (SSR) (Bode et al. 2014) is a GIS model that generates high resolution, spatially explicit estimates of solar radiation by incorporating topographic and vegetative shading with a light penetration index derived from leaf-on airborne LIDAR data. To evaluate the potential of the SSR model to provide estimates of stream insolation to parameterize heat-budget models, it was applied to the Coweeta Basin in the Southern Appalachians using airborne LIDAR (NCALM 2009, 1m resolution). The LIDAR derived canopy characteristics were compared to current hyperspectral images of the canopy for changes and the SSR estimates of solar radiation were compared with pyranometer measurements of solar radiation at several subcanopy sites during the summer of 2016. Preliminary results indicate the SSR model was effective in identifying variations in canopy density and light penetration, especially in areas associated with road and stream corridors and tree mortality. Current LIDAR data and

Forestry Best Management Practices Relationships with Aquatic and Riparian Fauna: A Review

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Brooke M. Warrington

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Forestry best management practices (BMPs were developed to minimize water pollution from forestry operations by primarily addressing sediment and sediment transport, which is the leading source of pollution from silviculture. Implementation of water quality BMPs may also benefit riparian and aquatic wildlife, although wildlife benefits were not driving forces for BMP development. Therefore, we reviewed literature regarding potential contributions of sediment-reducing BMPs to conservation of riparian and aquatic wildlife, while realizing that BMPs also minimize thermal, nutrient, and chemical pollution. We reached five important conclusions: (1 a significant body of research confirms that forestry BMPs contribute to the protection of water quality and riparian forest structure; (2 data-specific relationships between forestry BMPs and reviewed species are limited; (3 forestry BMPs for forest road construction and maintenance, skid trails, stream crossings, and streamside management zones (SMZs are important particularly for protection of water quality and aquatic species; (4 stream crossings should be carefully selected and installed to minimize sediment inputs and stream channel alterations; and (5 SMZs promote retention of older-age riparian habitat with benefits extending from water bodies to surrounding uplands. Overall, BMPs developed for protection of water quality should benefit a variety of riparian and aquatic species that are sensitive to changes in water quality or forest structure.

Forestry best management practices relationships with aquatic and riparian fauna: A review

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Warrington, Brooke M.; Aust, W. Michael; Barrett, Scott M.; Ford, W. Mark; Dolloff, C. Andrew; Schilling, Erik B.; Wigley, T. Bently; Bolding, M. Chad

2017-01-01

Forestry best management practices (BMPs) were developed to minimize water pollution from forestry operations by primarily addressing sediment and sediment transport, which is the leading source of pollution from silviculture. Implementation of water quality BMPs may also benefit riparian and aquatic wildlife, although wildlife benefits were not driving forces for BMP development. Therefore, we reviewed literature regarding potential contributions of sediment-reducing BMPs to conservation of riparian and aquatic wildlife, while realizing that BMPs also minimize thermal, nutrient, and chemical pollution. We reached five important conclusions: (1) a significant body of research confirms that forestry BMPs contribute to the protection of water quality and riparian forest structure; (2) data-specific relationships between forestry BMPs and reviewed species are limited; (3) forestry BMPs for forest road construction and maintenance, skid trails, stream crossings, and streamside management zones (SMZs) are important particularly for protection of water quality and aquatic species; (4) stream crossings should be carefully selected and installed to minimize sediment inputs and stream channel alterations; and (5) SMZs promote retention of older-age riparian habitat with benefits extending from water bodies to surrounding uplands. Overall, BMPs developed for protection of water quality should benefit a variety of riparian and aquatic species that are sensitive to changes in water quality or forest structure.

Stream characteristics and their implications for the protection of riparian fens and meadows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baattrup-Pedersen, A.; Larsen, S.E.; Andersen, Peter Mejlhede

2011-01-01

the influence of stream size, morphology and chemical water characteristics for the distribution of water-dependent terrestrial habitat types, i.e. alkaline fens, periodically inundated meadows and meadows in riparian areas in Denmark using an extensive data set covering a total of 254 stream reaches. A species......1. Running waters, including associated riparian areas, are embraced by international legal frameworks outlining targets for the preservation, protection and improvement of the quality of the environment. Interactions between stream and river processes and riparian habitats have not received much...... attention in the management of stream ecosystems, and integrated measures that consider both the ecological status of streams and rivers (sensu EU Water Framework Directive, WFD) and the conservation status of riparian habitats and species (sensu EU Habitats Directive, HD) are rare. 2. Here, we analysed...

Taxonomic and compositional differences of ground-dwelling arthropods in riparian habitats in Glen Canyon, Arizona, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Ralston, Barbara; Cobb, Neil S.; Brantley, Sandra L.; Higgins, Jacob; Yackulic, Charles B.

2017-01-01

The disturbance history, plant species composition, productivity, and structural complexity of a site can exert bottom-up controls on arthropod diversity, abundance, and trophic structure. Regulation alters the hydrology and disturbance regimes of rivers and affects riparian habitats by changing plant quality parameters. Fifty years of regulation along the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam has created a no-analog, postdam “lower” riparian zone close to the water's edge that includes tamarisk (Tamarix sp.), a nonnative riparian shrub. At the same time, the predam “upper” facultative riparian zone has persisted several meters above the current flood stage. In summer 2009, we used pitfall traps within these 2 riparian zones that differ in plant composition, productivity, and disturbance frequency to test for differences in arthropod community (Hymenoptera, Arachnida, and Coleoptera) structure. Arthropod community structure differed substantially between the 2 zones. Arthropod abundance and species richness was highest in the predam upper riparian zone, even though there was a greater amount of standing plant biomass in the postdam lower riparian zone. Omnivore abundance was proportionately greater in the upper riparian zone and was associated with lower estimated productivity values. Predators and detritivores were proportionately greater in the postdam lower riparian zone. In this case, river regulation may create habitats that support species of spiders and carabid beetles, but few other species that are exclusive to this zone. The combined richness found in both zones suggests a small increase in total richness and functional diversity for the Glen Canyon reach of the Colorado River.

The influence of flood frequency, riparian vegetation and threshold on long-term river transport capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Croissant, Thomas; Lague, Dimitri; Davy, Philippe

2016-04-01

Climate fluctuations at geological timescales control the capacity of rivers to transport sediment with consequences on geochemical cycles, sedimentary basins dynamics and sedimentation/tectonics interactions. While the impact of differential friction generated by riparian vegetation has been studied for individual flood events, its impact on the long-term sediment transport capacity of rivers, modulated by the frequency of floods remains unknown. Here, we investigate this effect on a simplified river-floodplain configuration obeying observed hydraulic scaling laws. We numerically integrate the full-frequency magnitude distribution of discharge events and its impact on the transport capacity of bedload and suspended material for various level of vegetation-linked differential friction. We demonstrate that riparian vegetation by acting as a virtual confinement of the flow i) increases significantly the instantaneous transport capacity of the river independently of the transport mode and ii) increases the long term bedload transport rates as a function of discharge variability. Our results expose the dominance of flood frequency rather than riparian vegetation on the long term sediment transport capacity. Therefore, flood frequency has to be considered when evaluating long-term bedload transport capacity while floodplain vegetation is important only in high discharge variability regimes. By comparing the transport capacity of unconfined alluvial rivers and confined bedrock gorges, we demonstrate that the latter always presents the highest long term transport capacity at equivalent width and slope. The loss of confinement at the transition between bedrock and alluvial river must be compensated by a widening or a steepening of the alluvial channel to avoid infinite storage. Because steepening is never observed in natural system, we compute the alluvial widening factor value that varies between 3 to 11 times the width of the bedrock channel depending on riparian

The Influence of Salmon Recolonization on Riparian Communities in the Cedar River, Washington, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Moravek, J.; Clipp, H.; Kiffney, P.

2016-02-01

Salmon are a valuable resource throughout the Pacific Northwest, but increasing human activity is degrading coastal ecosystems and threatening local salmon populations. Salmon conservation efforts often focus on habitat restoration, including the re-colonization of salmon into historically obstructed areas such as the Cedar River in Washington, USA. However, to assess the long term implications of salmon re-colonization on a landscape scale, it is critical to consider not only the river ecosystem but also the surrounding riparian habitat. Although prior studies suggest that salmon alter riparian food web dynamics, the riparian community on the Cedar River has not yet been characterized. To investigate possible connections between salmon and the riparian habitat after 12 years of re-colonization, we surveyed riparian spider communities along a gradient of salmon inputs (g/m2). In 10-m transects along the banks of the river, we identified spiders and spider webs, collected prey from webs, and characterized nearby aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. We found that the density of aquatic macroinvertebrates, as well as the density of spider prey, both had significant positive relationships with salmon inputs, supporting the hypothesis that salmon provide energy and nutrients for both aquatic and riparian food webs. We also found that spider diversity significantly decreased with salmon inputs, potentially due to confounding factors such as stream gradient or vegetation structure. Although additional information is needed to fully understand this relationship, the significant connection between salmon inputs and spider diversity is compelling motivation for further studies regarding the link between aquatic and riparian systems on the Cedar River. Understanding the connections between salmon and the riparian community is critical to characterizing the long term, landscape-scale implications of sustainable salmon management in the Pacific Northwest.

SOIL NITROUS OXIDE, NITRIC OXIDE, AND AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM A RECOVERING RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIA

Science.gov (United States)

The paper presents two years of seasonal nitric oxide, ammonia, and nitrous oxide trace gas fluxes measured in a recovering riparian zone with cattle excluded and in an adjacent riparian zone grazed by cattle. In the recovering riparian zone, average nitric oxide, ammonia, and ni...

Riparian buffer zones as pesticide filters of no-till crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguiar, Terencio R; Bortolozo, F R; Hansel, F A; Rasera, K; Ferreira, M T

2015-07-01

Several studies have pointed to the potential benefits of riparian vegetation as buffer zones for agricultural and industrial pollutants harmful to aquatic ecosystems. However, other studies have called into question its use as an ecological filter, questioning the widths and conditions for which they are effective as a filter. In this work, we have investigated the buffering capacity of the riparian one to retain pesticides in the water-saturated zone, on 27 sites composed by riparian buffer zones with different vegetation structure (woody, shrubs, or grass vegetation) and width (12, 36, and 60 m). Five pesticides were analyzed. The effectiveness of the filtering was largely influenced by the width and vegetation type of the buffer zone. In general, decreasing pesticide removal followed in this order wood > shrubs > grass. The 60 m woody buffer zone was the most effective in the removal of all the pesticides. Only atrazine was detected in this case (0.3 μg L(-1)). Furthermore, a linear correlation (R (2) > 0.97) was observed in their removal for all compounds and buffer zones studied. Thus, preserving the woody vegetation in the riparian zone is important for watershed management and groundwater quality in the no-tillage system in temperate climate.

Riparian spiders as sentinels of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination across heterogeneous aquatic ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Johanna M; Gibson, Polly P; Walters, David M; Mills, Marc A

2017-05-01

Riparian spiders are being used increasingly to track spatial patterns of contaminants in and fluxing from aquatic ecosystems. However, our understanding of the circumstances under which spiders are effective sentinels of aquatic pollution is limited. The present study tests the hypothesis that riparian spiders may be effectively used to track spatial patterns of sediment pollution by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in aquatic ecosystems with high habitat heterogeneity. The spatial pattern of ΣPCB concentrations in 2 common families of riparian spiders sampled in 2011 to 2013 generally tracked spatial variation in sediment ΣPCBs across all sites within the Manistique River Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC), a rivermouth ecosystem located on the south shore of the Upper Peninsula, Manistique (MI, USA) that includes harbor, river, backwater, and lake habitats. Sediment ΣPCB concentrations normalized for total organic carbon explained 41% of the variation in lipid-normalized spider ΣPCB concentrations across 11 sites. Furthermore, 2 common riparian spider taxa (Araneidae and Tetragnathidae) were highly correlated (r 2  > 0.78) and had similar mean ΣPCB concentrations when averaged across all years. The results indicate that riparian spiders may be useful sentinels of relative PCB availability to aquatic and riparian food webs in heterogeneous aquatic ecosystems like rivermouths where habitat and contaminant variability may make the use of aquatic taxa less effective. Furthermore, the present approach appears robust to heterogeneity in shoreline development and riparian vegetation that support different families of large web-building spiders. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1278-1286. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in

Transport and transformation of nitrate in a riparian wetland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Jes; Prinds, Christian; Iversen, Bo Vangsø

Even though riparian wetlands have been intensively studied during the past 30 years these areas still function as a “black box” with regards to removal of nitrogen input from surrounding areas. To comply with regulations of the European Water Framework Directive, Danish agriculture is to reduce....... Depending on the saturation state of the wetland soils and the amount of water entering during precipitation events, a part of the water infiltrates into the wetland sediments and travels towards the stream. Some of the infiltrated water may be caught by drains within the wetland soils and transported...... directly to the stream. The remaining water can be either evapotranspired or transported directly to the stream via overland flow. Preliminary results show an efficient denitrification of nitrate infiltrating into the studied wetland soils. The nitrogen removal efficiency at different drain outlets seems...

78 FR 16705 - Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish Screen Facility Protection...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-18

...-FF08RSRC00] Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/ Fish Screen Facility Protection... removal and management of invasive plant species would occur at the Riparian Sanctuary. No active... impact statement and environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) for the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit...

77 FR 26569 - Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish Screen Facility Protection...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-04

...-FF08RSRC00] Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/ Fish Screen Facility Protection... would occur at the Riparian Sanctuary. No active restoration of native plants would occur. Maintenance... statement and environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) for the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration...

The effects of flooding disturbance on the distribution and behaviour of riparian arthropods along a lowland gravel river

OpenAIRE

Lambeets, Kevin

2009-01-01

This Ph.D.-thesis aimed to address which environmental factors influence the assemblage structure of mobile, riparian arthropods along spatially structured river banks of a rain-fed, lowland gravel river, the Common Meuse. As riverine ecosystems are basically non-equilibrium, dynamic ecosystems, mainly flow regimes and flood pulse characteristics are expected to shape both the distribution and behaviour of its inhabitants. The river banks along the Common Meuse are (in)frequently disturbed by...

The interactive effects of climate change, riparian management, and a non-native predators on stream-rearing salmon

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, David J.; Stewart-Koster, Ben; Olden, Julian D.; Ruesch, Aaron S.; Torgersen, Christian E.; Lawler, Joshua J.; Butcher, Don P.; Crown, Julia K.

2014-01-01

Predicting how climate change is likely to interact with myriad other stressors that threaten species of conservation concern is an essential challenge in aquatic ecosystems. This study provides a framework to accomplish this task in salmon-bearing streams of the northwestern United States, where land-use related reductions in riparian shading have caused changes in stream thermal regimes, and additional warming from projected climate change may result in significant losses of coldwater fish habitat over the next century. Predatory non-native smallmouth bass have also been introduced into many northwestern streams and their range is likely to expand as streams warm, presenting an additional challenge to the persistence of threatened Pacific salmon. The goal of this work was to forecast the interactive effects of climate change, riparian management, and non-native species on stream-rearing salmon, and to evaluate the capacity of restoration to mitigate these effects. We intersected downscaled global climate forecasts with a local-scale water temperature model to predict mid- and end-of-century temperatures in streams in the Columbia River basin; we compared one stream that is thermally impaired due to the loss of riparian vegetation and another that is cooler and has a largely intact riparian corridor. Using the forecasted stream temperatures in conjunction with fish-habitat models, we predicted how stream-rearing Chinook salmon and bass distributions would change as each stream warmed. In the highly modified stream, end-of-century warming may cause near total loss of Chinook salmon rearing habitat and a complete invasion of the upper watershed by bass. In the less modified stream, bass were thermally restricted from the upstream-most areas. In both systems, temperature increases resulted in higher predicted spatial overlap between stream-rearing Chinook salmon and potentially predatory bass in the early summer (2-4-fold increase) and greater abundance of bass. We

Flora of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Cochise County, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Elizabeth Makings

2005-01-01

The flora of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) consists of 618 taxa from 92 families, including a new species of Eriogonum and four new State records. The vegetation communities include Chihuahuan Desertscrub, cottonwood-willow riparian corridors, mesquite terraces, sacaton grasslands, rocky outcrops, and cienegas. Species...

Analysis of microbial populations, denitrification, and nitrous oxide production in riparian buffers

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian buffers are used extensively to protect water bodies from nonpoint source nitrogen pollution. However there is relatively little information on the impact of these buffers on production of nitrous oxide (N2O). In this study, we assessed nitrous oxide production in riparian buffers of the so...

Geography of spring landbird migration through riparian habitats in southwestern North America

Science.gov (United States)

Susan K. Skagen; Jeffrey F. Kelly; Charles van Riper III; Richard L. Hutto; Deborah M. Finch; David J. Krueper; Cynthia P. Melcher

2005-01-01

Migration stopover resources, particularly riparian habitats, are critically important to landbirds migrating across the arid southwestern region of North America. To explore the effects of species biogeography and habitat affinity on spring migration patterns, we synthesized existing bird abundance and capture data collected in riparian habitats of the borderlands...

Benefits of riparian forest for the aquatic ecosystem assessed at a large geographic scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van Looy K.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Claimed benefits of riparian forest cover for the aquatic ecosystem include purification, thermal control, organic matter input and habitat provision, which may improve physicochemical and biotic quality. However, these beneficial effects might be flawed by multiple stressor conditions of intensive agriculture and urbanization in upstream catchments. We examined the relationship between riparian forest cover and physicochemical quality and biotic integrity indices in extensive large scale datasets. Measurements of hydromorphological conditions and riparian forest cover across different buffer widths for 59 × 103 river stretches covering 230 × 103 km of the French river network were coupled with data for physicochemical and biotic variables taken from the national monitoring network. General linear and quantile regression techniques were used to determine responses of physicochemical variables and biological integrity indices for macroinvertebrates and fish to riparian forest cover in selections of intermediate stress for 2nd to 4th order streams. Significant responses to forest cover were found for the nutrient variables and biological indices. According to these responses a 60% riparian forest cover in the 10 m buffer corresponds to good status boundaries for physicochemical and biotic elements. For the 30 m buffer, the observed response suggests that riparian forest coverage of at least 45% corresponds with good ecological status in the aquatic ecosystem. The observed consistent responses indicate significant potential for improving the quality of the aquatic environment by restoring riparian forest. The effects are more substantial in single-stressor environments but remain significant in multi-stressor environments.

Review of Invasive Riparian Trees that Impact USACE Ecosystem Restoration Projects

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

often release seeds in periods of stress , including periods when exposed to herbicides or mechanical disturbances. Such characteristics make this...Approved for public release ; distribution is unlimited. ERDC TN-EMRRP-SI-36 August 2016 Review of Invasive Riparian Trees that Impact USACE...various spatial control methods for woody invasive plant removal in densely vegetated riparian habitats. The USACE ecosystem restoration mission has

Evapotranspiration Calculation on the Basis of the Riparian Zone Water Balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SZILÁGYI, József

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Riparian forests have a strong influence on groundwater levels and groundwater sustainedstream baseflow. An empirical and a hydraulic version of a new method were developed to calculateevapotranspiration values from riparian zone groundwater levels. The new technique was tested on thehydrometeorological data set of the Hidegvíz Valley (located in Sopron Hills at the eastern foothills ofthe Alps experimental catchment. Evapotranspiration values of this new method were compared tothe Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration values on a half hourly scale and to the White methodevapotranspiration values on a daily scale. Sensitivity analysis showed that the more reliable hydraulicversion of our ET estimation technique is most sensitive (i.e., linearly to the values of the saturatedhydraulic conductivity and specific yield taken from the riparian zone.

