Quantifying impacts to riparian wetlands associated with reduced flows along the Greybull River, Wyoming

Johnson, Gregory D.; Strickland, M. Dale; Buyok, John P.; Derby, Clayton E.; Young, David P.

doi:10.1007/bf03161735

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Biohydrology studies have examined relationships of riparian vegetation with many hydrologic parameters including seasonal or annual stream flow rate, magnitude and variability of base flows, depth to ground water or saturated soil, and frequency, timing and magnitude of flood pulses (Nestler and Long, 1997;Friedman and Auble, 1999;Johnson, 2000;Pettit et al, 2001;Elmore et al, 2003). Vegetation can be characterized in many ways, and studies have examined effects of surface-and ground-water flow regimes on vegetation abundance, plant species diversity, species composition, establishment and survival of tree species, and plant growth and vigour (Stromberg andPatten, 1990, 1995;Smith et al, 1991;Shafroth et al, 1998Shafroth et al, , 2000Shafroth et al, , 2002Johnson et al, 1999;Scott et al 1999;Munoz-Reinoso, 2001;Capon, 2003;Cooper et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of stream flow intermittency on riparian vegetation of a semiarid region river (San Pedro River, Arizona)

Bagstad²,

et al. 2005

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The San Pedro River in the southwestern United States retains a natural flood regime and has several reaches with perennial stream flow and shallow ground water. However, much of the river flows intermittently. Urbanization-linked declines in regional ground-water levels have raised concerns over the future status of the riverine ecosystem in some parts of the river, while restoration-linked decreases in agricultural ground-water pumping are expected to increase stream flows in other parts. This study describes the response of the streamside herbaceous vegetation to changes in stream flow permanence. During the early summer dry season, streamside herbaceous cover and species richness declined continuously across spatial gradients of flow permanence, and composition shifted from hydric to mesic species at sites with more intermittent flow. Hydrologic threshold values were evident for one plant functional group: Schoenoplectus acutus, Juncus torreyi, and other hydric riparian plants declined sharply in cover with loss of perennial stream flow. In contrast, cover of mesic riparian perennials (including Cynodon dactylon, an introduced species) increased at sites with intermittent flow. Patterns of hydric and mesic riparian annuals varied by season: in the early summer dry season their cover declined continuously as flow became more intermittent, while in the late summer wet season their cover increased as the flow became more intermittent. Periodic drought at the intermittent sites may increase opportunities for establishment of these annuals during the monsoonal flood season. During the late summer flood season, stream flow was present at most sites, and fewer vegetation traits were correlated with flow permanence; cover and richness were correlated with other environmental factors including site elevation and substrate nitrate level and particle size. Although perennial-flow and intermittent-flow sites support different streamside plant communities, all of the plant functional groups are abundant at perennial-flow sites when viewing the ecosystem at broader spatial and temporal scales: mesic riparian perennials are common in the floodplain zone adjacent to the river channel and late-summer hydric and mesic annuals are periodically abundant after large floods.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of stream flow intermittency on riparian vegetation of a semiarid region river (San Pedro River, Arizona)

Bagstad²,

et al. 2005

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“…Hydrologic models of various complexities have been developed and applied to a number of wetland studies focusing on hydrology (Sun et al 1998;Pyke 2004;Boone et al 2006), wetland hydrology and vegetation relations (Poiani and Johnson 1993), and the specific effects of streamflow alteration on wetland systems (Johnson et al 1999;Auble et al 2005). This study demonstrated that the SPAW model is a suitable tool for use in the simulation of the hydrology of bottomland forest wetlands of the Midwest U.S. that are dominated by surface-water processes.…”

Section: Wetland Hydrology Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative Effects of Impoundments on the Hydrology of Riparian Wetlands along the Marmaton River, West-Central Missouri, USA

