Restoring riparian meadows currently dominated by Artemisa using alternative state concepts – above-ground vegetation response

Wright, J. Michael; Chambers, Jeanne C.

doi:10.1658/1402-2001(2002)005[0237:rrmcdb]2.0.co;2

Cited by 28 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In humid environments, the primary source of water may be rainfall percolating through the vadose zone; under these conditions it may be more appropriate to use soil moisture as a predictor of vegetation community. Similarly, models of nutrient availability, salinity, required soil redox conditions [Dwire et al, 2006], fire response [Wright and Chambers, 2002] or soil characteristics could also be included to condition the vegetation response. An advantage of our approach is that many or few criteria can be included to condition the vegetation response.…”

Section: Methodological Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…australis) dominate on the hillslopes. Encroachment of sagebrush [Berlow et al, 2002;Wright and Chambers, 2002;Darrouzet-Nardi et al, 2006] and woody vegetation is a problem that is endemic throughout the western United States. This phenomenon is a direct result of aridification of riparian areas, which could potentially be caused by draining of meadow sediments as a consequence of stream incision, land use changes, climate change, or other factors.…”

Section: Vegetation Communities and Patterningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Riparian hydroecology: A coupled model of the observed interactions between groundwater flow and meadow vegetation patterning

Loheide

Gorelick

2007

Water Resources Research

127

144

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[1] Stream incision is altering the hydroecology of riparian areas worldwide. In the Last Chance watershed in the northern Sierra Nevada, California, logging, overgrazing, and road/railroad construction have caused stream incision, which resulted in drainage of riparian meadow sediments and a succession from native wet meadow vegetation to sagebrush and dryland grasses. Restoration efforts have been initiated to reestablish the ecosystem function of these systems. Original field data including stream stage records, water table hydrographs, sediment hydraulic properties, topographic transects, and aerial imagery of vegetation patterning were used to develop a model of an archetype meadow. Hydrologic behavior was simulated with a finite element model of variably saturated groundwater flow. This model was coupled to an empirical, time-dependent, vegetation threshold relationship between vegetation type and depth to the water table. This was a two-way coupling requiring an iterative approach because water table depth is a determinant of vegetation type, yet the vegetation regime influences water table depth through evapotranspiration. The hydrology and vegetation patterns were analyzed under pristine, degraded (incised), and restored conditions. For the case of deep streambed incision, our hydroecological model predicts the observed shift from mesic (wetter) to xeric (drier) vegetation communities and reproduces their imaged longitudinal zonation. This patterning is explained as a response to groundwater drainage to the stream, which creates dry zones with xeric vegetation adjacent to the stream, while preserving sufficient moisture at the margins of the meadow to support holdout populations of mesic vegetation. The model further predicts the reestablishment of meadow vegetation when the incised channel is filled and a new shallow channel is restored. The coupling of a near-surface hydrologic model to a vegetation response model may be used to design stream restoration projects by predicting vegetation patterning.

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Section: Methodological Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vegetation Communities and Patterningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Riparian hydroecology: A coupled model of the observed interactions between groundwater flow and meadow vegetation patterning

Loheide

Gorelick

2007

Water Resources Research

127

144

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“…Communities dependent upon melt signals and inundation tied to the seasonal cycles of a snowmelt regime may therefore be maladapted for a future climate (Poff et al, 1997;Naiman et al, 2002). Groundwater-dependent ecosystems, such as wet meadows, are strongly tied to stream stage and its role in supporting high water levels (Dwire et al, 2006;Loheide, 2008) and vegetation (Wright and Chambers, 2002;Leyer, 2005). Restoration projects in meadows are designed to increase stream stage to sustain a high water table.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Instream Restoration to Improve the Ecohydrologic Function of a Subalpine Meadow: Pre‐implementation Modeling with HEC‐RAS

Moore

Loheide

Lowry

et al. 2014

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Vegetation in subalpine meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is particularly vulnerable to lowering of groundwater levels because wet meadow vegetation is reliant upon shallow groundwater during the dry summer growing season. These ecosystems are especially vulnerable to channel incision as meadow aquifers are hydrologically connected to tributaries, and many have not yet recovered from previous anthropogenic influences. While instream restoration projects have become a common approach, lack of postrestoration monitoring and communication often result in a trial-and-error approach. In this study we demonstrate that preimplementation modeling of possible instream restoration solutions, chosen to raise stream stage and subsequently groundwater levels, is a useful tool for evaluating and comparing potential channel modifications. Modeling allows us to identify strategic locations and specific methods. Results show additional sediment depth and roughness on tributaries along with introduced woody debris (simulated by high roughness) on the Tuolumne River are the most effective means of raising stream stage. Results demonstrate that restoration efforts are most efficient in tributary streams. Managers and planners can more efficiently direct resources while minimizing the potential for negative impacts or failed restoration projects by modeling the possible effects of multiple restoration scenarios before implementation.(KEY TERMS: surface water hydrology; surface water/groundwater interactions; restoration; riparian ecology; wet meadow.) Moore, Courtney E., Steven P. Loheide, II, Christopher S. Lowry, and Jessica D. Lundquist, 2014. Instream Restoration to Improve the Ecohydrologic Function of a Subalpine Meadow: Pre-implementation Modeling with HEC-RAS.

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“…In these dry ecosystems, low water availability limits plant growth (Briones et al, 1998;Noy-Meir, 1973;Shmida and Burgess, 1988). The natural or anthropogenic alteration of these limited water resources may in some cases be the direct cause of encroachment (Berlow et al, 2003;Chambers et al, 2004;Polley et al, 1997;Schwinning and Ehleringer, 2001;Stromberg et al, 1996;Wright and Chambers, 2002). Several authors have theorized that the coexistence of woody and herbaceous plants relies on the vertical partitioning of soil water (Noy-Meir, 1973;Shmida and Burgess, 1988;Walter, 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depth of water acquisition by invading shrubs and resident herbs in a Sierra Nevada meadow

2006

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Woody plant encroachment into semiarid ecosystems has become a global trend in recent decades. Due to stream channel incision, the semiarid riparian montane meadows of the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA are experiencing long-term declines in soil moisture. A woody shrub, Artemisia rothrockii A. Gray (Rothrock sagebrush, Asteraceae) is invading these herbaceous meadows. We used an analysis of the stable oxygen isotope ratios of plant and soil water to measure the depth of plant water acquisition during the early stages of this woody plant encroachment. Sagebrush used deeper water on average than most herbs, but it also acquired 10-30% of its water from shallow (<30 cm) soil. Most of the young sagebrush seedlings (1-3 years old, <15 cm) that we sampled used deep water like the older shrubs. Many, but not all of the herb species we sampled were also able to acquire deep water. These findings are consistent with a scenario of shrub encroachment in which channel incision causes shallow-water-dependent herbs to die back, allowing shrub seedlings to establish in disturbed areas during wet years. At least during the early stages of the invasion, some herbs appear to coexist with sagebrush by using deep root systems to cope with the declining shallow soil moisture.

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Restoring riparian meadows currently dominated by Artemisa using alternative state concepts – above-ground vegetation response

Cited by 28 publications

References 22 publications

Riparian hydroecology: A coupled model of the observed interactions between groundwater flow and meadow vegetation patterning

Riparian hydroecology: A coupled model of the observed interactions between groundwater flow and meadow vegetation patterning

Instream Restoration to Improve the Ecohydrologic Function of a Subalpine Meadow: Pre‐implementation Modeling with HEC‐RAS

Depth of water acquisition by invading shrubs and resident herbs in a Sierra Nevada meadow

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