Impact of Dams on Riparian Frog Communities in the Southern Western Ghats, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohit Naniwadekar

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The Western Ghats is a global biodiversity hotspot and home to diverse and unique assemblages of amphibians. Several rivers originate from these mountains and hydropower is being tapped from them. The impacts of hydrological regulation of riparian ecosystems to wildlife and its habitat are poorly documented, and in particular the fate of frog populations is unknown. We examined the effects of dams on riparian frog communities in the Thamirabarani catchment in southern Western Ghats. We used nocturnal visual encounter surveys constrained for time, to document the species richness of frogs below and above the dam, and also at control sites in the same catchment. While we did not find differences in species richness below and above the dams, the frog community composition was significantly altered as a likely consequence of altered flow regime. The frog species compositions in control sites were similar to above-dam sites. Below-dam sites had a distinctly different species composition. Select endemic frog species appeared to be adversely impacted due to the dams. Below-dam sites had a greater proportion of generalist and widely distributed species. Dams in the Western Ghats appeared to adversely impact population of endemic species, particularly those belonging to the genus Nyctibatrachus that shows specialization for intact streams.

Identifying Riparian Buffer Effects on Stream 1 Nitrogen in Southeastern Coastal Plain Watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian areas have long demonstrated their ability to attenuate nutrients and sediments from agricultural runoff at the field scale; however, to inform effective nutrient management choices, the impact of riparian buffers on water quality services must be assessed at watershed s...

Experimental study on water transport observations of desert riparian forests in the lower reaches of the Tarim River in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yaning; Li, Weihong; Zhou, Honghua; Chen, Yapeng; XinmingHao; Fu, Aihong; Ma, Jianxin

2017-06-01

Studying the water use processes of desert riparian vegetation in arid regions and analyzing the response and adaptation strategies of plants to drought stress are of great significance for developing ecological restoration measures. Based on field monitoring and test analyses of physiological ecological indicators of dominant species (Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis) in the desert riparian forest in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, the water relations of P. euphratica and T. chinensis under drought stress are discussed and some water use strategies put forward. The results show that (1) concerning plant water uptake, desert riparian forests depend mainly on groundwater to survive under long-term water stress. (2) Concerning plant water distribution, the survival of P. euphratica and nearby shallow root plants is mainly due to the hydraulic lift and water redistribution of P. euphratica under drought stress. (3) Concerning plant water transport, P. euphratica sustains the survival of competitive and advantageous branches by improving their ability to acquire water while restraining the growth of inferior branches. (4) Concerning plant transpiration, the sap flow curves of daily variations of P. euphratica and T. chinensis were wide-peak sin and narrower-peak respectively. T. chinensis has better environmental adaptability.

Climate change and wildfire effects in aridland riparian ecosystems: An examination of current and future conditions

Science.gov (United States)

D. Max Smith; Deborah M. Finch

2017-01-01

Aridland riparian ecosystems are limited, the climate is changing, and further hydrological change is likely in the American Southwest. To protect riparian ecosystems and organisms, we need to understand how they are affected by disturbance processes and stressors such as fire, drought, and non-native plant invasions. Riparian vegetation is critically important as...

Presence of riparian vegetation increases biotic condition of fish assemblages in two Brazilian reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Cop Ferreira

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract The riparian vegetation in lakes and reservoirs is source of course wood structures such as trunks and branches and is used as sheltering, spawning and foraging habitats for fishes. The reduction of these submerged structures can thus, affect the composition and structure of fish assemblages in reservoirs. Aim To evaluate the influence of riparian vegetation on the biotic condition of fish assemblage by adapting the Reservoir Fish Assemblage Index (RFAI to two reservoirs in the Upper Paranapanema river basin, São Paulo State, Brazil. Methods The RFAI was adapted from metrics related to the functional characteristics and composition of fish assemblages through a protocol of metric selection and validation, and to its response to the presence of riparian vegetation. Results The final RFAI was composed by nine metrics, been lower in sites without riparian vegetation as consequence of the predominance of larger individuals and the percent of piscivorous and detritivorous fishes. Conclusions These results suggest that increasing shore habitat complexity in reservoirs by maintaining riparian vegetation increases fish biotic integrity.

Cicada emergence in southwestern riparian forest: Influences of wildfire and vegetation composition

Science.gov (United States)

D. Max Smith; Jeffrey Kelly; Deborah M. Finch

2006-01-01

Annually emerging cicadas are a numerically and ecologically dominant species in Southwestern riparian forests. Humans have altered disturbance regimes that structure these forests such that floods are less common and wildfires occur more frequently than was historically the case. Impacts of these changes on primary consumers such as riparian cicadas are unknown....

Evaluating the ecological economic success of riparian restoration projects in Arizona (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Gary B. Snider

2000-01-01

The past 4 years the Arizona Water Protection Fund provided more than $25 million to individuals and organizations for stream and riparian restoration projects in Arizona. Information which increases the awareness of the value of Arizona's riparian systems is crucial to the incorporation of ecosystem services into decision-making frameworks, which are largely...

The brown-headed cowbird and its riparian-dependent hosts in New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Sara H. Schweitzer; Deborah M. Finch; David M Leslie

1998-01-01

Numbers of brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater) are increasing in some regions of North America, while certain populations of long-distance, neotropical migratory songbirds (NTMs) are declining. In the Southwestern United States, several species of NTMs nest only in riparian habitats. The significant decline of two species of NTMs dependent upon riparian habitat,...

Importance of the 2014 Colorado River Delta pulse flow for migratory songbirds: Insights from foraging behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Darrah, Abigail J.; Greeney, Harold F.; van Riper, Charles

2017-01-01

The Lower Colorado River provides critical riparian areas in an otherwise arid region and is an important stopover site for migrating landbirds. In order to reverse ongoing habitat degradation due to drought and human-altered hydrology, a pulse flow was released from Morelos Dam in spring of 2014, which brought surface flow to dry stretches of the Colorado River in Mexico. To assess the potential effects of habitat modification resulting from the pulse flow, we used foraging behavior of spring migrants from past and current studies to assess the relative importance of different riparian habitats. We observed foraging birds in 2000 and 2014 at five riparian sites along the Lower Colorado River in Mexico to quantify prey attack rates, prey attack maneuvers, vegetation use patterns, and degree of preference for fully leafed-out or flowering plants. Prey attack rate was highest in mesquite (Prosopis spp.) in 2000 and in willow (Salix gooddingii) in 2014; correspondingly, migrants predominantly used mesquite in 2000 and willow in 2014 and showed a preference for willows in flower or fruit in 2014. Wilson’s warbler (Cardellina pusilla) used relatively more low-energy foraging maneuvers in willow than in tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) or mesquite. Those patterns in foraging behavior suggest native riparian vegetation, and especially willow, are important resources for spring migrants along the lower Colorado River. Willow is a relatively short-lived tree dependent on spring floods for dispersal and establishment and thus spring migrants are likely to benefit from controlled pulse flows.

Quantifying Phosphorus Retnention in Soils of Riparian Buffers Influenced by Different Land Use Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Lancellotti, B.; Ross, D. S.; Adair, C.; Schroth, A. W.; Perdrial, J. N.

2017-12-01

Excess phosphorus (P) loading to freshwater systems can lead to eutrophication, resulting in algal blooms and subsequent fish kills. Lake Champlain, located between Vermont, New York, and Quebec, has historically exhibited negative effects of eutrophication due to P overloading from non-point sources. To reduce P inputs to the Lake, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources requires and provides guidelines for the management of riparian buffers, which help protect adjacent water bodies from nutrient and sediment runoff. To better understand how phosphorous retention in riparian buffers is influenced by soil wetness and adjacent land use, we explored differences in P content between riparian buffers located in forested and agricultural watersheds. Within each land use type, we focused on two paired riparian buffers with contrasting soil moisture levels (one wet transect and one dry transect). At each of the four sites, soil pits were dug along a transect perpendicular to the streambank and were placed strategically to capture convergent and divergent landscape positions. Soil samples were collected from each horizon within 0-30cm. In each of these samples, we measured orthophosphate, degree of phosphorus saturation (DPS), and trace elements. We investigated the relationship between DPS and aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) concentrations to determine how much of the variability in DPS was explained by Al and Fe concentrations, and compared these relationships between the four riparian buffer sites. We also assessed how these relationships varied with depth in the soil profile. The results of these analyses allow us to identify the characteristics of riparian buffers that promote the most effective P sequestration, which is beneficial to the effective management of riparian areas within the Lake Champlain basin.

Modeling future flows of the Volta River system: Impacts of climate change and socio-economic changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Li; Whitehead, Paul G; Appeaning Addo, Kwasi; Amisigo, Barnabas; Macadam, Ian; Janes, Tamara; Crossman, Jill; Nicholls, Robert J; McCartney, Matthew; Rodda, Harvey J E

2018-05-14

As the scientific consensus concerning global climate change has increased in recent decades, research on potential impacts of climate change on water resources has been given high importance. However in Sub-Saharan Africa, few studies have fully evaluated the potential implications of climate change to their water resource systems. The Volta River is one of the major rivers in Africa covering six riparian countries (mainly Ghana and Burkina Faso). It is a principal water source for approximately 24 million people in the region. The catchment is primarily agricultural providing food supplies to rural areas, demonstrating the classic water, food, energy nexus. In this study an Integrated Catchment Model (INCA) was applied to the whole Volta River system to simulate flow in the rivers and at the outlet of the artificial Lake Volta. High-resolution climate scenarios downscaled from three different Global Climate Models (CNRM-CM5, HadGEM2-ES and CanESM2), have been used to drive the INCA model and to assess changes in flow by 2050s and 2090s under the high climate forcing scenario RCP8.5. Results show that peak flows during the monsoon months could increase into the future. The duration of high flow could become longer compared to the recent condition. In addition, we considered three different socio-economic scenarios. As an example, under the combined impact from climate change from downscaling CNRM-CM5 and medium+ (high economic growth) socio-economic changes, the extreme high flows (Q5) of the Black Volta River are projected to increase 11% and 36% at 2050s and 2090s, respectively. Lake Volta outflow would increase +1% and +5% at 2050s and 2090s, respectively, under the same scenario. The effects of changing socio-economic conditions on flow are minor compared to the climate change impact. These results will provide valuable information assisting future water resource development and adaptive strategies in the Volta Basin. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights

Initial riparian down wood dynamics in relation to thinning and buffer width

Science.gov (United States)

Paul D. Anderson; Deanna H. Olson; Adrian. Ares

2013-01-01

Down wood plays many functional roles in aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Simplifi cation of forest structure and low abundance of down wood in stream channels and riparian areas is a common legacy of historical management in headwater forests west of the Cascade Range in the US northwest. Contemporary management practices emphasize the implementation of vegetation...

Deer use of riparian zones and adjacent pine plantations in Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Micah L. Poteet; Ronald E. Thill; R. Montague Whiting; R. Lee Rayburn

1996-01-01

The authors monitored white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) use of riparian zones (RZ’s) and adjacent pine plantations of 3 age classes (young, 1 to 3 years old; intermediate, 5 to 7 years old; and older, 9 to 13 years old) using radio telemetry for 2 years on a 1,300 ha study area near Alto, TX. Riparian zones comprised 22.0 percent of the area; young,...

Estimating changes in riparian and channel features along the Trinity River downstream of Lewiston Dam, California, 1980 to 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Jennifer A.

2015-01-01

Dam construction, flow diversion, and legacy landuse effects reduced the transport capacity, sediment supply, channel complexity and floodplain-connectivity along the Trinity River, CA below Lewiston Dam. This study documents the geomorphic evolution of the Trinity River Restoration Program’s intensively managed 65-km long restoration reach from 1980 to 2011. The nature and extent of riparian and channel changes were assessed using a series of geomorphic feature maps constructed from ortho-rectified photography acquired at low flow conditions in 1980, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2009, and 2011. Since 1980 there has been a general conversion of riparian to channel features and expansion of the active channel area. The primary mechanism for expansion of the active channel was bank erosion from 1980 to 1997 and channel widening was well distributed longitudinally throughout the study reach. Subsequent net bar accretion from 1997 to 2001, followed by slightly higher net bar scour from 2001 to 2006, occurred primarily in the central and lower reaches of the study area. In comparison, post-2006 bank and bar changes were spatially-limited to reaches with sufficient local transport capacity or sediment supply supported by gravel augmentation, mechanical channel rehabilitation, and tributary contributions to flow and sediment supply. A series of tributary floods in 1997, 1998 and 2006 were the primary factors leading to documented increases in channel complexity and floodplain connectivity. During the post-2006 period managed flow releases, in the absence of large magnitude tributary flooding, combined with gravel augmentation and mechanical restoration caused localized increases in sediment supply and transport capacity leading to smaller but measurable increases in channel complexity and floodplain connectivity primarily in the upper river below Lewiston Dam.

Evaluating the consequences of salmon nutrients for riparian organisms: Linking condition metrics to stable isotopes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vizza, Carmella; Sanderson, Beth L; Coe, Holly J; Chaloner, Dominic T

2017-03-01

Stable isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) have been used extensively to trace nutrients from Pacific salmon, but salmon transfer more than carbon and nitrogen to stream ecosystems, such as phosphorus, minerals, proteins, and lipids. To examine the importance of these nutrients, metrics other than isotopes need to be considered, particularly when so few studies have made direct links between these nutrients and how they affect riparian organisms. Our study specifically examined δ 13 C and δ 15 N of riparian organisms from salmon and non-salmon streams in Idaho, USA, at different distances from the streams, and examined whether the quality of riparian plants and the body condition of invertebrates varied with access to these nutrients. Overall, quality and condition metrics did not mirror stable isotope patterns. Most notably, all riparian organisms exhibited elevated δ 15 N in salmon streams, but also with proximity to both stream types suggesting that both salmon and landscape factors may affect δ 15 N. The amount of nitrogen incorporated from Pacific salmon was low for all organisms (1950s. In addition, our results support those of other studies that have cautioned that inferences from natural abundance isotope data, particularly in conjunction with mixing models for salmon-derived nutrient percentage estimates, may be confounded by biogeochemical transformations of nitrogen, physiological processes, and even historical legacies of nitrogen sources. Critically, studies should move beyond simply describing isotopic patterns to focusing on the consequences of salmon-derived nutrients by quantifying the condition and fitness of organisms putatively using those resources.

Shifting stream planform state decreases stream productivity yet increases riparian animal production

Science.gov (United States)

Venarsky, Michael P.; Walters, David M.; Hall, Robert O.; Livers, Bridget; Wohl, Ellen

2018-01-01

In the Colorado Front Range (USA), disturbance history dictates stream planform. Undisturbed, old-growth streams have multiple channels and large amounts of wood and depositional habitat. Disturbed streams (wildfires and logging production, emerging aquatic insect flux, and riparian spider biomass. Organic matter and macroinvertebrate production did not differ among sites per unit area (m−2), but values were 2 ×–21 × higher in undisturbed reaches per unit of stream valley (m−1 valley) because total stream area was higher in undisturbed reaches. Insect emergence was similar among streams at the per unit area and per unit of stream valley. However, rescaling insect emergence to per meter of stream bank showed that the emerging insect biomass reaching the stream bank was lower in undisturbed sites because multi-channel reaches had 3 × more stream bank than single-channel reaches. Riparian spider biomass followed the same pattern as emerging aquatic insects, and we attribute this to bottom-up limitation caused by the multi-channeled undisturbed sites diluting prey quantity (emerging insects) reaching the stream bank (riparian spider habitat). These results show that historic landscape disturbances continue to influence stream and riparian communities in the Colorado Front Range. However, these legacy effects are only weakly influencing habitat-specific function and instead are primarily influencing stream–riparian community productivity by dictating both stream planform (total stream area, total stream bank length) and the proportional distribution of specific habitat types (pools vs riffles).

Riparian landscape management in the midstream of Ciliwung River as supporting Water Sensitive Cities program with priority of productive landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Noviandi, T. U. Z.; Kaswanto, R. L.; Arifin, H. S.

2017-10-01

Nowadays, Ciliwung River is facing problem of the settlement occupation in its riparian zones. This phenomenon caused ecological damage in riparian, so it can aggravate the disaster of annual flooding in Jakarta. As an effort to control this catastrophe, riparian landscape management of Ciliwung River is needed. Based on its topography, Ciliwung River is divided into three segments, there are the upstream, the midstream, and the downstream. Data shows that riparian in the midstream is the largest area, it covers more than 60% of the total riparian area. This segment is very important to be managed in order to reduce runoff towards the downstream. The method used was comparing many standards to get the ideal riparian width in the midstream, which is 50 m for urban areas and 100 m for outside the urban areas. Next method was analyzing spatially to get riparian landscape characteristic of Ciliwung River. The result showed that 37.11% of riparian zones in the midstream had occupied by settlement. Analysis of riparian function and utilization had held by using Analytical Hierarchy Process. Priority of riparian function in the midstream of Ciliwung River is production. This can be realized with the plan of community garden or inland fisheries. Riparian landscape management in the midstream aims to support the food consumption diversification, and maximize the function of water catchment and water retention in order to support the program of Water Sensitive Cities.

Effects of river restoration on riparian biodiversity in secondary channels of the Pite River, Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Helfield, James M; Engström, Johanna; Michel, James T; Nilsson, Christer; Jansson, Roland

2012-01-01

Between 1850 and 1970, rivers throughout Sweden were channelized to facilitate timber floating. Floatway structures were installed to streamline banks and disconnect flow to secondary channels, resulting in simplified channel morphologies and more homogenous flow regimes. In recent years, local authorities have begun to restore channelized rivers. In this study, we examined the effects of restoration on riparian plant communities at previously disconnected secondary channels of the Pite River. We detected no increase in riparian diversity at restored sites relative to unrestored (i.e., disconnected) sites, but we did observe significant differences in species composition of both vascular plant and bryophyte communities. Disconnected sites featured greater zonation, with mesic-hydric floodplain species represented in plots closest to the stream and mesic-xeric upland species represented in plots farthest from the stream. In contrast, restored sites were most strongly represented by upland species at all distances relative to the stream. These patterns likely result from the increased water levels in reconnected channels where, prior to restoration, upland plants had expanded toward the stream. Nonetheless, the restored fluvial regime has not brought about the development of characteristic flood-adapted plant communities, probably due to the short time interval (ca. 5 years) since restoration. Previous studies have demonstrated relatively quick responses to similar restoration in single-channel tributaries, but secondary channels may respond differently due to the more buffered hydrologic regimes typically seen in anabranching systems. These findings illustrate how restoration outcomes can vary according to hydrologic, climatic and ecological factors, reinforcing the need for site-specific restoration strategies.

The dark side of suibsidies: quantifying contaminant exposure to riparian predators via stream insects

Science.gov (United States)

Aquatic insects provide a critical nutrient subsidy to riparian food webs, yet their role as vectors of contaminants to terrestrial ecosystems is poorly understood. We investigated relationships between aquatic (resource utilization) and contaminant exposure for a riparian invert...

[Distribution pattern of rare plants along riparian zone and its implication for conservation in Shennongjia area].