Heimann

Krempa

2011

Wetlands

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The effects of proposed impoundments and resulting streamflow regulation on riparian wetlands in the Marmaton River Basin, Missouri, USA were determined using measurements and numerical simulations of wetland water budgets. Calibrated and validated Soil-Plant-AirWater (SPAW) models were used to simulate daily water depths of four riparian wetlands for Current (model scenario of existing impoundments) and Proposed (model scenario of existing and proposed impoundments) impoundment conditions. The simulated frequency of flooding decreased 19-65% at the wetlands following the additions of proposed impoundments. The reduced flooding resulted in decreases in wetland water depths at all sites during the 10 simulated growing seasons under Proposed conditions with an average duration of continuous waterdepth declines of 289 days at the upstream (most regulated) site. Downstream wetlands within the zone of least regulation had an average duration of water level decreases of about 20 days. Decreased water levels under Proposed conditions resulted in a range of 65-365 additional dry days at the study wetlands during the simulated 10-year period of Proposed conditions. The areas of the four wetlands meeting the hydrologic criteria of a formal jurisdictional wetland definition decreased ranging from zero to 31% under Proposed impoundment conditions.

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“…Wetland ecosystems in arid and mesic regions throughout the world are being affected by hydrologic alterations including ground-water pumping and stream flow diversion (Rood et al, 1995;Johnson et al, 1999;Kingsford, 2000;MunozReinoso, 2001;Elmore et al, 2003;Tockner and Stanford, 2002). In southwestern USA, the Colorado River and many of its tributaries have been partially or wholly dewatered as water is appropriated for urban, agricultural and industrial use (Judd et al, 1971;Medina, 1990;Springer et al, 1999;Glenn et al, 2001;Stromberg et al, 2004a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Status of the Riparian Ecosystem in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona: Application of an Assessment Model

Stromberg

Lite

Rychener

et al. 2006

Environ Monit Assess

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A portion of Arizona's San Pedro River is managed as a National Riparian Conservation Area but is potentially affected by ground-water withdrawals beyond the conservation area borders. We applied an assessment model to the Conservation Area as a basis for monitoring long-term changes in riparian ecosystem condition resulting from changes in river water availability, and collected multi-year data on a subset of the most sensitive bioindicators. The assessment model is based on nine vegetation bioindicators that are sensitive to changes in surface water or ground water. Site index scores allow for placement into one of three condition classes, each reflecting particular ranges for site hydrology and vegetation structure. We collected the bioindicator data at 26 sites distributed among 14 reaches that had similar stream flow hydrology (spatial flow intermittency) and geomorphology (channel sinuosity, flood-plain width). Overall, 39% of the riparian corridor fell within condition class 3 (the wettest condition), 55% in condition class 2, and 6% in the driest condition class. Condition class 3 reaches have high cover of herbaceous wetland plants (e.g., Juncus and Schoenoplectus spp.) along the perennial stream channel and dense, multi-aged Populus-Salix woodlands in the flood plain, sustained by shallow ground water in the stream alluvium. In condition class 2, intermittent stream flows result in low cover of streamside wetland herbs, but Populus-Salix remain abundant in the flood plain. Perennial wetland plants are absent from condition class 1, reflecting highly intermittent stream flows; the flood plain is vegetated by Tamarixa small tree that tolerates the deep and fluctuating ground water levels that typify this reach type. Abundance of herbaceous wetland plants and growth rate of Salix gooddingii varied between years with different stream flow rates, indicating utility of these measures for tracking short-term responses to hydrologic change. Repeat measurement of all bioindicators will indicate long-term trends in hydro-vegetational condition.

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Quantifying impacts to riparian wetlands associated with reduced flows along the Greybull River, Wyoming

Cited by 12 publications

References 1 publication

Effects of stream flow intermittency on riparian vegetation of a semiarid region river (San Pedro River, Arizona)

Effects of stream flow intermittency on riparian vegetation of a semiarid region river (San Pedro River, Arizona)

Cumulative Effects of Impoundments on the Hydrology of Riparian Wetlands along the Marmaton River, West-Central Missouri, USA

Status of the Riparian Ecosystem in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona: Application of an Assessment Model

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