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Mingxi; Deng, Hongbing; Cai, Qinghua

2002-11-01

Due to the importance of riparian zone in maintaining and protecting regional biodiversity, more and more ecologists paid their attentions to riparian zone, and had been aware of the important effects of riparian zone in basic study and practical management. In this study, forty sampling belts (10 m x 100 m) parallel to the bank of Xiangxi River at different elevations in Shennongjia area were selected to investigate the riparian vegetation and rare plants. Fourteen species of rare plants were found in riparian zone, accounting for 42.4% of total rare plant species in Shennongjia area. The main distribution range of the fourteen rare plant species was the mixed evergreen and deciduous broadleaved forest at elevation of 1200-1800 m, where species diversity of plant community was the maximum at the moderate elevation. Fourteen rare plant species could be divided into three groups against the elevation, namely low elevation species group, moderate elevation species group, and high elevation group. In the paper, the authors discussed the reasons forming the distribution pattern of rare plant species, and pointed out the important function of riparian zone on rare plant species protection.

Woody riparian vegetation response to different alluvial water table regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Shafroth, P.B.; Stromberg, J.C.; Patten, D.T.

2000-01-01

Woody riparian vegetation in western North American riparian ecosystems is commonly dependent on alluvial groundwater. Various natural and anthropogenic mechanisms can cause groundwater declines that stress riparian vegetation, but little quantitative information exists on the nature of plant response to different magnitudes, rates, and durations of groundwater decline. We observed groundwater dynamics and the response of Populus fremontii, Salix gooddingii, and Tamarix ramosissima saplings at 3 sites between 1995 and 1997 along the Bill Williams River, Arizona. At a site where the lowest observed groundwater level in 1996 (-1.97 m) was 1.11 m lower than that in 1995 (-0.86 m), 92-100% of Populus and Salix saplings died, whereas 0-13% of Tamarix stems died. A site with greater absolute water table depths in 1996 (-2.55 m), but less change from the 1995 condition (0.55 m), showed less Populus and Salix mortality and increased basal area. Excavations of sapling roots suggest that root distribution is related to groundwater history. Therefore, a decline in water table relative to the condition under which roots developed may strand plant roots where they cannot obtain sufficient moisture. Plant response is likely mediated by other factors such as soil texture and stratigraphy, availability of precipitation-derived soil moisture, physiological and morphological adaptations to water stress, and tree age. An understanding of the relationships between water table declines and plant response may enable land and water managers to avoid activities that are likely to stress desirable riparian vegetation.

The effects of human land use on flow regime and water chemistry of headwater streams in the highlands of Chiapas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Castillo M.M.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We studied the effects of land use changes on flow regime and water chemistry of headwater streams in the highlands of Chiapas, a region in southern Mexico that has experienced high rates of deforestation in the last decades. Samples for water chemistry were collected and discharge was measured between September 2007 and August 2008 at eight streams that differed in the land uses of their riparian and catchment areas, including streams draining protected forested areas. Streams with high forest cover (>70% in their catchments maintained flow through the year. Streams draining more disturbed catchments exhibited reduced or no flow for 4 − 6 months during the dry season. Nitrate concentrations were lower at streams draining forested catchments while highest concentrations were measured where conventional agriculture covered a high proportion of the catchment and riparian zone. Highest phosphorus concentrations occurred at the catchment where poultry manure was applied as fertilizer. Differences between forest streams and those draining disturbed areas were correlated with the proportion of forest and agriculture in the riparian zone. Variation in stream variables among sampling dates was lower at the forest sites than at the more disturbed study streams. Conversion of forest into agriculture and urban areas is affecting flow regime and increasing nutrient concentrations, although the magnitude of the impacts are influenced by the type of agricultural practices and the alteration of the riparian zone.

UZ Flow Models and Submodels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Y. Wu

2004-01-01

The purpose of this report is to document the unsaturated zone (UZ) flow models and submodels, as well as the flow fields that have been generated using the UZ flow model(s) of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In this report, the term ''UZ model'' refers to the UZ flow model and the several submodels, which include tracer transport, temperature or ambient geothermal, pneumatic or gas flow, and geochemistry (chloride, calcite, and strontium) submodels. The term UZ flow model refers to the three-dimensional models used for calibration and simulation of UZ flow fields. This work was planned in the ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Unsaturated Zone Flow Analysis and Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169654], Section 1.2.7). The table of included Features, Events, and Processes (FEPs), Table 6.2-11, is different from the list of included FEPs assigned to this report in the ''Technical Work Plan for: Unsaturated Zone Flow Analysis and Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169654], Table 2.1.5-1), as discussed in Section 6.2.6. The UZ model has revised, updated, and enhanced the previous UZ model (BSC 2001 [DIRS 158726]) by incorporating the repository design with new grids, recalibration of property sets, and more comprehensive validation effort. The flow fields describe fracture-fracture, matrix-matrix, and fracture-matrix liquid flow rates, and their spatial distributions as well as moisture conditions in the UZ system. These three-dimensional UZ flow fields are used directly by Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA). The model and submodels evaluate important hydrogeologic processes in the UZ as well as geochemistry and geothermal conditions. These provide the necessary framework to test hypotheses of flow and transport at different scales, and predict flow and transport behavior under a variety of climatic conditions. In addition, the limitations of the UZ model are discussed in Section 8.11

Online traffic flow model applying dynamic flow-density relation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.

2002-01-01

This dissertation describes a new approach of the online traffic flow modelling based on the hydrodynamic traffic flow model and an online process to adapt the flow-density relation dynamically. The new modelling approach was tested based on the real traffic situations in various homogeneous motorway sections and a motorway section with ramps and gave encouraging simulation results. This work is composed of two parts: first the analysis of traffic flow characteristics and second the development of a new online traffic flow model applying these characteristics. For homogeneous motorway sections traffic flow is classified into six different traffic states with different characteristics. Delimitation criteria were developed to separate these states. The hysteresis phenomena were analysed during the transitions between these traffic states. The traffic states and the transitions are represented on a states diagram with the flow axis and the density axis. For motorway sections with ramps the complicated traffic flow is simplified and classified into three traffic states depending on the propagation of congestion. The traffic states are represented on a phase diagram with the upstream demand axis and the interaction strength axis which was defined in this research. The states diagram and the phase diagram provide a basis for the development of the dynamic flow-density relation. The first-order hydrodynamic traffic flow model was programmed according to the cell-transmission scheme extended by the modification of flow dependent sending/receiving functions, the classification of cells and the determination strategy for the flow-density relation in the cells. The unreasonable results of macroscopic traffic flow models, which may occur in the first and last cells in certain conditions are alleviated by applying buffer cells between the traffic data and the model. The sending/receiving functions of the cells are determined dynamically based on the classification of the

Plant species distribution in relation to water-table depth and soil redox potential in montane riparian meadows

Science.gov (United States)

Kathleen A. Dwire; J. Boone Kauffman; John E. Baham

2006-01-01

The distribution of riparian plant species is largely driven by hydrologic and soil variables, and riparian plant communities frequently occur in relatively distinct zones along streamside elevational and soil textural gradients. In two montane meadows in northeast Oregon, USA, we examined plant species distribution in three riparian plant communities¡ªdefined as wet,...

Two-phase flow models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delaje, Dzh.

1984-01-01

General hypothesis used to simplify the equations, describing two-phase flows, are considered. Two-component and one-component models of two-phase flow, as well as Zuber and Findlay model for actual volumetric steam content, and Wallis model, describing the given phase rates, are presented. The conclusion is made, that the two-component model, in which values averaged in time are included, is applicable for the solving of three-dimensional tasks for unsteady two-phase flow. At the same time, using the two-component model, including values, averaged in space only one-dimensional tasks for unsteady two-phase flow can be solved

Flood-controlled excess-air formation favors aerobic respiration and limits denitrification activity in riparian groundwater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone ePeter

2015-11-01

the riparian aquifer characterized by pronounced changes in the flow regime and by spatial heterogeneity of the vegetation. Measuring excess-air formation helped identifying and explaining the low denitrification activity in a zone with high organic carbon turnover and to quantify organic carbon sources.

Plant biomass and species composition along an environmental gradient in montane riparian meadows

Science.gov (United States)

Kathleen A. Dwire; J. Boone Kauffman; E. N. Jack Brookshire; John E. Baham

2004-01-01

In riparian meadows, narrow zonation of the dominant vegetation frequently occurs along the elevational gradient from the stream edge to the floodplain terrace. We measured plant species composition and above- and belowground biomass in three riparian plant communities - a priori defined as wet, moist, and dry meadow - along short streamside topographic gradients in...

Effects of increased flooding on riparian vegetation: Field experiments simulating climate change along five European lowland streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Garssen, Annemarie G; Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette; Riis, Tenna; Raven, Bart M; Hoffman, Carl Christian; Verhoeven, Jos T A; Soons, Merel B

2017-08-01

In many parts of the world, the magnitude and frequency of cold-season precipitation are expected to increase in the near future. This will result in an increased magnitude and duration of winter and spring flooding by rain-fed streams and rivers. Such climate-driven increases in flooding are likely to affect riparian plant communities, but future vegetation changes are hard to predict due to current lack of data. To fill this knowledge gap, we experimentally modified the hydrology of five streams across three countries in north-western Europe during late winter/early spring over a period of 3 years. We assessed the responses in riparian plant species richness, biomass, plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus and seed deposition to increased flooding depth (+18 cm on average at the lowest positions along the riparian gradient) and prolonged flooding duration (6 weeks on average). After 3 years of increased flooding, there was an overall decline in riparian species richness, while riparian plant biomass increased. Extractable soil nitrogen and phosphorus also increased and are likely to have contributed to the increased biomass. Increased flooding resulted in the arrival of more seeds of additional species to the riparian zone, thereby potentially facilitating the shifts in riparian plant species composition we observed. The results of our concerted experimental effort demonstrate that changes in stream riparian plant communities can occur rapidly following increased winter flooding, leading to strong reductions in plant species diversity. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Shifting stream planform state decreases stream productivity yet increases riparian animal production

Science.gov (United States)

Venarsky, Michael P.; Walters, David M.; Hall, Robert O.; Livers, Bridget; Wohl, Ellen

2018-01-01

In the Colorado Front Range (USA), disturbance history dictates stream planform. Undisturbed, old-growth streams have multiple channels and large amounts of wood and depositional habitat. Disturbed streams (wildfires and logging tested how these opposing stream states influenced organic matter, benthic macroinvertebrate secondary production, emerging aquatic insect flux, and riparian spider biomass. Organic matter and macroinvertebrate production did not differ among sites per unit area (m−2), but values were 2 ×–21 × higher in undisturbed reaches per unit of stream valley (m−1 valley) because total stream area was higher in undisturbed reaches. Insect emergence was similar among streams at the per unit area and per unit of stream valley. However, rescaling insect emergence to per meter of stream bank showed that the emerging insect biomass reaching the stream bank was lower in undisturbed sites because multi-channel reaches had 3 × more stream bank than single-channel reaches. Riparian spider biomass followed the same pattern as emerging aquatic insects, and we attribute this to bottom-up limitation caused by the multi-channeled undisturbed sites diluting prey quantity (emerging insects) reaching the stream bank (riparian spider habitat). These results show that historic landscape disturbances continue to influence stream and riparian communities in the Colorado Front Range. However, these legacy effects are only weakly influencing habitat-specific function and instead are primarily influencing stream–riparian community productivity by dictating both stream planform (total stream area, total stream bank length) and the proportional distribution of specific habitat types (pools vs riffles).

Comparison of leaf-on and leaf-off ALS data for mapping riparian tree species

Science.gov (United States)

Laslier, Marianne; Ba, Antoine; Hubert-Moy, Laurence; Dufour, Simon

2017-10-01

Forest species composition is a fundamental indicator of forest study and management. However, describing forest species composition at large scales and of highly diverse populations remains an issue for which remote sensing can provide significant contribution, in particular, Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data. Riparian corridors are good examples of highly valuable ecosystems, with high species richness and large surface areas that can be time consuming and expensive to monitor with in situ measurements. Remote sensing could be useful to study them, but few studies have focused on monitoring riparian tree species using ALS data. This study aimed to determine which metrics derived from ALS data are best suited to identify and map riparian tree species. We acquired very high density leaf-on and leaf-off ALS data along the Sélune River (France). In addition, we inventoried eight main riparian deciduous tree species along the study site. After manual segmentation of the inventoried trees, we extracted 68 morphological and structural metrics from both leaf-on and leaf-off ALS point clouds. Some of these metrics were then selected using Sequential Forward Selection (SFS) algorithm. Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification results showed good accuracy with 7 metrics (0.77). Both leaf-on and leafoff metrics were kept as important metrics for distinguishing tree species. Results demonstrate the ability of 3D information derived from high density ALS data to identify riparian tree species using external and internal structural metrics. They also highlight the complementarity of leaf-on and leaf-off Lidar data for distinguishing riparian tree species.

Best management practices for riparian areas

Science.gov (United States)

Michael J. Phillips; Lloyd W. Swift; Charles R. Blinn

2000-01-01

Forest streams, lakes, and other water bodies create unique conditions along their margins that control and influence transfers of energy, nutrients, and sediments between aquatic and terrestrial systems. These riparian areas are among the most critical features of the landscape because they contain a rich diversity of plants and animals and help to maintain water...

Revisiting restored river reaches - Assessing change of aquatic and riparian communities after five years.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenz, Armin W; Haase, Peter; Januschke, Kathrin; Sundermann, Andrea; Hering, Daniel

2018-02-01

Hydromorphological restructuring of river sections, i.e. river restoration measures, often has little effects on aquatic biota, even in case of strong habitat alterations. It is often supposed that the biotic response is simply delayed as species require additional time to recolonize the newly generated habitats and to establish populations. To identify and specify the supposed lag time between restoration and biotic response, we investigated 19 restored river reaches twice in a five-year interval. The sites were restored one to ten years prior to the first sampling. We sampled three aquatic (fish, benthic invertebrates, macrophytes) and two riparian organism groups (ground beetles and riparian vegetation) and analyzed changes in assemblage composition and biotic metrics. With the exception of ground beetle assemblages, we observed no significant changes in richness and abundance metrics or metrics used for biological assessment. However, indicator taxa for near-natural habitat conditions in the riparian zone (indicators for regular inundation in plants and river bank specialists in beetles) improved significantly in the five-year interval. Contrary to general expectations in river restoration planning, we neither observed a distinct succession of aquatic communities nor a general trend towards "good ecological status" over time. Furthermore, multiple linear regression models revealed that neither the time since restoration nor the morphological status had a significant effect on the biological metrics and the assessment results. Thus, the stability of aquatic assemblages is strong, slowing down restoration effects in the aquatic zone, while riparian assemblages improve more rapidly. When defining restoration targets, the different timelines for ecological recovery after restoration should be taken into account. Furthermore, restoration measures should not solely focus on local habitat conditions but also target stressors acting on larger spatial scales and take

Evaluation of methods for delineating riparian zones in a semi-arid montane watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Jessica A. Salo; David M. Theobald; Thomas C. Brown

2016-01-01

Riparian zones in semi-arid, mountainous regions provide a disproportionate amount of the available wildlife habitat and ecosystem services. Despite their importance, there is little guidance on the best way to map riparian zones for broad spatial extents (e.g., large watersheds) when detailed maps from field data or high-resolution imagery and terrain data...

Riparian restoration in the Southwest: Species selection, propagation, planting methods, and case studies

Science.gov (United States)

David Dreesen; John Harrington; Tom Subirge; Pete Stewart; Greg Fenchel

2002-01-01

Riparian plant communities, though small in overall area, are among the most valuable natural areas in the Southwest. The causes of degradation of southwestern riparian zones range from excessive cattle and elk grazing in montane watersheds to invasive woody exotic species and lack of natural flooding in the cottonwood forests, "bosque," of low elevation...

Dendroclimatic signals deduced from riparian versus upland forest interior pines in North Karelia, Finland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helama, Samuli; Arentoft, Birgitte W.; Collin-Haubensak, Olivier

2013-01-01

Radial growth of boreal tree species is only rarely studied in riparian habitats. Here we investigated chronologies of earlywood, latewood, and annual ring widths and blue intensity (BI; a surrogate to latewood density) from riparian lake shore and upland forest interior pines (Pinus sylvestris L...

Conservation of soil, water and nutrients in surface runoff using riparian plant species.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Prabodh; Singh, Shipra

2012-01-01

Three riparian plant species viz. Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Saccharum bengalensis Retz. and Parthenium hysterophorus L. were selected from the riparian zone of Kali river at Aligarh to conduct the surface runoff experiment to compare their conservation efficiencies for soil, water and nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen). Experimental plots were prepared on artificial slopes in botanical garden and on natural slopes on study site. Selected riparian plant species showed the range of conservation values for soil and water from 47.11 to 95.22% and 44.06 to 72.50%, respectively on artificial slope and from 44.53 to 95.33% and 48.36 to 73.15%, respectively on natural slope. Conservation values for phosphorus and nitrogen ranged from 40.83 to 88.89% and 59.78 to 82.22%, respectively on artificial slope and from 50.01 to 90.16% and 68.07 to 85.62%, respectively on natural slope. It was observed that Cynodon dactylon was the most efficient riparian species in conservation of soil, water and nutrients in surface runoff.

Impacts of hydroelectric dams on alluvial riparian plant communities in Eastern Brazilian Amazonian.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Leandro Valle; Cunha, Denise A; Chaves, Priscilla P; Matos, Darley C L; Parolin, Pia

2013-09-01

The major rivers of the Amazon River basin and their biota are threatened by the planned construction of large hydroelectric dams that are expected to have strong impacts on floodplain plant communities. The present study presents forest inventories from three floodplain sites colonized by alluvial riparian vegetation in the Tapajós, Xingu and Tocantins River basins in eastern Amazonian. Results indicate that tree species of the highly specialized alluvial riparian vegetation are clearly distinct among the three river basins, although they are not very distinct from each other and environmental constraints are very similar. With only 6 of 74 species occurring in all three inventories, most tree and shrub species are restricted to only one of the rivers, indicating a high degree of local distribution. Different species occupy similar environmental niches, making these fragile riparian formations highly valuable. Conservation plans must consider species complementarily when decisions are made on where to place floodplain forest conservation units to avoid the irreversible loss of unique alluvial riparian vegetation biodiversity.

Impacts of hydroelectric dams on alluvial riparian plant communities in eastern Brazilian Amazonian

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LEANDRO VALLE FERREIRA

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The major rivers of the Amazon River basin and their biota are threatened by the planned construction of large hydroelectric dams that are expected to have strong impacts on floodplain plant communities. The present study presents forest inventories from three floodplain sites colonized by alluvial riparian vegetation in the Tapajós, Xingu and Tocantins River basins in eastern Amazonian. Results indicate that tree species of the highly specialized alluvial riparian vegetation are clearly distinct among the three river basins, although they are not very distinct from each other and environmental constraints are very similar. With only 6 of 74 species occurring in all three inventories, most tree and shrub species are restricted to only one of the rivers, indicating a high degree of local distribution. Different species occupy similar environmental niches, making these fragile riparian formations highly valuable. Conservation plans must consider species complementarily when decisions are made on where to place floodplain forest conservation units to avoid the irreversible loss of unique alluvial riparian vegetation biodiversity.

UZ Flow Models and Submodels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Y. Wu

2004-11-01

The purpose of this report is to document the unsaturated zone (UZ) flow models and submodels, as well as the flow fields that have been generated using the UZ flow model(s) of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In this report, the term ''UZ model'' refers to the UZ flow model and the several submodels, which include tracer transport, temperature or ambient geothermal, pneumatic or gas flow, and geochemistry (chloride, calcite, and strontium) submodels. The term UZ flow model refers to the three-dimensional models used for calibration and simulation of UZ flow fields. This work was planned in the ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Unsaturated Zone Flow Analysis and Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169654], Section 1.2.7). The table of included Features, Events, and Processes (FEPs), Table 6.2-11, is different from the list of included FEPs assigned to this report in the ''Technical Work Plan for: Unsaturated Zone Flow Analysis and Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169654], Table 2.1.5-1), as discussed in Section 6.2.6. The UZ model has revised, updated, and enhanced the previous UZ model (BSC 2001 [DIRS 158726]) by incorporating the repository design with new grids, recalibration of property sets, and more comprehensive validation effort. The flow fields describe fracture-fracture, matrix-matrix, and fracture-matrix liquid flow rates, and their spatial distributions as well as moisture conditions in the UZ system. These three-dimensional UZ flow fields are used directly by Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA). The model and submodels evaluate important hydrogeologic processes in the UZ as well as geochemistry and geothermal conditions. These provide the necessary framework to test hypotheses of flow and transport at different scales, and predict flow and transport behavior under a variety of climatic conditions. In addition, the limitations of the UZ model are discussed in Section 8.11.

Recent land cover history and nutrient retention in riparian wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, D.M.; Walbridge, M.R.

2009-01-01

Wetland ecosystems are profoundly affected by altered nutrient and sediment loads received from anthropogenic activity in their surrounding watersheds. Our objective was to compare a gradient of agricultural and urban land cover history during the period from 1949 to 1997, with plant and soil nutrient concentrations in, and sediment deposition to, riparian wetlands in a rapidly urbanizing landscape. We observed that recent agricultural land cover was associated with increases in Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) concentrations in a native wetland plant species. Conversely, recent urban land cover appeared to alter receiving wetland environmental conditions by increasing the relative availability of P versus N, as reflected in an invasive, but not a native, plant species. In addition, increases in surface soil Fe content suggests recent inputs of terrestrial sediments associated specifically with increasing urban land cover. The observed correlation between urban land cover and riparian wetland plant tissue and surface soil nutrient concentrations and sediment deposition, suggest that urbanization specifically enhances the suitability of riparian wetland habitats for the invasive species Japanese stiltgrass [Microstegium vimenium (Trinius) A. Camus]. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

EnviroAtlas - Durham, NC - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets ).

EnviroAtlas - Portland, Maine - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Portland, ME - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Austin, TX - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. Vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest and Grass & Herbaceous. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Memphis, TN - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. Forest is defined as Trees & Forest and Woody Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Portland, OR - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area.This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (http:/www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Milwaukee, WI - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Pittsburgh, PA - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Fresno, CA - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area.This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Woodbine, Iowa - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area.This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Phoenix, AZ - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Phoenix, AZ - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Tampa, FL - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Woodbine, IA - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Milwaukee, WI - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Portland, OR - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (http:/www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Cleveland, OH - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. In this community, forest is defined as Trees & Forest and Woody Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - Pittsburgh, PA - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Fresno, CA - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Durham, NC - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets ).

EnviroAtlas - Paterson, NJ - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. EnviroAtlas defines tree buffer for this community as only trees and forest. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Tampa, FL - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Austin, TX - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. Forest is defined as Trees & Forest. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Indirect effects of biocontrol of an invasive riparian plant (Tamarix) alters habitat and reduces herpetofauna abundance

Science.gov (United States)

Bateman, H.L.; Merritt, D.M.; Glenn, E.P.; Nagler, P.L.

2014-01-01

The biological control agent (tamarisk leaf beetle, Diorhabda spp.) is actively being used to defoliate exotic saltcedar or tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in riparian ecosystems in western USA. The Virgin River in Arizona and Nevada is a system where tamarisk leaf beetle populations are spreading. Saltcedar biocontrol, like other control methods, has the potential to affect non-target species. Because amphibians and reptiles respond to vegetation changes in habitat and forage in areas where beetles are active, herpetofauna are model taxa to investigate potential impacts of biocontrol defoliation. Our objectives related herpetofauna abundance to vegetation cover and indices (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI; enhanced vegetation index, EVI) and timing of biocontrol defoliation. We captured herpetofauna and ground-dwelling arthropods in trap arrays and measured vegetation using remotely sensed images and on-the-ground measurements at 16–21 sites 2 years before (2009–2010) and 2 years following (2011–2012) biocontrol defoliation. Following defoliation, riparian stands (including stands mixed with native and exotic trees and stands of monotypic exotic saltcedar) had significantly lower NDVI and EVI values and fewer captures of marked lizards. Total captures of herpetofauna (toads, lizards, and snakes) were related to higher vegetation cover and sites with a lower proportion of saltcedar. Our results suggest that effects of biocontrol defoliation are likely to be site-specific and depend upon the proportion of native riparian trees established prior to biocontrol introduction and defoliation. The mechanisms by which habitat structure, microclimate, and ultimately vertebrate species are affected by exotic plant biocontrol riparian areas should be a focus of natural-resource managers.

Phytostabilization of metals by indigenous riparian vegetation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

When measured against an ideal hypothetical buffer zone, the buffer zones under investigation varied between intact and severely compromised. Intact riparian zones showed elevated metal concentrations in the soil, yet significantly lower concentrations in the river water compared to areas with insufficient vegetative cover ...

Survival of Saplings in Recovery of Riparian Vegetation of Pandeiros River (MG)

OpenAIRE

Nathalle Cristine Alencar Fagundes; Lílian de Lima Braga; Wesley Alves Silva; Chirley Alves Coutinho; Walter Viana Neves; Ricardo Almeida de Souza; Maria das Dores Magalhães Veloso; Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT This study monitored the survival of saplings planted according to different recovery models in a riparian forest of the Pandeiros river (Januária, MG). The models consisted of planting the saplings in lines of 2 or 4 m with presence (T2S and T4S, respectively) or absence of direct seeding (T2 and T4, respectively). We planted 16,259 saplings of 17 botanical families, 32 genera and 33 species. The saplings, in general, presented a survival rate after one year of 34.4% (±1.8). The spe...

Developing management strategies for riparian areas.

Science.gov (United States)

D.E. Hibbs; S. Chan

2001-01-01

This talk outlines four principles that are critical to successful management of a riparian area. First, given problems both with defining historic conditions and with returning to them, attaining management goals based on restoration of ecological processes and functions will be far more successful. Second, the management goals for any stream reach must be placed in a...

Aquatic grazers reduce the establishment and growth of riparian plants along an environmental gradient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veen, G.F.; Sarneel, J.M.; Ravensbergen, Lone; Huig, N.; van Paassen, José; Rip, W.; Bakker, E.S.

2013-01-01

Summary The establishment of riparian plants is determined by abiotic conditions and grazing, although it is usually presumed that the former are most important. We tested the impact of aquatic grazers on the survival and growth of establishing riparian plants and whether the impact of grazing

Riparian forest buffers mitigate the effects of deforestation on fish assemblages in tropical headwater streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorion, Christopher M; Kennedy, Brian P

2009-03-01

Riparian forest buffers may play a critical role in moderating the impacts of deforestation on tropical stream ecosystems, but very few studies have examined the ecological effects of riparian buffers in the tropics. To test the hypothesis that riparian forest buffers can reduce the impacts of deforestation on tropical stream biota, we sampled fish assemblages in lowland headwater streams in southeastern Costa Rica representing three different treatments: (1) forested reference stream reaches, (2) stream reaches adjacent to pasture with a riparian forest buffer averaging at least 15 m in width on each bank, and (3) stream reaches adjacent to pasture without a riparian forest buffer. Land cover upstream from the study reaches was dominated by forest at all of the sites, allowing us to isolate the reach-scale effects of the three study treatments. Fish density was significantly higher in pasture reaches than in forest and forest buffer reaches, mostly due to an increase in herbivore-detritivores, but fish biomass did not differ among reach types. Fish species richness was also higher in pasture reaches than in forested reference reaches, while forest buffer reaches were intermediate. Overall, the taxonomic and trophic structure of fish assemblages in forest and forest buffer reaches was very similar, while assemblages in pasture reaches were quite distinct. These patterns were persistent across three sampling periods during our 15-month study. Differences in stream ecosystem conditions between pasture reaches and forested sites, including higher stream temperatures, reduced fruit and seed inputs, and a trend toward increased periphyton abundance, appeared to favor fish species normally found in larger streams and facilitate a native invasion process. Forest buffer reaches, in contrast, had stream temperatures and allochthonous inputs more similar to forested streams. Our results illustrate the importance of riparian areas to stream ecosystem integrity in the tropics

UZ Flow Models and Submodels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, P.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this Model Report is to document the unsaturated zone (UZ) fluid flow and tracer transport models and submodels as well as the flow fields generated utilizing the UZ Flow and Transport Model of Yucca Mountain (UZ Model), Nevada. This work was planned in ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Performance Assessment Unsaturated Zone'' (BSC 2002 [160819], Section 1.10, Work Package AUZM06). The UZ Model has revised, updated, and enhanced the previous UZ Flow Model REV 00 ICN 01 (BSC 2001 [158726]) by incorporation of the conceptual repository design with new grids, recalibration of property sets, and more comprehensive validation effort. The flow fields describe fracture-fracture, matrix-matrix, and fracture-matrix liquid flow rates and their spatial distributions as well as moisture conditions in the UZ system. These 3-D UZ flow fields are used directly by Performance Assessment (PA). The model and submodels evaluate important hydrogeologic processes in the UZ as well as geochemistry and geothermal conditions. These provide the necessary framework to test conceptual hypotheses of flow and transport at different scales and predict flow and transport behavior under a variety of climatic conditions. In addition, this Model Report supports several PA activities, including abstractions, particle-tracking transport simulations, and the UZ Radionuclide Transport Model

UZ Flow Models and Submodels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P. Dixon

2004-02-11

The purpose of this Model Report is to document the unsaturated zone (UZ) fluid flow and tracer transport models and submodels as well as the flow fields generated utilizing the UZ Flow and Transport Model of Yucca Mountain (UZ Model), Nevada. This work was planned in ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Performance Assessment Unsaturated Zone'' (BSC 2002 [160819], Section 1.10, Work Package AUZM06). The UZ Model has revised, updated, and enhanced the previous UZ Flow Model REV 00 ICN 01 (BSC 2001 [158726]) by incorporation of the conceptual repository design with new grids, recalibration of property sets, and more comprehensive validation effort. The flow fields describe fracture-fracture, matrix-matrix, and fracture-matrix liquid flow rates and their spatial distributions as well as moisture conditions in the UZ system. These 3-D UZ flow fields are used directly by Performance Assessment (PA). The model and submodels evaluate important hydrogeologic processes in the UZ as well as geochemistry and geothermal conditions. These provide the necessary framework to test conceptual hypotheses of flow and transport at different scales and predict flow and transport behavior under a variety of climatic conditions. In addition, this Model Report supports several PA activities, including abstractions, particle-tracking transport simulations, and the UZ Radionuclide Transport Model.

Simulated effects of groundwater pumping and artificial recharge on surface-water resources and riparian vegetation in the Verde Valley sub-basin, Central Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Leake, Stanley A.; Pool, Donald R.

2010-01-01

In the Verde Valley sub-basin, groundwater use has increased in recent decades. Residents and stakeholders in the area have established several groups to help in planning for sustainability of water and other resources of the area. One of the issues of concern is the effect of groundwater pumping in the sub-basin on surface water and on groundwater-dependent riparian vegetation. The Northern Arizona Regional Groundwater-Flow Model by Pool and others (in press) is the most comprehensive and up-to-date tool available to understand the effects of groundwater pumping in the sub-basin. Using a procedure by Leake and others (2008), this model was modified and used to calculate effects of groundwater pumping on surface-water flow and evapotranspiration for areas in the sub-basin. This report presents results for the upper two model layers for pumping durations of 10 and 50 years. Results are in the form of maps that indicate the fraction of the well pumping rate that can be accounted for as the combined effect of reduced surface-water flow and evapotranspiration. In general, the highest and most rapid responses to pumping were computed to occur near surface-water features simulated in the modified model, but results are not uniform along these features. The results are intended to indicate general patterns of model-computed response over large areas. For site-specific projects, improved results may require detailed studies of the local hydrologic conditions and a refinement of the modified model in the area of interest.

The role of riparian vegetation density, channel orientation and water velocity in determining river temperature dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Garner, Grace; Malcolm, Iain A.; Sadler, Jonathan P.; Hannah, David M.

2017-10-01

A simulation experiment was used to understand the importance of riparian vegetation density, channel orientation and flow velocity for stream energy budgets and river temperature dynamics. Water temperature and meteorological observations were obtained in addition to hemispherical photographs along a ∼1 km reach of the Girnock Burn, a tributary of the Aberdeenshire Dee, Scotland. Data from nine hemispherical images (representing different uniform canopy density scenarios) were used to parameterise a deterministic net radiation model and simulate radiative fluxes. For each vegetation scenario, the effects of eight channel orientations were investigated by changing the position of north at 45° intervals in each hemispheric image. Simulated radiative fluxes and observed turbulent fluxes drove a high-resolution water temperature model of the reach. Simulations were performed under low and high water velocity scenarios. Both velocity scenarios yielded decreases in mean (≥1.6 °C) and maximum (≥3.0 °C) temperature as canopy density increased. Slow-flowing water resided longer within the reach, which enhanced heat accumulation and dissipation, and drove higher maximum and lower minimum temperatures. Intermediate levels of shade produced highly variable energy flux and water temperature dynamics depending on the channel orientation and thus the time of day when the channel was shaded. We demonstrate that in many reaches relatively sparse but strategically located vegetation could produce substantial reductions in maximum temperature and suggest that these criteria are used to inform future river management.

Wildlife Response to Riparian Restoration on the Sacramento River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory H Golet

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Studies that assess the success of riparian restoration projects seldom focus on wildlife. More generally, vegetation characteristics are studied, with the assumption that animal populations will recover once adequate habitats are established. On the Sacramento River, millions of dollars have been spent on habitat restoration, yet few studies of wildlife response have been published. Here we present the major findings of a suite of studies that assessed responses of four taxonomic groups (insects, birds, bats, and rodents. Study designs fell primarily into two broad categories: comparisons of restoration sites of different ages, and comparisons of restoration sites with agricultural and remnant riparian sites. Older restoration sites showed increased abundances of many species of landbirds and bats relative to younger sites, and the same trend was observed for the Valley elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus, a federally threatened species. Species richness of landbirds and ground-dwelling beetles appeared to increase as restoration sites matured. Young restoration sites provided benefits to species that utilize early successional riparian habitats, and after about 10 years, the sites appeared to provide many of the complex structural habitat elements that are characteristic of remnant forest patches. Eleven-year old sites were occupied by both cavity-nesting birds and special-status crevice-roosting bats. Restored sites also supported a wide diversity of bee species, and had richness similar to remnant sites. Remnant sites had species compositions of beetles and rodents more similar to older sites than to younger sites. Because study durations were short for all but landbirds, results should be viewed as preliminary. Nonetheless, in aggregate, they provide convincing evidence that restoration along the Sacramento River has been successful in restoring riparian habitats for a broad suite of faunal species. Not only did

Improved Mapping of Riparian Wetlands Using Reach Topography

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian wetlands provide a suite of ecosystems services including floodwater retention, biogeochemical processing, and habitat provisioning. However in one mid-Atlantic watershed the National Wetlands Inventory was shown to underrepresent these systems by greater than 50%. These...

Nitrogen removal and microbial communities in a three-stage system simulating a riparian environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ziyuan; Wang, Zhixin; Pei, Yuansheng

2014-06-01

The riparian zone is an active interface for nitrogen removal, in which nitrogen transformations by microorganisms have not been valued. In this study, a three-stage system was constructed to simulate the riparian zone environments, and nitrogen removal as well as the microbial community was investigated in this 'engineered riparian system'. The results demonstrated that stage 1 of this system accounted for 41-51 % of total nitrogen removal. Initial ammonium loading and redox potential significantly impacted the nitrogen removal performances. Stages 1 and 2 were both composed of an anoxic/oxic (A/O) zone and an anaerobic column. The A/O zone removed most of the ammonium load (6.8 g/m(2)/day), while the anaerobic column showed a significant nitrate removal rate (11.1 g/m(2)/day). Molecular biological analysis demonstrated that bacterial diversity was high in the A/O zones, where ammonium-oxidizing bacteria and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria accounted for 8.42 and 3.32 % of the bacterial population, respectively. The denitrifying bacteria Acidovorax sp. and the nitrifying bacteria Nitrosospira/Nitrosomonas were the predominant microorganisms in this engineered riparian system. This three-stage system was established to achieve favorable nitrogen removal and the microbial community in the system was also retained. This investigation should deepen our understanding of biological nitrogen removal in engineered riparian zones.

Effects of local land-use on riparian vegetation, water quality, and the functional organization of macroinvertebrate assemblages.

Science.gov (United States)

Fierro, Pablo; Bertrán, Carlos; Tapia, Jaime; Hauenstein, Enrique; Peña-Cortés, Fernando; Vergara, Carolina; Cerna, Cindy; Vargas-Chacoff, Luis

2017-12-31

Land-use change is a principal factor affecting riparian vegetation and river biodiversity. In Chile, land-use change has drastically intensified over the last decade, with native forests converted to exotic forest plantations and agricultural land. However, the effects thereof on aquatic ecosystems are not well understood. Closing this knowledge gap first requires understanding how human perturbations affect riparian and stream biota. Identified biological indicators could then be applied to determine the health of fluvial ecosystems. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of land-use change on the health of riparian and aquatic ecosystems by assessing riparian vegetation, water quality, benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, and functional feeding groups. Twenty-one sites in catchment areas with different land-uses (i.e. pristine forests, native forests, exotic forest plantations, and agricultural land) were selected and sampled during the 2010 to 2012 dry seasons. Riparian vegetation quality was highest in pristine forests. Per the modified Macroinvertebrate Family Biotic Index for Chilean species, the best conditions existed in native forests and the worst in agricultural catchments. Water quality and macroinvertebrate assemblages significantly varied across land-use areas, with forest plantations and agricultural land having high nutrient concentrations, conductivity, suspended solids, and apparent color. Macroinvertebrate assemblage diversity was lowest for agricultural and exotic forest plantation catchments, with notable non-insect representation. Collector-gatherers were the most abundant functional feeding group, suggesting importance independent of land-use. Land-use areas showed no significant differences in functional feeding groups. In conclusion, anthropogenic land-use changes were detectable through riparian quality, water quality, and macroinvertebrate assemblages, but not through functional feeding groups. These data, particularly the

Effects of climate-induced increases in summer drought on riparian plant species : a meta-analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garssen, Annemarie G.; Verhoeven, Jos T. A.; Soons, Merel B.

Frequency and duration of summer droughts are predicted to increase in the near future in many parts of the world, with considerable anticipated effects on riparian plant community composition and species richness. Riparian plant communities along lowland streams are characterised by high species

Stream channel designs for riparian and wet meadow rangelands in the southwestern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Roy Jemison; Daniel G. Neary

2000-01-01

Inappropriate land uses have degraded wetland and riparian ecosystems throughout the Southwestern United States. In 1996, the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico implemented a channel relocation project, as part of a road improvement project, to determine the feasibility of restoring wet meadow and riparian ecosystems degraded by inappropriately located roads and...

Avian nest box selection and nest success in burned and unburned southwestern riparian forests

Science.gov (United States)

D. Max Smith; Jeffrey F. Kelly; Deborah M. Finch

2007-01-01

Riparian forest communities in the southwestern United States were historically structured by a disturbance regime of annual flooding. In recent decades, however, frequency of flooding has decreased and frequency of wildfires has increased. Riparian forests provide important breeding habitat for a large variety of bird species, and the effects of this altered...

Role of river flow and sediment mobilization in riparian alder establishment along a bedrock-gravel river, South Fork Eel River, California

Science.gov (United States)

Jablkowski, P.; Johnson, E. A.; Martin, Y. E.

2017-10-01

Climatic, hydraulics, hydrologic, and fluvial geomorphic processes are the main drivers of riparian white alder (Alnus rhombifolia Nutt.) distribution in northern California. The Mediterranean climate and canyon bound, bedrock-gravel morphology of the South Fork Eel have a distinct effect on these processes. White alder seeds are preferentially deposited on river bars where river hydraulics create eddies coinciding with the downstream part of riffles and the upstream part of pools. Seeds are generally deposited below bankfull elevations by the descending hydrograph during the spring season in this Mediterranean climate. For successful germination and establishment, the seeds must be deposited at a location such that they are not remobilized by late spring flows. The summer establishment period is defined from the date of seed deposition and germination to the fall/winter date of river sediment mobilization. Seedling root growth rate decreases exponentially with decreasing water potential. However, seedlings are shown not to be generally limited by water availability at the elevations they are most commonly deposited. The establishment of white alder seedlings following the first summer will therefore depend on their ability to resist fall/winter high flows. The method proposed here compares the predicted rooting depth to predicted sediment scour rates. The length of the establishment period rather than water availability determines final seedling rooting depth. Over the past 40 years, very few years had establishment periods that were long enough or had fast enough alder growth rates to survive winter floods that often scour deeper than the total root length. The low survival of seedlings in the first autumn season following germination is believed to be a principal reason for the missing age classes often found in alder distributions along rivers.

Power and Conflict in Adaptive Management: Analyzing the Discourse of Riparian Management on Public Lands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer S. Arnold

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Adaptive collaborative management emphasizes stakeholder engagement as a crucial component of resilient social-ecological systems. Collaboration among diverse stakeholders is expected to enhance learning, build social legitimacy for decision making, and establish relationships that support learning and adaptation in the long term. However, simply bringing together diverse stakeholders does not guarantee productive engagement. Using critical discourse analysis, we examined how diverse stakeholders negotiated knowledge and power in a workshop designed to inform adaptive management of riparian livestock grazing on a National Forest in the southwestern USA. Publicly recognized as a successful component of a larger collaborative effort, we found that the workshop effectively brought together diverse participants, yet still restricted dialogue in important ways. Notably, workshop facilitators took on the additional roles of riparian experts and instructors. As they guided workshop participants toward a consensus view of riparian conditions and management recommendations, they used their status as riparian experts to emphasize commonalities with stakeholders supportive of riparian grazing and accentuate differences with stakeholders skeptical of riparian grazing, including some Forest Service staff with power to influence management decisions. Ultimately, the management plan published one year later did not fully adopt the consensus view from the workshop, but rather included and acknowledged a broader diversity of stakeholder perspectives. Our findings suggest that leaders and facilitators of adaptive collaborative management can more effectively manage for productive stakeholder engagement and, thus, social-ecological resilience if they are more tentative in their convictions, more critical of the role of expert knowledge, and more attentive to the knowledge, interests, and power of diverse stakeholders.

Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Arruda, Wellinton de Sá; Oldeland, Jens; Paranhos Filho, Antonio Conceição; Pott, Arnildo; Cunha, Nicolay L; Ishii, Iria Hiromi; Damasceno-Junior, Geraldo Alves

2016-01-01

Inundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the interaction between both. The study was conducted in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River some of which were burned three times between 2001 and 2011. We sampled trees with a girth of at least 5 cm at breast height in 150 5 × 10 m plots (79 burned and 71 unburned). We also measured height of the flood mark and estimated the flooding duration of each plot. We performed Generalized Linear Mixed Models to verify differences in richness, basal area, and abundance of individuals associated to interaction of fire and inundation. We used an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and indicator species analysis to identify differences in composition of species and the association with burned and unburned area according to different levels of inundation. Finally, we used a hierarchical set of Generalized Linear Models (GLM), the so-called HOF models, to analyse each species' specific response to inundation based on topography and to determine their preferred optimal topographic position for both burned as well as unburned areas. Richness was positively associated with elevation only in burned areas while abundance was negatively influenced by inundation only in burned areas. Basal area was negatively associated with time of inundation independent of fire history. There were 15 species which were significant indicators for at least one combination of the studied factors. We found nine species in burned areas and 15 in unburned areas, with response curves in HOF models along the inundation gradient. From these, five species shifted their optimal position along the inundation gradient in burned areas. The interaction of fire and inundation did not appear to affect the basal area, but it

Multicriteria analysis to evaluate the energetic reuse of riparian vegetation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recchia, Lucia; Cini, Enrico; Corsi, Stefano

2010-01-01

The management of riparian vegetation which includes cutting operations of grass, reeds, bushes and trees, is very important to reduce hydrogeologic risk. In Tuscany, riparian biomass and residues are mainly left shredded along courses or disposed in landfills as special wastes: actually different laws prohibit that tree trunks are abandoned in areas naturally affected by flooding, because they can be moved contributing to increase the water level and to maximize the hydraulic risk of some other nearby areas. In some cases, it is also possible to store the logs in specified sites from where they can be taken and used as a fuel in fireplaces or domestic heating plants. This work studies the possibility of the reuse of riparian vegetation as biomass for energy production and evaluates benefits and drawbacks from the economical, environmental and managerial points of view. Particularly, a specific methodology has been developed for two hydrological districts of Tuscany, with different typologies and densities of vegetation. First, an estimation of biomass distribution on the land and an evaluation of annual wood availability have been carried out; then, different chains concerning harvesting operation, biomass transport, storage conditions and final utilisation, have been defined and compared by a specific multicriteria analysis (MCA); finally, for the most suitable bio-energy chains the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been implemented. Results of the LCA have also permitted to validate some environmental indicators used in the MCA, as mechanisation level of yards, energy efficiency of plants or transport distances. The decision making tool developed allows to compare costs and environmental benefits of the energy use of riparian vegetation, supporting local authorities involved in energy planning: in this way it is possible to confront different alternatives to match the energy demand and meet the energy saving and sustainability issues at the lowest cost for the

Multicriteria analysis to evaluate the energetic reuse of riparian vegetation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Recchia, Lucia; Cini, Enrico [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Agraria e Forestale, Universita di Firenze, Piazzale delle Cascine 15, 50144 Firenze (Italy); Corsi, Stefano [Consorzio di Bonifica per la difesa del suolo e la tutela dell' ambiente della Toscana Centrale, via Verdi 16, 50122 Firenze (Italy)

2010-01-15

The management of riparian vegetation which includes cutting operations of grass, reeds, bushes and trees, is very important to reduce hydrogeologic risk. In Tuscany, riparian biomass and residues are mainly left shredded along courses or disposed in landfills as special wastes: actually different laws prohibit that tree trunks are abandoned in areas naturally affected by flooding, because they can be moved contributing to increase the water level and to maximize the hydraulic risk of some other nearby areas. In some cases, it is also possible to store the logs in specified sites from where they can be taken and used as a fuel in fireplaces or domestic heating plants. This work studies the possibility of the reuse of riparian vegetation as biomass for energy production and evaluates benefits and drawbacks from the economical, environmental and managerial points of view. Particularly, a specific methodology has been developed for two hydrological districts of Tuscany, with different typologies and densities of vegetation. First, an estimation of biomass distribution on the land and an evaluation of annual wood availability have been carried out; then, different chains concerning harvesting operation, biomass transport, storage conditions and final utilisation, have been defined and compared by a specific multicriteria analysis (MCA); finally, for the most suitable bio-energy chains the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been implemented. Results of the LCA have also permitted to validate some environmental indicators used in the MCA, as mechanisation level of yards, energy efficiency of plants or transport distances. The decision making tool developed allows to compare costs and environmental benefits of the energy use of riparian vegetation, supporting local authorities involved in energy planning: in this way it is possible to confront different alternatives to match the energy demand and meet the energy saving and sustainability issues at the lowest cost for the

A landscape scale valley confinement algorithm: Delineating unconfined valley bottoms for geomorphic, aquatic, and riparian applications

Science.gov (United States)

David E. Nagel; John M. Buffington; Sharon L. Parkes; Seth Wenger; Jaime R. Goode

2014-01-01

Valley confinement is an important landscape characteristic linked to aquatic habitat, riparian diversity, and geomorphic processes. This report describes a GIS program called the Valley Confinement Algorithm (VCA), which identifies unconfined valleys in montane landscapes. The algorithm uses nationally available digital elevation models (DEMs) at 10-30 m resolution to...

Variation in experimental flood impacts and ecogeomorphic feedbacks among native and exotic riparian tree seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

Kui, L.; Stella, J. C.; Skorko, K.; Lightbody, A.; Wilcox, A. C.; Bywater-Reyes, S.

2012-12-01

Flooding interacts with riparian plants on a variety of scales, resulting in coevolution of geomorphic surfaces with plant vegetation communities. Our research aims to develop a mechanistic understanding of riparian seedling damage from small floods, with a focus on differential responses among species (native and non-native), ecogeomorphic feedbacks, and implications for riparian restoration. We tested the effects of controlled flood events on cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) seedlings in an experimental meandering stream channel. We hypothesized that seedling dislodgement and burial would be influenced by individual plant height, species-specific morphology, patch density, and differences in hydraulic forces (as a function of location on the bar). Four experimental floods were tested, with different combinations of plant species and seedling densities. For each flood run, rooted seedlings were installed within a 1.5-m-wide sandbar during low flow conditions and stream discharge was increased to a constant flood level for approximately 8 hours, after which seedling response was assessed. Seedling damage was analyzed within a logistic regression framework that predicted the probability of dislodgement or burial as a function of the explanatory variables. Plant dislodgement depended on root length and the location on the sandbar, whereas burial depended on plant height, species-specific morphology, and location. For every centimeter increase in plant height, the odds of plant burial decreased by 10 percent, illustrating the rate at which plants developed flood resistance as they grow taller. With every meter closer to the thalweg, plant dislodgement was four times more likely, and plant burial was 2.6 times more likely. The probability of burial was twice as great for tamarisk seedlings as for cottonwood. The increased sedimentation within tamarisk patches was associated with a denser foliage and a more compact crown for this species. The

EnviroAtlas - Cleveland, OH - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest, Grass & Herbaceous, Woody Wetlands, and Emergent Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - Paterson, NJ - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. EnviroAtlas defines vegetated buffer for this community as trees and forest and grass and herbaceous. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Memphis, TN - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. Vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest, Grass & Herbaceous, Woody Wetlands, and Emergent Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Human impacts on riparian ecosystems of the Middle Rio Grande Valley during historic times

Science.gov (United States)

Frank E. Wozniak

1996-01-01

The development of irrigation agriculture in historic times has profoundly impacted riparian ecosystems in the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. A vital relationship has existed between water resources and settlement in the semi-arid Southwest since prehistoric times. Levels of technology have influenced human generated changes in the riparian ecosystems of the...

Small scale denitrification variability in riparian zones: Results from a high-resolution dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Gassen, Niklas; Knöller, Kay; Musolff, Andreas; Popp, Felix; Lüders, Tillmann; Stumpp, Christine

2017-04-01

Riparian zones are important compartments at the interface between groundwater and surface water where biogeochemical processes like denitrification are often enhanced. Nitrate loads of either groundwater entering a stream through the riparian zone or streamwater infiltrating into the riparian zone can be substantially reduced. These processes are spatially and temporally highly variable, making it difficult to capture solute variabilities, estimate realistic turnover rates and thus to quantify integral mass removal. A crucial step towards a more detailed characterization is to monitor solutes on a scale which adequately resemble the highly heterogeneous distribution and on a scale where processes occur. We measured biogeochemical parameters in a spatial high resolution within a riparian corridor of a German lowland river system over the course of one year. Samples were taken from three newly developed high-resolution multi-level wells with a maximum vertical resolution of 5 cm and analyzed for major ions, DOC and N-O isotopes. Sediment derived during installation of the wells was analyzed for specific denitrifying enzymes. Results showed a distinct depth zonation of hydrochemistry within the shallow alluvial aquifer, with a 1 m thick zone just below the water table with lower nitrate concentrations and EC values similar to the nearby river. Conservative parameters were consistent inbetween the three wells, but nitrate was highly variable. In addition, spots with low nitrate concentrations showed isotopic and microbial evidence for higher denitrification activities. The depth zonation was observed throughout the year, with stronger temporal variations of nitrate concentrations just below the water table compared to deeper layers. Nitrate isotopes showed a clear seasonal trend of denitrification activities (high in summer, low in winter). Our dataset gives new insight into river-groundwater exchange processes and shows the highly heterogeneous distribution of

Riparian vegetation in the alpine connectome: Terrestrial-aquatic and terrestrial-terrestrial interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaharescu, Dragos G; Palanca-Soler, Antonio; Hooda, Peter S; Tanase, Catalin; Burghelea, Carmen I; Lester, Richard N

2017-12-01

Alpine regions are under increased attention worldwide for their critical role in early biogeochemical cycles, their high sensitivity to environmental change, and as repositories of natural resources of high quality. Their riparian ecosystems, at the interface between aquatic and terrestrial environments, play important geochemical functions in the watershed and are biodiversity hotspots, despite a harsh climate and topographic setting. With climate change rapidly affecting the alpine biome, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the extent of interactions between riparian surface, lake and catchment environments. A total of 189 glacial - origin lakes were surveyed in the Central Pyrenees to test how key elements of the lake and terrestrial environments interact at different scales to shape riparian plant composition. Secondly, we evaluated how underlying ecotope features drive the formation of natural communities potentially sensitive to environmental change and assessed their habitat distribution. At the macroscale, vegetation composition responded to pan-climatic gradients altitude and latitude, which captured in a narrow geographic area the transition between large European climatic zones. Hydrodynamics was the main catchment-scale factor connecting riparian vegetation with major water fluxes, followed by topography and geomorphology. Lake sediment Mg and Pb, and water Mn and Fe contents reflected local influences from mafic bedrock and soil water saturation. Community analysis identified four keystone ecosystems: (i) damp ecotone, (ii) snow bed-silicate bedrock, (iii) wet heath, and (iv) calcareous substrate. These communities and their connections with ecotope elements could be at risk from a number of environmental change factors including warmer seasons, snow line and lowland species advancement, increased nutrient/metal input and water level fluctuations. The results imply important natural terrestrial-aquatic linkages in the riparian environment

Identifying spatially integrated floodplains/riparian areas and wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Floodplain delineation may play an important role in managing wetlands and riparian areas at multiple scales - local, state, and federal. This poster demonstrates multiple GIS-based approaches to delimiting floodplains and contrasts these with observed flooding events from a majo...

The influence of connectivity in forest patches, and riparian vegetation width on stream macroinvertebrate fauna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IC Valle

Full Text Available We assessed two dimensions of stream connectivity: longitudinal (between forest patches along the stream and lateral (riparian vegetation, using macroinvertebrate assemblages as bioindicators. Sites representing different land-uses were sampled in a lowland basin that holds a mosaic of protected areas. Land-use analysis, forest successional stages and riparian zone widths were calculated by the GIS analysis. Macroinvertebrate fauna was strongly affected by land-use. We observed a continuous decrease in the number of sensitive species, %Shredders and IBE-IOC biotic index from the upstream protected area to highly deforested sites, increasing again where the stream crosses a Biological Reserve. When analysing buffer strips, we found aquatic fauna responding to land-use alterations beyond the 30 m riparian corridor (60 m and 100 m wide. We discussed the longitudinal connectivity between forest patches and the riparian vegetation buffer strips necessary to hold high macroinvertebrate diversity. We recommend actions for the increase/maintenance of biodiversity in this and other lowland basins.

The Role of Riparian Vegetation in Protecting and Improving Chemical Water Quality in Streams

Science.gov (United States)

Michael G. Dosskey; Philippe Vidon; Noel P. Gurwick; Craig J. Allan; Tim P. Duval; Richard Lowrance

2010-01-01

We review the research literature and summarize the major processes by which riparian vegetation influences chemical water quality in streams, as well as how these processes vary among vegetation types, and discuss how these processes respond to removal and restoration of riparian vegetation and thereby determine the timing and level of response in stream water quality...

Watershed scale assessment of the impact of forested riparian zones on stream water quality

Science.gov (United States)

J. A. Webber; K. W. J. Williard; M. R. Whiles; M. L. Stone; J. J. Zaczek; D. K. Davie

2003-01-01

Federal and state land management agencies have been promoting forest and grass riparian zones to combat non-point source nutrient and sediment pollution of our nations' waters. The majority of research examining the effectiveness of riparian buffers at reducing nutrient and sediment inputs to streams has been conducted at the field scale. This study took a...

Can riparian vegetation shade mitigate the expected rise in stream temperatures due to climate change during heat waves in a human-impacted pre-alpine river?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Trimmel

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Global warming has already affected European rivers and their aquatic biota, and climate models predict an increase of temperature in central Europe over all seasons. We simulated the influence of expected changes in heat wave intensity during the 21st century on water temperatures of a heavily impacted pre-alpine Austrian river and analysed future mitigating effects of riparian vegetation shade on radiant and turbulent energy fluxes using the deterministic Heat Source model. Modelled stream water temperature increased less than 1.5 °C within the first half of the century. Until 2100, a more significant increase of around 3 °C in minimum, maximum and mean stream temperatures was predicted for a 20-year return period heat event. The result showed clearly that in a highly altered river system riparian vegetation was not able to fully mitigate the predicted temperature rise caused by climate change but would be able to reduce water temperature by 1 to 2 °C. The removal of riparian vegetation amplified stream temperature increases. Maximum stream temperatures could increase by more than 4 °C even in annual heat events. Such a dramatic water temperature shift of some degrees, especially in summer, would indicate a total shift of aquatic biodiversity. The results demonstrate that effective river restoration and mitigation require re-establishing riparian vegetation and emphasize the importance of land–water interfaces and their ecological functioning in aquatic environments.

Can riparian vegetation shade mitigate the expected rise in stream temperatures due to climate change during heat waves in a human-impacted pre-alpine river?

Science.gov (United States)

Trimmel, Heidelinde; Weihs, Philipp; Leidinger, David; Formayer, Herbert; Kalny, Gerda; Melcher, Andreas

2018-01-01

Global warming has already affected European rivers and their aquatic biota, and climate models predict an increase of temperature in central Europe over all seasons. We simulated the influence of expected changes in heat wave intensity during the 21st century on water temperatures of a heavily impacted pre-alpine Austrian river and analysed future mitigating effects of riparian vegetation shade on radiant and turbulent energy fluxes using the deterministic Heat Source model. Modelled stream water temperature increased less than 1.5 °C within the first half of the century. Until 2100, a more significant increase of around 3 °C in minimum, maximum and mean stream temperatures was predicted for a 20-year return period heat event. The result showed clearly that in a highly altered river system riparian vegetation was not able to fully mitigate the predicted temperature rise caused by climate change but would be able to reduce water temperature by 1 to 2 °C. The removal of riparian vegetation amplified stream temperature increases. Maximum stream temperatures could increase by more than 4 °C even in annual heat events. Such a dramatic water temperature shift of some degrees, especially in summer, would indicate a total shift of aquatic biodiversity. The results demonstrate that effective river restoration and mitigation require re-establishing riparian vegetation and emphasize the importance of land-water interfaces and their ecological functioning in aquatic environments.

Avian community responses to variability in river hydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

Royan, Alexander; Hannah, David M; Reynolds, S James; Noble, David G; Sadler, Jonathan P

2013-01-01

River flow is a major driver of morphological structure and community dynamics in riverine-floodplain ecosystems. Flow influences in-stream communities through changes in water velocity, depth, temperature, turbidity and nutrient fluxes, and perturbations in the organisation of lower trophic levels are cascaded through the food web, resulting in shifts in food availability for consumer species. River birds are sensitive to spatial and phenological mismatches with aquatic prey following flow disturbances; however, the role of flow as a determinant of riparian ecological structure remains poorly known. This knowledge is crucial to help to predict if, and how, riparian communities will be influenced by climate-induced changes in river flow characterised by more extreme high (i.e. flood) and/or low (i.e. drought) flow events. Here, we combine national-scale datasets of river bird surveys and river flow archives to understand how hydrological disturbance has affected the distribution of riparian species at higher trophic levels. Data were analysed for 71 river locations using a Generalized Additive Model framework and a model averaging procedure. Species had complex but biologically interpretable associations with hydrological indices, with species' responses consistent with their ecology, indicating that hydrological-disturbance has implications for higher trophic levels in riparian food webs. Our quantitative analysis of river flow-bird relationships demonstrates the potential vulnerability of riparian species to the impacts of changing flow variability and represents an important contribution in helping to understand how bird communities might respond to a climate change-induced increase in the intensity of floods and droughts. Moreover, the success in relating parameters of river flow variability to species' distributions highlights the need to include river flow data in climate change impact models of species' distributions.

Modeling of Turbulent Swirling Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Tsan-Hsing; Zhu, Jiang; Liou, William; Chen, Kuo-Huey; Liu, Nan-Suey; Lumley, John L.

1997-01-01

Aircraft engine combustors generally involve turbulent swirling flows in order to enhance fuel-air mixing and flame stabilization. It has long been recognized that eddy viscosity turbulence models are unable to appropriately model swirling flows. Therefore, it has been suggested that, for the modeling of these flows, a second order closure scheme should be considered because of its ability in the modeling of rotational and curvature effects. However, this scheme will require solution of many complicated second moment transport equations (six Reynolds stresses plus other scalar fluxes and variances), which is a difficult task for any CFD implementations. Also, this scheme will require a large amount of computer resources for a general combustor swirling flow. This report is devoted to the development of a cubic Reynolds stress-strain model for turbulent swirling flows, and was inspired by the work of Launder's group at UMIST. Using this type of model, one only needs to solve two turbulence equations, one for the turbulent kinetic energy k and the other for the dissipation rate epsilon. The cubic model developed in this report is based on a general Reynolds stress-strain relationship. Two flows have been chosen for model evaluation. One is a fully developed rotating pipe flow, and the other is a more complex flow with swirl and recirculation.

EnviroAtlas - New Bedford, MA - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Des Moines, IA - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. Forest is defined as Trees & Forest. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/EnviroAtlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - New York, NY - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. In this community, forest is defined as Trees & Forest. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - Green Bay, WI - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets ).

EnviroAtlas - Des Moines, IA - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. Vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest and Grass & Herbaceous. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/EnviroAtlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - Green Bay, WI - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area.This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets ).

EnviroAtlas - New Bedford, MA - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

The effect of river pulsing on sedimentation and nutrients in created riparian wetlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Nahlik, Amanda M; Mitsch, William J

2008-01-01

Sedimentation under pulsed and steady-flow conditions was investigated in two created flow-through riparian wetlands in central Ohio over 2 yr. Hydrologic pulses of river water lasting for 6 to 8 d were imposed on each wetland from January through June during 2004. Mean inflow rates during pulses averaged 52 and 7 cm d(-1) between pulses. In 2005, the wetlands received a steady-flow regime of 11 cm d(-1) with no major hydrologic fluctuations. Thirty-two sediment traps were deployed and sampled once per month in April, May, June, and July for two consecutive years in each wetland. January through March were not sampled in either year due to frozen water surfaces in the wetlands. Gross sedimentation (sedimentation without normalizing for differences between years) was significantly greater in the pulsing study period (90 kg m(-2)) than in the steady-flow study period (64 kg m(-2)). When normalized for different hydrologic and total suspended solid inputs between years, sedimentation for April through July was not significantly different between pulsing and steady-flow study periods. Sedimentation for the 3 mo that received hydrologic pulses (April, May, and June) was significantly lower during pulsing months than in the corresponding steady-flow months. Large fractions of inorganic matter in collected sediments indicated that allochthonous inputs were the main contributor to sedimentation in these wetlands. Organic matter fractions of collected sediments were consistently greater in the steady-flow study period (1.8 g kg(-1)) than in the pulsed study period (1.5 g kg(-1)), consistent with greater primary productivity in the water column during steady-flow conditions.

Riparian buffer and density management influences on microclimate of young headwater forests of Western Oregon.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul D. Anderson; David J. Larson; Samuel S. Chan

2007-01-01

Thinning of 30- to 70-year-old Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) stands is a common silvicultural activity on federal forest lands of the Pacific Northwest, United States. Empirical relationships among riparian functions, silvicultural treatments, and different riparian buffer widths are not well documented for small headwater...

Nitrogen transformation and retention in riparian buffer zones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hefting, Maria Margaretha

2003-01-01

Diffuse pollution of nutrients and pesticides from agricultural areas is increasingly recognised as a major problem in water management. Ecotechnological measures as constructed wetlands and riparian buffer zones clearly have an important role in the reduction of diffuse pollution by removing and

Multiscale influence of woody riparian vegetation on fluvial topography quantified with ground-based and airborne lidar

Science.gov (United States)

Bywater-Reyes, Sharon; Wilcox, Andrew C.; Diehl, Rebecca M.

2017-06-01

Coupling between riparian vegetation and river processes can result in the coevolution of plant communities and channel morphology. Quantifying biotic-abiotic interactions remains difficult because of the challenges in making and analyzing appropriately scaled observations. We measure the influence of woody vegetation on channel topography at the patch and reach scales in a sand bed, dryland river system (Santa Maria River, Arizona) with native Populus and invasive Tamarix. At the patch scale, we use ground-based lidar to relate plant morphology to "tail bars" formed in the lee of vegetation. We find vegetation roughness density (λf) to most influence tail-bar shape and size, suggesting coherent flow structures associated with roughness density are responsible for sediment deposition at this scale. Using airborne lidar, we test whether relationships between topography and vegetation morphology observed at the patch scale are persistent at the reach scale. We find that elevation of the channel (relative to the local mean) covaries with a metric of vegetation density, indicating analogous influences of vegetation density on topography across spatial scales. While these results are expected, our approach provides insight regarding interactions between woody riparian vegetation and channel topography at multiple scales, and a means to quantify such interactions for use in other field settings.

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) removal and its effect on native plant communities of Riparian Forests

Science.gov (United States)

James Hanula; Scott Horn; John W. Taylor

2010-01-01

Chinese privet is a major invasive shrub within riparian zones throughout the southeastern United States. Weremoved privet shrubs from four riparian forests in October 2005 with a GyrotracH mulching machine or by handfelling with chainsaws and machetes to determine how well these treatments controlled privet and how they affected plant...

Site-Scale Saturated Zone Flow Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

G. Zyvoloski

2003-01-01

The purpose of this model report is to document the components of the site-scale saturated-zone flow model at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in accordance with administrative procedure (AP)-SIII.lOQ, ''Models''. This report provides validation and confidence in the flow model that was developed for site recommendation (SR) and will be used to provide flow fields in support of the Total Systems Performance Assessment (TSPA) for the License Application. The output from this report provides the flow model used in the ''Site-Scale Saturated Zone Transport'', MDL-NBS-HS-000010 Rev 01 (BSC 2003 [162419]). The Site-Scale Saturated Zone Transport model then provides output to the SZ Transport Abstraction Model (BSC 2003 [164870]). In particular, the output from the SZ site-scale flow model is used to simulate the groundwater flow pathways and radionuclide transport to the accessible environment for use in the TSPA calculations. Since the development and calibration of the saturated-zone flow model, more data have been gathered for use in model validation and confidence building, including new water-level data from Nye County wells, single- and multiple-well hydraulic testing data, and new hydrochemistry data. In addition, a new hydrogeologic framework model (HFM), which incorporates Nye County wells lithology, also provides geologic data for corroboration and confidence in the flow model. The intended use of this work is to provide a flow model that generates flow fields to simulate radionuclide transport in saturated porous rock and alluvium under natural or forced gradient flow conditions. The flow model simulations are completed using the three-dimensional (3-D), finite-element, flow, heat, and transport computer code, FEHM Version (V) 2.20 (software tracking number (STN): 10086-2.20-00; LANL 2003 [161725]). Concurrently, process-level transport model and methodology for calculating radionuclide transport in the saturated zone at Yucca Mountain using FEHM V 2.20 are being

The influence of riparian-hyporheic zone on the hydrological responses in an intermittent stream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Butturini

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Stream and riparian groundwater hydrology has been studied in a small intermittent stream draining a forested catchment for a system representative of a Mediterranean climate. The relationship between precipitation and stream runoff and the interactions between stream water and the surrounding riparian groundwater have been analysed under a wide spectrum of meteorological conditions. The hypothesis that the hydrological condition of the near-stream groundwater compartment can regulate the runoff generation during precipitation events was tested. Stream runoff is characterised by a summer dry period, and precipitation input explained only 25% of runoff variability over the study period (r2 =0.25, d.f.=51, p2=0.80, d.f.=34, p Keywords: riparian zone, groundwater hydrology, runoff, intermittent stream, Mediterranean climate

Nitrogen loss from anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to Iron(III) reduction in a riparian zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Bangjing; Li, Zhengkui; Qin, Yunbin

2017-12-01

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to iron(III) reduction (termed Feammox) is a recently discovered pathway of nitrogen cycling. However, little is known about the pathways of N transformation via Feammox process in riparian zones. In this study, evidence for Feammox in riparian zones with or without vegetation cover was demonstrated using isotope tracing technique and high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that Feammox could occur in riparian zones, and demonstrated that N 2 directly from Feammox was dominant Feammox pathway. The Feammox rates in vegetated soil samples was 0.32-0.37 mg N kg -1 d -1 , which is higher than that in un-vegetated soil samples (0.20 mg N kg -1 d -1 ). Moreover, the growth of vegetation led to a 4.99-6.41% increase in the abundance of iron reducing bacteria (Anaeromyxobacter, Pseudomonas and Geobacter) and iron reducing bacteria play an essential role in Feammox process. An estimated loss of 23.7-43.9 kg N ha -1 year -1 was associated with Feammox in the examined riparian zone. Overall, the co-occurrence of ammonium oxidation and iron reduction suggest that Feammox can play an essential role in the pathway of nitrogen removal in riparian zones. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial community structure across a wastewater-impacted riparian buffer zone in the southeastern coastal plain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ducey, T F; Johnson, P R; Shriner, A D; Matheny, T A; Hunt, P G

2013-01-01

Riparian buffer zones are important for both natural and developed ecosystems throughout the world because of their ability to retain nutrients, prevent soil erosion, protect aquatic environments from excessive sedimentation, and filter pollutants. Despite their importance, the microbial community structures of riparian buffer zones remains poorly defined. Our objectives for this study were twofold: first, to characterize the microbial populations found in riparian buffer zone soils; and second, to determine if microbial community structure could be linked to denitrification enzyme activity (DEA). To achieve these objectives, we investigated the microbial populations of a riparian buffer zone located downslope of a pasture irrigated with swine lagoon effluent, utilizing DNA sequencing of the 16S rDNA, DEA, and quantitative PCR (qPCR) of the denitrification genes nirK, nirS, and nosZ. Clone libraries of the 16S rDNA gene were generated from each of twelve sites across the riparian buffer with a total of 986 partial sequences grouped into 654 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The Proteobacteria were the dominant group (49.8% of all OTUs), with the Acidobacteria also well represented (19.57% of all OTUs). Analysis of qPCR results identified spatial relationships between soil series, site location, and gene abundance, which could be used to infer both incomplete and total DEA rates.

Tile Drainage Density Reduces Groundwater Travel Times and Compromises Riparian Buffer Effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Schilling, Keith E; Wolter, Calvin F; Isenhart, Thomas M; Schultz, Richard C

2015-11-01

Strategies to reduce nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) pollution delivered to streams often seek to increase groundwater residence time to achieve measureable results, yet the effects of tile drainage on residence time have not been well documented. In this study, we used a geographic information system groundwater travel time model to quantify the effects of artificial subsurface drainage on groundwater travel times in the 7443-ha Bear Creek watershed in north-central Iowa. Our objectives were to evaluate how mean groundwater travel times changed with increasing drainage intensity and to assess how tile drainage density reduces groundwater contributions to riparian buffers. Results indicate that mean groundwater travel times are reduced with increasing degrees of tile drainage. Mean groundwater travel times decreased from 5.6 to 1.1 yr, with drainage densities ranging from 0.005 m (7.6 mi) to 0.04 m (62 mi), respectively. Model simulations indicate that mean travel times with tile drainage are more than 150 times faster than those that existed before settlement. With intensive drainage, less than 2% of the groundwater in the basin appears to flow through a perennial stream buffer, thereby reducing the effectiveness of this practice to reduce stream nitrate loads. Hence, strategies, such as reconnecting tile drainage to buffers, are promising because they increase groundwater residence times in tile-drained watersheds. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Impact of native ungulates and beaver on riparian communities in the intermountain west

OpenAIRE

Kay, Charles E.

1994-01-01

This paper reviews the impact native ungulates, primarily elk and moose, and beaver can have on riparian communities in the Western United States. In Yellowstone National Park and in other areas where ungulates are not managed, repeated browsing has reduced tall willow, aspen, and cottonwood communities by approximately 95 percent since the late 1800's. Native ungulates can also severely reduce or eliminate palatable grasses and forbs from herbaceous riparian communities. By eliminating woody...

An assessment of riparian environmental quality by using butterflies and disturbance susceptibility scores

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, S. Mark; Andersen, Douglas C.

1994-01-01

The butterfly community at a revegetated riparian site on the lower Colorado River near Parker, Arizona, was compared to that found in a reference riparian site. Data indicated that the herbaceous plant community, which was lacking at the revegetated site, was important to several butterfly taxa. An index using butterfly sensitivity to habitat change (species classified into risk groups) and number of taxa was developed to monitor revegetation projects and to determine restoration effectiveness.

Effects of changes in the riparian forest on the butterfly community (Insecta: Lepidoptera in Cerrado areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena S.R. Cabette

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Preserved riparian vegetation usually has greater environmental complexity than the riparian vegetation modified by human actions. These systems may have a greater availability and diversity of food resources for the species. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of changes on the structure of the riparian forest on species richness, beta diversity and composition of butterfly species in the Cerrado of Mato Grosso. We tested the hypotheses that: (i higher species richness and (ii beta diversity would be recorded in more preserved environments; and (iii species composition would be more homogeneous in disturbed habitats. For hypothesis testing, the riparian vegetation of eight streams were sampled in four periods of the year in a fixed transect of 100 m along the shores. The richness of butterfly species is lower in disturbed than in preserved areas. However, species richness is not affected by habitat integrity. Beta diversity differed among sites, such that preserved sites have greater beta diversity, showing greater variation in species composition. In addition, beta diversity was positively affected by environmental heterogeneity. A total of 23 of the 84 species sampled occurred only in the changed environment, 42 were exclusive to preserved sites and 19 occurred in both environments. The environmental change caused by riparian forest removal drastically affects the butterfly community. Therefore, riparian vegetation is extremely important for butterfly preservation in the Cerrado and may be a true biodiversity oasis, especially during the dry periods, when the biome undergoes water stress and resource supply is more limited.

Case studies of riparian and watershed restoration in the southwestern United States—Principles, challenges, and successes

Science.gov (United States)

Ralston, Barbara E.; Sarr, Daniel A.; Ralston, Barbara E.; Sarr, Daniel A.

2017-07-18

Globally, rivers and streams are highly altered by impoundments, diversions, and stream channelization associated with agricultural and water delivery needs. Climate change imposes additional challenges by further reducing discharge, introducing variability in seasonal precipitation patterns, and increasing temperatures. Collectively, these changes in a river or stream’s annual hydrology affects surface and groundwater dynamics, fluvial processes, and the linked aquatic and riparian responses, particularly in arid regions. Recognizing the inherent ecosystem services that riparian and aquatic habitats provide, society increasingly supports restoring the functionality of riparian and aquatic ecosystems.Given the wide range in types and scales of riparian impacts, approaches to riparian restoration can range from tactical, short-term, and site-specific efforts to strategic projects and long-term collaborations best pursued at the watershed scale. In the spirit of sharing information, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center convened a workshop June 23-25, 2015, in Flagstaff, Ariz. for practitioners in restoration science to share general principles, successful restoration practices, and discuss the challenges that face those practicing riparian restoration in the southwestern United States. Presenters from the Colorado River and the Rio Grande basins, offered their perspectives and experiences in restoration at the local, reach and watershed scale. Outcomes of the workshop include this Proceedings volume, which is composed of extended abstracts of most of the presentations given at the workshop, and recommendations or information needs identified by participants. The organization of the Proceedings follows a general progression from local scale restoration to river and watershed scale approaches, and finishes with restoration assessments and monitoring.

Riparian indicators of flow frequency in a tropical montante stream network

Science.gov (United States)

Andrew S. Pike; Frederick N. Scatena

2010-01-01

Many field indicators have been used to approximate the magnitude and frequency of flows in a variety of streams and rivers, yet due to a scarcity of long-term flow records in tropical mountain streams, little to no work has been done to establish such relationships between field features and the flow regime in these environments. Furthermore, the transition between...

Bird community structure in riparian environments in Cai River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaqueline Brummelhaus

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Urbanization produces changes in riparian environments, causing effects in the structure of bird communities, which present different responses to the impacts. We compare species richness, abundance, and composition of birds in riparian environments with different characteristics in Cai River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We carried out observations in woodland, grassland, and urban environments, between September 2007 and August 2008. We listed 130 bird species, 29 species unique to woodland environment, and an endangeredspecies: Triclaria malachitacea. Bird abundance differed from woodland (n = 426 individuals to urban environments (n = 939 individuals (F2,6 = 7.315; P = 0.025. Species composition and feeding guilds differed significantly in the bird community structures among these three riparian environments. In the grassland and urban environments there were more generalist insectivorous species, while in the woodland environments we find more leaf and trunk insectivorous species and frugivorous species, sensitive to human impacts. Bird species can be biological quality indicators and they contribute to ecosystems performing relevant functions. With the knowledge on bird community structure and their needs, it is possible to implement management practices for restoration of degraded riparian environments.

Small mammals in saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) - invaded and native riparian habitats of the western Great Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Invasive saltcedar species have replaced native riparian trees on numerous river systems throughout the western US, raising concerns about how this habitat conversion may affect wildlife. For periods ranging from 1-10 years, small mammal populations were monitored at six riparian sites impacted by s...

Potential effects of climate change on riparian areas, wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the Blue Mountains, Oregon, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen A. Dwire

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Riparian areas, wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, which are found at all elevations throughout the Blue Mountains, comprise a small portion of the landscape but have high conservation value because they provide habitat for diverse flora and fauna. The effects of climate change on these special habitats may be especially profound, due to altered snowpack and hydrologic regimes predicted to occur in the near future. The functionality of many riparian areas is currently compromised by water diversions and livestock grazing, which reduces their resilience to additional stresses that a warmer climate may bring. Areas associated with springs and small streams will probably experience near-term changes, and some riparian areas and wetlands may decrease in size over time. A warmer climate and reduced soil moisture could lead to a transition from riparian hardwood species to more drought tolerant conifers and shrubs. Increased frequency and spatial extent of wildfire spreading from upland forests could also affect riparian species composition. The specific effects of climate change will vary, depending on local hydrology (especially groundwater, topography, streamside microclimates, and current conditions and land use. Keywords: Climate change, Groundwater-dependent ecosystems, Riparian areas, Springs, Wetlands

Effects of riparian buffer width on wood loading in headwater streams after repeated forest thinning

Science.gov (United States)

Julia I. Burton; Deanna H. Olson; Klaus J. Puettmann

2016-01-01

Forested riparian buffer zones are used in conjunction with upland forest management, in part, to provide for the recruitment for large wood to streams. Small headwater streams account for the majority of stream networks in many forested regions. Yet, our understanding of how riparian buffer width influences wood dynamics in headwater streams is relatively less...

Managing Environmental Flows for Impounded Rivers in Semi-Arid Regions- A Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) Approach for the Assessment of River Habitat for Salmonid Populations

Science.gov (United States)

Pai, H.; Sivakumaran, K.; Villamizar, S. R.; Flanagan, J.; Guo, Q.; Harmon, T. C.

2013-12-01

Balancing ecosystem health in water-scarce, agriculturally dominated river basins remains a challenge. In dry water years, maintaining conditions for restored and sustained indigenous fish populations (a frequently used indicator for ecosystem health) is particularly challenging. Competing human demands include urban and agricultural water supplies, hydropower, and flood control. In many semi-arid regions, increasing drought intensity and frequency under future climate scenarios will combine with population increases to water scarcity. The goal of this work is to better understand how reservoir releases affect fish habitat and overall river aquatic ecosystem quality. Models integrating a diverse array of physical and biological processes and system state are used to forecast the river ecosystem response to changing drivers. We propose a distributed parameter-based Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) approach for assessing fish habitat quality. Our river ecosystem HSI maps are based on a combination of the following: (1) In situ data describing stream flow and water quality conditions; (2) Spatial observations, including surveyed cross-sections, aerial imagery and digital elevation maps (DEM) of the river and its riparian corridor; and (3) Simulated spatially distributed water depths, flow velocities, and temperatures estimated from 1D and 2D river flow and temperature models (HEC-RAS and CE-QUAL-W2, respectively). With respect to (2), image processing schemes are used to classify and map key habitat features, namely riparian edge and shallow underwater vegetation. HSI maps can be modified temporally to address specific life cycle requirements of indicator fish species. Results are presented for several reaches associated with the San Joaquin River Restoration Project, focusing on several components of the Chinook salmon life cycle. HSI maps and interpretations are presented in the context of a range of prescribed reservoir release hydrographs linked to California water

Improved Mapping of Riparian Wetlands Using Reach Topography (ECOSERV)

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian wetlands provide a suite of ecosystems services including floodwater retention, biogeochemical processing, and habitat provisioning. However in one mid-Atlantic watershed the National Wetlands Inventory was shown to underrepresent these systems by greater than 50%. These...

Modeling Subsurface Hydrology in Floodplains

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Cristina M.; Dritschel, David G.; Singer, Michael B.

2018-03-01

Soil-moisture patterns in floodplains are highly dynamic, owing to the complex relationships between soil properties, climatic conditions at the surface, and the position of the water table. Given this complexity, along with climate change scenarios in many regions, there is a need for a model to investigate the implications of different conditions on water availability to riparian vegetation. We present a model, HaughFlow, which is able to predict coupled water movement in the vadose and phreatic zones of hydraulically connected floodplains. Model output was calibrated and evaluated at six sites in Australia to identify key patterns in subsurface hydrology. This study identifies the importance of the capillary fringe in vadose zone hydrology due to its water storage capacity and creation of conductive pathways. Following peaks in water table elevation, water can be stored in the capillary fringe for up to months (depending on the soil properties). This water can provide a critical resource for vegetation that is unable to access the water table. When water table peaks coincide with heavy rainfall events, the capillary fringe can support saturation of the entire soil profile. HaughFlow is used to investigate the water availability to riparian vegetation, producing daily output of water content in the soil over decadal time periods within different depth ranges. These outputs can be summarized to support scientific investigations of plant-water relations, as well as in management applications.

Sediment dynamics in the restored reach of the Kissimmee River Basin, Florida: A vast subtropical riparian wetland

Science.gov (United States)

Schenk, E.R.; Hupp, C.R.; Gellis, A.

2012-01-01

Historically, the Kissimmee River Basin consisted of a broad nearly annually inundated riparian wetland similar in character to tropical Southern Hemisphere large rivers. The river was channelized in the 1960s and 1970s, draining the wetland. The river is currently being restored with over 10 000 hectares of wetlands being reconnected to 70 river km of naturalized channel. We monitored riparian wetland sediment dynamics between 2007 and 2010 at 87 sites in the restored reach and 14 sites in an unrestored reference reach. Discharge and sediment transport were measured at the downstream end of the restored reach. There were three flooding events during the study, two as annual flood events and a third as a greater than a 5-year flood event. Restoration has returned periodic flood flow to the riparian wetland and provides a mean sedimentation rate of 11.3 mm per year over the study period in the restored reach compared with 1.7 mm per year in an unrestored channelized reach. Sedimentation from the two annual floods was within the normal range for alluvial Coastal Plain rivers. Sediment deposits consisted of over 20% organics, similar to eastern blackwater rivers. The Kissimmee River is unique in North America for its hybrid alluvial/blackwater nature. Fluvial suspended-sediment measurements for the three flood events indicate that a majority of the sediment (70%) was sand, which is important for natural levee construction. Of the total suspended sediment load for the three flood events, 3%–16% was organic and important in floodplain deposition. Sediment yield is similar to low-gradient rivers draining to the Chesapeake Bay and alluvial rivers of the southeastern USA. Continued monitoring should determine whether observed sediment transport and floodplain deposition rates are normal for this river and determine the relationship between historic vegetation community restoration, hydroperiod restoration, and sedimentation.

Surface runoff generation in a small watershed covered by sugarcane and riparian forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Pires Fernandes

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Since an understanding of how runoff is generated is of great importance to soil conservation, to water availability and to the management of a watershed, the objective of this study was to understand the generation of surface runoff in a watershed covered by sugarcane and riparian forest. Nine surface runoff plots were set up, evenly distributed on the lower, middle and upper slopes. The lower portion was covered by riparian forest. We showed that the average surface runoff coefficient along the slope in the present study was higher than in other studies under different land uses. Furthermore, the surface runoff was higher under sugarcane compared to the riparian forest, especially after sugarcane harvesting. Besides land cover, other factors such as the characteristics of rainfall events, relief and physical soil characteristics such as soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity influenced the surface runoff generation.

RESEARCH SHOWS IMPORTANCE OF RIPARIAN BUFFERS FOR AQUATIC HEALTH

Science.gov (United States)

Issue: Excess nitrogen from fertilizer, septic tanks, animal feedlots, and runoff from pavement can threaten aquatic ecosystem health. Riparian buffers -- the vegetated region adjacent to streams and wetlands -- are thought to be effective at intercepting and controlling excess ...

EnviroAtlas - New York, NY - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest and Grass & Herbaceous. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

Control of Tamarix in the western United States: Implications for water salvage, wildlife use, and riparian restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Shafroth, P.B.; Cleverly, J.R.; Dudley, T.L.; Taylor, J.P.; van Riper, Charles; Weeks, E.P.; Stuart, J.N.

2005-01-01

Non-native shrub species in the genus Tamarix (saltcedar, tamarisk) have colonized hundreds of thousands of hectares of floodplains, reservoir margins, and other wetlands in western North America. Many resource managers seek to reduce saltcedar abundance and control its spread to increase the flow of water in streams that might otherwise be lost to evapotranspiration, to restore native riparian (streamside) vegetation, and to improve wildlife habitat. However, increased water yield might not always occur and has been substantially lower than expected in water salvage experiments, the potential for successful revegetation is variable, and not all wildlife taxa clearly prefer native plant habitats over saltcedar. As a result, there is considerable debate surrounding saltcedar control efforts. We review the literature on saltcedar control, water use, wildlife use, and riparian restoration to provide resource managers, researchers, and policy-makers with a balanced summary of the state of the science. To best ensure that the desired outcomes of removal programs are met, scientists and resource managers should use existing information and methodologies to carefully select and prioritize sites for removal, apply the most appropriate and cost-effective control methods, and then rigorously monitor control efficacy, revegetation success, water yield changes, and wildlife use.

78 FR 76317 - Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/Fish Screen Facility Protection...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-17

...-FF08RSRC00] Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Pumping Plant/ Fish Screen Facility Protection... and Wildlife (CDFW), announce that the record of decision (ROD) for the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary...: www.fws.gov/refuge/sacramento river/ and http://www.riverpartners.org/where-we-work/sanctuary...

Centrifuge modelling of granular flows

Science.gov (United States)

Cabrera, Miguel Angel; Wu, Wei

2015-04-01

A common characteristic of mass flows like debris flows, rock avalanches and mudflows is that gravity is their main driving force. Gravity defines the intensity and duration of the main interactions between particles and their surrounding media (particle-particle, particle-fluid, fluid-fluid). At the same time, gravity delimits the occurrence of phase separation, inverse segregation, and mass consolidation, among other phenomena. Therefore, in the understanding of the flow physics it is important to account for the scaling of gravity in scaled models. In this research, a centrifuge model is developed to model free surface granular flows down an incline at controlled gravity conditions. Gravity is controlled by the action of an induced inertial acceleration field resulting from the rotation of the model in a geotechnical centrifuge. The characteristics of the induced inertial acceleration field during flow are discussed and validated via experimental data. Flow heights, velocity fields, basal pressure and impact forces are measured for a range of channel inclinations and gravity conditions. Preliminary results enlighten the flow characteristics at variable gravity conditions and open a discussion on the simulation of large scale processes at a laboratory scale. Further analysis on the flow physics brings valuable information for the validation of granular flows rheology.

TRAC-PF1 choked-flow model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahota, M.S.; Lime, J.F.

1983-01-01

The two-phase, two-component choked-flow model implemented in the latest version of the Transient Reactor analysis Code (TRAC-PF1) was developed from first principles using the characteristic analysis approach. The subcooled choked-flow model in TRAC-PF1 is a modified form of the Burnell model. This paper discusses these choked-flow models and their implementation in TRAC-PF1. comparisons using the TRAC-PF1 choked-flow models are made with the Burnell model for subcooled flow and with the homogeneous-equilibrium model (HEM) for two-phae flow. These comparisons agree well under homogeneous conditions. Generally good agreements have been obtained between the TRAC-PF1 results from models using the choking criteria and those using a fine mesh (natural choking). Code-data comparisons between the separate-effects tests of the Marviken facility and the Edwards' blowdown experiment also are favorable. 10 figures

Bird community structure in riparian environments in Cai River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Jaqueline Brummelhaus; Marcia Suelí Bohn; Maria Virginia Petry

2012-01-01

Urbanization produces changes in riparian environments, causing effects in the structure of bird communities, which present different responses to the impacts. We compare species richness, abundance, and composition of birds in riparian environments with different characteristics in Cai River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We carried out observations in woodland, grassland, and urban environments, between September 2007 and August 2008. We listed 130 bird species, 29 species unique to woodland e...

Carbon pools in stream-riparian corridors: legacy of disturbance along mountain streams of south-eastern Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

Claire M. Ruffing; Kathleen A. Dwire; Melinda D. Daniels

2016-01-01

Streams and their accompanying riparian environments are intrinsic components of terrestrial carbon cycling. However, they have been understudied in terms of the magnitude of their storage components and the role of disturbance in determining carbon storage capacity. This study presents partial carbon budgets for stream-riparian corridors along six study...

Assessing the impact of changes in landuse and management practices on the diffuse pollution and retention of nitrate in a riparian floodplain.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Stefan; Jacobs, Joerg; Voss, Anja; Bronstert, Axel; Zehe, Erwin

2008-01-15

In many European lowland rivers and riparian floodplains diffuse nutrient pollution is causing a major risk for the surface waters and groundwater to not achieve a good status as demanded by the European Water Framework Directive. In order to delimit the impact of diffuse nutrient pollution substantial and often controversial changes in landuse and management are under discussion. In this study we investigate the impact of two complex scenarios considering changes in landuse and land management practices on the nitrate loads of a typical lowland stream and the riparian groundwater in the North German Plains. Therefore the impacts of both scenarios on the nitrate dynamics, the attenuation efficiency and the nitrate exchange between groundwater and surface water were investigated for a 998.1 km(2) riparian floodplain of the Lower and Central Havel River and compared with the current conditions. Both scenarios target a substantial improvement of the ecological conditions and the water quality in the research area but promote different typical riparian landscape functions and consider a different grade of economical and legal feasibility of the proposed measures. Scenario 1 focuses on the optimisation of conservation measures for all natural resources of the riparian floodplain, scenario 2 considers measures in order to restore a good status of the water bodies mainly. The IWAN model was setup for the simulation of water balance and nitrate dynamics of the floodplain for a perennial simulation period of the current landuse and management conditions and of the scenario assumptions. The proposed landuse and management changes result in reduced rates of nitrate leaching from the root zone into the riparian groundwater (85% for scenario 1, 43% for scenario 2). The net contributions of nitrate from the floodplain can be reduced substantially for both scenarios. In case of scenario 2 a decrease by 70% can be obtained. For scenario 1 the nitrate exfiltration rates to the

[Retaining and transformation of incoming soil N from highland to adjacent terrestrial water body in riparian buffer zone].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qing-cheng; Yu, Hong-li; Yao, Qin; Han, Zhuang-xing; Qiao, Shu-liang

2007-11-01

Highland soil nitrogen can enter adjacent water body via erosion and leaching, being one of the important pollutants in terrestrial water bodies. Riparian buffer zone is a transitional zone between highland and its adjacent water body, and a healthy riparian buffer zone can retain and transform the incoming soil N through physical, biological, and biochemical processes. In this paper, the major pathways through which soil nitrogen enters terrestrial water body and the mechanisms the nitrogen was retained and transformed in riparian buffer zone were introduced systematically, and the factors governing the nitrogen retaining and transformation were analyzed from the aspects of hydrological processes, soil characters, vegetation features, and human activities. The problems existing in riparian buffer zone study were discussed, and some suggestions for the further study in China were presented.

EnviroAtlas - Cleveland, OH - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest,...

Regression modeling of ground-water flow

Science.gov (United States)

Cooley, R.L.; Naff, R.L.

1985-01-01

Nonlinear multiple regression methods are developed to model and analyze groundwater flow systems. Complete descriptions of regression methodology as applied to groundwater flow models allow scientists and engineers engaged in flow modeling to apply the methods to a wide range of problems. Organization of the text proceeds from an introduction that discusses the general topic of groundwater flow modeling, to a review of basic statistics necessary to properly apply regression techniques, and then to the main topic: exposition and use of linear and nonlinear regression to model groundwater flow. Statistical procedures are given to analyze and use the regression models. A number of exercises and answers are included to exercise the student on nearly all the methods that are presented for modeling and statistical analysis. Three computer programs implement the more complex methods. These three are a general two-dimensional, steady-state regression model for flow in an anisotropic, heterogeneous porous medium, a program to calculate a measure of model nonlinearity with respect to the regression parameters, and a program to analyze model errors in computed dependent variables such as hydraulic head. (USGS)

Riparian soil development linked to forest succession above and below dams along the Elwha River, Washington, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Laura G; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Perakis, Steven

2017-01-01

Riparian forest soils can be highly dynamic, due to frequent fluvial disturbance, erosion, and sediment deposition, but effects of dams on riparian soils are poorly understood. We examined soils along toposequences within three river segments located upstream, between, and downstream of two dams on the Elwha River to evaluate relationships between riparian soil development and forest age, succession, and channel proximity, explore dam effects on riparian soils, and provide a baseline for the largest dam removal in history. We found that older, later-successional forests and geomorphic surfaces contained soils with finer texture and greater depth to cobble, supporting greater forest floor mass, mineral soil nutrient levels, and cation exchange. Forest stand age was a better predictor than channel proximity for many soil characteristics, though elevation and distance from the channel were often also important, highlighting how complex interactions between fluvial disturbance, sediment deposition, and biotic retention regulate soil development in this ecosystem. Soils between the dams, and to a lesser extent below the lower dam, had finer textures and higher mineral soil carbon, nitrogen, and cation exchange than above the dams. These results suggested that decreased fluvial disturbance below the dams, due to reduced sediment supply and channel stabilization, accelerated soil development. In addition, reduced sediment supply below the dams may have decreased soil phosphorus. Soil δ15N suggested that salmon exclusion by the dams had no discernable effect on nitrogen inputs to upstream soils. Recent dam removal may alter riparian soils further, with ongoing implications for riparian ecosystems.

River food web response to large-scale riparian zone manipulations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Timothy Wootton

Full Text Available Conservation programs often focus on select species, leading to management plans based on the autecology of the focal species, but multiple ecosystem components can be affected both by the environmental factors impacting, and the management targeting, focal species. These broader effects can have indirect impacts on target species through the web of interactions within ecosystems. For example, human activity can strongly alter riparian vegetation, potentially impacting both economically-important salmonids and their associated river food web. In an Olympic Peninsula river, Washington state, USA, replicated large-scale riparian vegetation manipulations implemented with the long-term (>40 yr goal of improving salmon habitat did not affect water temperature, nutrient limitation or habitat characteristics, but reduced canopy cover, causing reduced energy input via leaf litter, increased incident solar radiation (UV and PAR and increased algal production compared to controls. In response, benthic algae, most insect taxa, and juvenile salmonids increased in manipulated areas. Stable isotope analysis revealed a predominant contribution of algal-derived energy to salmonid diets in manipulated reaches. The experiment demonstrates that riparian management targeting salmonids strongly affects river food webs via changes in the energy base, illustrates how species-based management strategies can have unanticipated indirect effects on the target species via the associated food web, and supports ecosystem-based management approaches for restoring depleted salmonid stocks.

Litter Controls Earthworm-Mediated Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in Soil from Temperate Riparian Buffers

OpenAIRE

Maria Kernecker; Joann K. Whalen; Robert L. Bradley

2014-01-01

Nutrient cycling in riparian buffers is partly influenced by decomposition of crop, grass, and native tree species litter. Nonnative earthworms in riparian soils in southern Quebec are expected to speed the processes of litter decomposition and nitrogen (N) mineralization, increasing carbon (C) and N losses in gaseous forms or via leachate. A 5-month microcosm experiment evaluated the effect of Aporrectodea turgida on the decomposition of 3 litter types (deciduous leaves, reed canarygrass, an...

EnviroAtlas - Cleveland, OH - 15m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is forested. In this community, forest is defined as Trees & Forest and Woody...

Morphodynamic effects of riparian vegetation growth after stream restoration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vargas-Luna, Andrés; Crosato, Alessandra; Anders, Niels; Hoitink, Antonius J.F.; Keesstra, Saskia D.; Uijttewaal, Wim S.J.

2018-01-01

The prediction of the morphological evolution of renaturalized streams is important for the success of restoration projects. Riparian vegetation is a key component of the riverine landscape and is therefore essential for the natural rehabilitation of rivers. This complicates the design of

[Pollution characteristics and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in riparian soils along urban rivers of Wenzhou city].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jie-Cheng; Bi, Chun-Juan; Chen, Zhen-Lou; Wang, Lu; Xu, Shi-Yuan; Pan, Qi

2012-12-01

Twenty one riparian soil samples along Jiushanwai River and Shanxia River of Wenzhou city were collected in August 2010 to investigate the pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The samples were extracted by an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE), purified by a purification column and determined by GC-MS. Results showed that the total concentrations of PAHs in the riparian soils ranged from 60.7 ng x g(-1) to 3 871.3 ng x g(-1), and the concentrations of sigma PAHs in soils along the Shanxia River were significantly lower than the levels along Jiushanwai River. The dominant compounds were 2 to 3 rings in the riparian soils along both rivers, which in average accounted for 62.47% - 72.51% in sigma PAHs. Compared with the PAHs concentrations in soils of other areas in the world, the riparian soils of the studied rivers were moderately polluted by PAHs, but the concentrations of BaP in three soil samples were much higher than the soil standard value of the former Soviet Union, which should be paid more attention. Based on the ratios of Ant/(Ant + Phe) and Fla/(Fla + Pyr) and principal component analysis results, PAHs in riparian soils of the studied rivers were mainly derived from both the petroleum and combustion.

Responses to river inundation pressures control prey selection of riparian beetles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matt J O'Callaghan

Full Text Available Riparian habitats are subjected to frequent inundation (flooding and are characterised by food webs that exhibit variability in aquatic/terrestrial subsidies across the ecotone. The strength of this subsidy in active riparian floodplains is thought to underpin local biodiversity. Terrestrial invertebrates dominate the fauna, exhibiting traits that allow exploitation of variable aquatic subsidies while reducing inundation pressures, leading to inter-species micro-spatial positioning. The effect these strategies have on prey selection is not known. This study hypothesised that plasticity in prey choice from either aquatic or terrestrial sources is an important trait linked to inundation tolerance and avoidance.We used hydrological, isotopic and habitat analyses to investigate the diet of riparian Coleoptera in relation to inundation risk and relative spatial positioning in the floodplain. The study examined patch scale and longitudinal changes in utilisation of the aquatic subsidy according to species traits. Prey sourced from terrestrial or emerging/stranded aquatic invertebrates varied in relation to traits for inundation avoidance or tolerance strategies. Traits that favoured rapid dispersal corresponded with highest proportions of aquatic prey, with behavioural traits further predicting uptake. Less able dispersers showed minimal use of aquatic subsidy and switched to a terrestrial diet under moderate inundation pressures. All trait groups showed a seasonal shift in diet towards terrestrial prey in the early spring. Prey selection became exaggerated towards aquatic prey in downstream samples.Our results suggest that partitioning of resources and habitat creates overlapping niches that increase the processing of external subsidies in riparian habitats. By demonstrating functional complexity, this work advances understanding of floodplain ecosystem processes and highlights the importance of hydrological variability. With an increasing interest

Thinning and riparian buffer configuration effects on down wood abundance in headwater streams in coniferous forests

Science.gov (United States)

Adrian Ares; Deanna H. Olson; Klaus J. Puettmann

2013-01-01

Down wood is associated with the function, structure, and diversity of riparian systems. Considerable knowledge has been generated regarding down wood stocks and dynamics in temperate forests, but there are few studies on effects of silvicultural practices and riparian buffer design on down wood, particularly in headwater streams. We analyzed interactive eff ects of...

EnviroAtlas - Durham, NC - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Phoenix, AZ - 15m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Memphis, TN - 15m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is forested. Forest is defined as Trees & Forest and Woody Wetlands. There is a...

EnviroAtlas - Portland, ME - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Portland, OR - 15m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Tampa, FL - 15m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Fresno, CA - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Woodbine, IA - 15m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is forested. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Phoenix, AZ - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Durham, NC - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

EnviroAtlas - Woodbine, IA - 15m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 15-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the...

Effect of urbanization on bird community in riparian environments in Caí River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaqueline Brummelhaus

2012-02-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2012v25n2p81 Urbanization produces changes in riparian environments causing effects in the structure of bird communities, which respond differently to impacts. We compare richness, abundance and composition of birds in riparian environments with different urbanization gradients in Caí River, Rio Grande do Sul. We conducted observations in woodland, grassland and urban environments, between September/2007 and August/2008. We recorded 130 bird species, 29 species unique to woodland environments, including an endangered species: Triclaria malachitacea. Bird abundance differed between woodland and urban environments (426 individuals in woodland, 721 in grassland and 939 in urban. Species composition and feeding guilds contributed significantly to differentiation of bird community structures in these three riparian environments. In open environments (grassland and urban we recorded more generalist feeding guilds and bird species, while in riparian woodland environments, we find guilds and species more sensitive to human impacts. Bird species may be biological quality indicators and contribute to natural economy. With the knowledge of bird community structure and their needs, it is possible to establish management practices for riparian restoration of degraded environments in the region.

Quantifying Forested Riparian Buffer Ability to Ameliorate Stream Temperature in a Missouri Ozark Border Stream of the Central U.S

Science.gov (United States)

Bulliner, E. A.; Hubbart, J. A.

2009-12-01

than the N-S reach and 2.2°C lower than air temperature measured at the reference flux tower, reflecting the increased effects of topographic shading and potential cold air drainage. Average net shortwave radiation for the N-S reach was 3.2% higher than the E-W reach, while the maximum net longwave radiation was 62.4% lower. Average soil temperature at 15 cm was 0.2°C lower for the E-W reach than the N-S reach and 0.4°C lower than soil temperature measured at the reference flux tower. Preliminary analyses suggest significant differences between the surface energy balance in the riparian zones vs the reference site, as well as differences between the individual stream reach orientations of this study. These differences will be reflected in mass and energy balance estimates, and thus stream temperature. This critical research will a) lead to an improved understanding of the impact riparian buffers have on stream water quality, b) validate multiple current best management practices for riparian forest management and c), equip land managers with much improved tools (i.e. models) for better management of these complex fresh water ecosystems.

Surface Runoff in Watershed Modeling—Turbulent or Laminar Flows?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark E. Grismer

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Determination of overland sheet flow depths, velocities and celerities across the hillslope in watershed modeling is important towards estimation of surface storage, travel times to streams and soil detachment rates. It requires careful characterization of the flow processes. Similarly, determination of the temporal variation of hillslope-riparian-stream hydrologic connectivity requires estimation of the shallow subsurface soil hydraulic conductivity and soil-water retention (i.e., drainable porosities parameters. Field rainfall and runoff simulation studies provide considerable information and insight into these processes; in particular, that sheet flows are likely laminar and that shallow hydraulic conductivities and storage can be determined from the plot studies. Here, using a 1 m by 2 m long runoff simulation flume, we found that for overland flow rates per unit width of roughly 30–60 mm2/s and bedslopes of 10%–66% with varying sand roughness depths that all flow depths were predicted by laminar flow equations alone and that equivalent Manning’s n values were depth dependent and quite small relative to those used in watershed modeling studies. Even for overland flow rates greater than those typically measured or modeled and using Manning’s n values of 0.30–0.35, often assumed in physical watershed model applications for relatively smooth surface conditions, the laminar flow velocities were 4–5 times greater, while the laminar flow depths were 4–5 times smaller. This observation suggests that travel times, surface storage volumes and surface shear stresses associated with erosion across the landscape would be poorly predicted using turbulent flow assumptions. Filling the flume with fine sand and conducting runoff studies, we were unable to produce sheet flow, but found that subsurface flows were onflow rate, soil depth and slope dependent and drainable porosities were only soil depth and slope dependent. Moreover, both the sand

Vegetative zonation patterns in depression and riparian wetlands of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ELO

2012-01-05

Jan 5, 2012 ... The vegetation of depressional and riparian wetlands in the Sanjiang ... Three transplanted species showed different effects of biomass ... nutrient concentrations in soil, as well as disturbance, ... (2) to discern underlying environmental variables that .... variance (ANOVA) and the construction of scatter plots.

Early Response of Soil Properties and Function to Riparian Rainforest Restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Gageler, Rose; Bonner, Mark; Kirchhof, Gunnar; Amos, Mark; Robinson, Nicole; Schmidt, Susanne; Shoo, Luke P.

2014-01-01

Reforestation of riparian zones is increasingly practiced in many regions for purposes of biodiversity conservation, bank stabilisation, and improvement in water quality. This is in spite of the actual benefits of reforestation for recovering underlying soil properties and function remaining poorly understood. Here we compare remnant riparian rainforest, pasture and reforestation plantings aged 2–20 years in an Australian subtropical catchment on ferrosols to determine the extent to which reforestation restores key soil properties. Of the nine soil attributes measured (total nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium concentrations, net nitrification and ammonification rates, organic carbon, bulk density, fine root biomass and water infiltration rates), only infiltration rates were significantly lower in pasture than remnant riparian rainforest. Within reforestation plantings, bulk density decreased up to 1.4-fold and infiltration rates increased up to 60-fold with time post-reforestation. Our results suggest that the main outcome of belowground processes of early reforestation is the recovery of the soils' physical structure, with potential beneficial ecosystem services including reduced runoff, erosion and associated sediment and nutrient loads in waterways. We also demonstrate differential impacts of two commonly planted tree species on a subset of soil properties suggesting that preferential planting of select species could accelerate progress on specific restoration objectives. PMID:25117589

Early response of soil properties and function to riparian rainforest restoration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rose Gageler

Full Text Available Reforestation of riparian zones is increasingly practiced in many regions for purposes of biodiversity conservation, bank stabilisation, and improvement in water quality. This is in spite of the actual benefits of reforestation for recovering underlying soil properties and function remaining poorly understood. Here we compare remnant riparian rainforest, pasture and reforestation plantings aged 2-20 years in an Australian subtropical catchment on ferrosols to determine the extent to which reforestation restores key soil properties. Of the nine soil attributes measured (total nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium concentrations, net nitrification and ammonification rates, organic carbon, bulk density, fine root biomass and water infiltration rates, only infiltration rates were significantly lower in pasture than remnant riparian rainforest. Within reforestation plantings, bulk density decreased up to 1.4-fold and infiltration rates increased up to 60-fold with time post-reforestation. Our results suggest that the main outcome of belowground processes of early reforestation is the recovery of the soils' physical structure, with potential beneficial ecosystem services including reduced runoff, erosion and associated sediment and nutrient loads in waterways. We also demonstrate differential impacts of two commonly planted tree species on a subset of soil properties suggesting that preferential planting of select species could accelerate progress on specific restoration objectives.

Post-wildfire recovery of riparian vegetation during a period of water scarcity in the southwestern USA

Science.gov (United States)

D. Max Smith; Deborah M. Finch; Christian Gunning; Roy Jemison; Jeffrey F. Kelly

2009-01-01

Wildland fires occur with increasing frequency in southwestern riparian forests, yet little is known about the effects of fire on populations of native and exotic vegetation. From 2003 to 2006, we monitored recovering woody vegetation in wildfire sites in the bosque (riparian forest) along the Middle Rio Grande of central New Mexico, USA. To examine recovery potential...

Presence of riparian vegetation increases biotic condition of fish assemblages in two Brazilian reservoirs

OpenAIRE

Ferreira, Fabio Cop; Souza, Ursulla Pereira; Petrere Junior2, Miguel

2015-01-01

Abstract The riparian vegetation in lakes and reservoirs is source of course wood structures such as trunks and branches and is used as sheltering, spawning and foraging habitats for fishes. The reduction of these submerged structures can thus, affect the composition and structure of fish assemblages in reservoirs. Aim To evaluate the influence of riparian vegetation on the biotic condition of fish assemblage by adapting the Reservoir Fish Assemblage Index (RFAI) to two reservoirs in the Upp...

Stochastic models for turbulent reacting flows

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kerstein, A. [Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA (United States)

1993-12-01

The goal of this program is to develop and apply stochastic models of various processes occurring within turbulent reacting flows in order to identify the fundamental mechanisms governing these flows, to support experimental studies of these flows, and to further the development of comprehensive turbulent reacting flow models.

Tree mortality in mature riparian forest: Implications for Fremont cottonwood conservation in the American southwest

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Douglas

2015-01-01

Mature tree mortality rates are poorly documented in desert riparian woodlands. I monitored deaths and calculated annual survivorship probability (Ps) in 2 groups of large (27–114 cm DBH), old (≥40 years old) Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii Wats.) in a stand along the free-flowing Yampa River in semiarid northwestern Colorado. Ps = 0.993 year-1 in a group (n = 126) monitored over 2003–2013, whereas Ps = 0.985 year-1 in a group (n = 179) monitored over the same period plus 3 earlier years (2000–2003) that included drought and a defoliating insect outbreak. Assuming Ps was the same for both groups during the 10-year postdrought period, the data indicate that Ps = 0.958 year-1 during the drought. I found no difference in canopy dieback level between male and female survivors. Mortality was equal among size classes, suggesting Ps is independent of age, but published longevity data imply that either Ps eventually declines with age or, as suggested in this study, periods with high Ps are interrupted by episodes of increased mortality. Stochastic population models featuring episodes of low Ps suggest a potential for an abrupt decline in mature tree numbers where recruitment is low. The modeling results have implications for woodland conservation, especially for relictual stands along regulated desert rivers.

Breeding Bird Community Continues to Colonize Riparian Buffers Ten Years after Harvest.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott F Pearson

Full Text Available Riparian ecosystems integrate aquatic and terrestrial communities and often contain unique assemblages of flora and fauna. Retention of forested buffers along riparian habitats is a commonly employed practice to reduce potential negative effects of land use on aquatic systems. However, very few studies have examined long-term population and community responses to buffers, leading to considerable uncertainty about effectiveness of this practice for achieving conservation and management outcomes. We examined short- (1-2 years and long-term (~10 years avian community responses (occupancy and abundance to riparian buffer prescriptions to clearcut logging silvicultural practices in the Pacific Northwest USA. We used a Before-After-Control-Impact experimental approach and temporally replicated point counts analyzed within a Bayesian framework. Our experimental design consisted of forested control sites with no harvest, sites with relatively narrow (~13 m forested buffers on each side of the stream, and sites with wider (~30 m and more variable width unharvested buffer. Buffer treatments exhibited a 31-44% increase in mean species richness in the post-harvest years, a pattern most evident 10 years post-harvest. Post-harvest, species turnover was much higher on both treatments (63-74% relative to the controls (29%. We did not find evidence of local extinction for any species but found strong evidence (no overlap in 95% credible intervals for an increase in site occupancy on both Narrow (short-term: 7%; long-term 29% and Wide buffers (short-term: 21%; long-term 93% relative to controls after harvest. We did not find a treatment effect on total avian abundance. When assessing relationships between buffer width and site level abundance of four riparian specialists, we did not find strong evidence of reduced abundance in Narrow or Wide buffers. Silviculture regulations in this region dictate average buffer widths on small and large permanent streams that

Relationships Between Land Use and Stream Nutrient Concentrations in a Highly Urbanized Tropical Region of Brazil: Thresholds and Riparian Zones.

Science.gov (United States)

Tromboni, F; Dodds, W K

2017-07-01

Nutrient enrichment in streams due to land use is increasing globally, reducing water quality and causing eutrophication of downstream fresh and coastal waters. In temperate developed countries, the intensive use of fertilizers in agriculture is a main driver of increasing nutrient concentrations, but high levels and fast rates of urbanization can be a predominant issue in some areas of the developing world. We investigated land use in the highly urbanized tropical State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We collected total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and inorganic nutrient data from 35 independent watersheds distributed across the State and characterized land use at a riparian and entire watershed scales upstream from each sample station, using ArcGIS. We used regression models to explain land use influences on nutrient concentrations and to assess riparian protection relationships to water quality. We found that urban land use was the primary driver of nutrient concentration increases, independent of the scale of analyses and that urban land use was more concentrated in the riparian buffer of streams than in the entire watersheds. We also found significant thresholds that indicated strong increases in nutrient concentrations with modest increases in urbanization reaching maximum nutrient concentrations between 10 and 46% urban cover. These thresholds influenced calculation of reference nutrient concentrations, and ignoring them led to higher estimates of these concentrations. Lack of sewage treatment in concert with urban development in riparian zones apparently leads to the observation that modest increases in urban land use can cause large increases in nutrient concentrations.

Vegetative zonation patterns in depression and riparian wetlands of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

One hundred and seventy-two (172) sampling plots in depression and riparian wetland was used. Samples were classified in 9 groups at the fourth level using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN): Four marsh communities, one meadow marsh community, one wet meadow community, two swamp communities ...

EnviroAtlas - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - 51m Riparian Buffer Forest Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is forested. In this community, forest is defined as Trees and Forest and Woody Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees and Forest, Grass and Herbaceous, Woody Wetlands, and Emergent Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Probabilistically modeling lava flows with MOLASSES

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, J. A.; Connor, L.; Connor, C.; Gallant, E.

2017-12-01

Modeling lava flows through Cellular Automata methods enables a computationally inexpensive means to quickly forecast lava flow paths and ultimate areal extents. We have developed a lava flow simulator, MOLASSES, that forecasts lava flow inundation over an elevation model from a point source eruption. This modular code can be implemented in a deterministic fashion with given user inputs that will produce a single lava flow simulation. MOLASSES can also be implemented in a probabilistic fashion where given user inputs define parameter distributions that are randomly sampled to create many lava flow simulations. This probabilistic approach enables uncertainty in input data to be expressed in the model results and MOLASSES outputs a probability map of inundation instead of a determined lava flow extent. Since the code is comparatively fast, we use it probabilistically to investigate where potential vents are located that may impact specific sites and areas, as well as the unconditional probability of lava flow inundation of sites or areas from any vent. We have validated the MOLASSES code to community-defined benchmark tests and to the real world lava flows at Tolbachik (2012-2013) and Pico do Fogo (2014-2015). To determine the efficacy of the MOLASSES simulator at accurately and precisely mimicking the inundation area of real flows, we report goodness of fit using both model sensitivity and the Positive Predictive Value, the latter of which is a Bayesian posterior statistic. Model sensitivity is often used in evaluating lava flow simulators, as it describes how much of the lava flow was successfully modeled by the simulation. We argue that the positive predictive value is equally important in determining how good a simulator is, as it describes the percentage of the simulation space that was actually inundated by lava.

Recreation conflict of riparian landowners with personal watercraft and motorboat use along the New York's Great Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng-Ping Wang; Chad P. Dawson

2002-01-01

Riparian landowners of the New York's Great Lakes (NYGL) are reportedly in conflict with some motorboat and personal watercraft (PWC) use. Goal interference theory was used to explain landowners' perceived conflict caused by motorboat and PWC use. A study conducted in the NYGL area surveyed the riparian landowners' perceived conflict and problems caused...

Repeatability of riparian vegetation sampling methods: how useful are these techniques for broad-scale, long-term monitoring?

Science.gov (United States)

Marc C. Coles-Ritchie; Richard C. Henderson; Eric K. Archer; Caroline Kennedy; Jeffrey L. Kershner