Threats to Western United States Riparian Ecosystems: a Bibliography
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Threats to Western United States Riparian Ecosystems: A Bibliography Boris Poff, Karen A. Koestner, Daniel G. Neary, and David Merritt United States Department of Agriculture / Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-269 December 2012 Poff, Boris; Koestner, Karen A.; Neary, Daniel G.; Merritt, David. 2012. Threats to western United States riparian ecosystems: A bibliography. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-269. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 78 p. Abstract __________________________________________________ This bibliography is a compendium of state-of-knowledge publications about the threats affecting western U.S. riparian ecosystems and is a companion to the website: http://www.rmrs.nau.edu/ awa/ripthreatbib/. The website contains abstracts and access to many of the publications via PDFs, or it directs the readers to websites where PDFs of the publication can be viewed or obtained. The bibliography is ordered alphabetically and the type of threats discussed in each publication is highlighted. These threats include agriculture, climate change, dam construction, disease, drought, invasive species, fire, floods, flow regulation, forest harvesting, grazing, groundwater depletion, insects, mining, recreation, roads, water diversions, urbanization, and water quality. Keywords: ecosystem, riparian, soil, water, watersheds, hydrology, threats, vegetation, wildlife, drought, floods, grazing, invasive plants Authors _____________________________ David Merritt, Riparian Ecologist, U.S. Department of Agri- culture, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service, Boris Poff, District Hydrologist, Bureau of Land Management, Stream Systems Technology Center, Fort Collins, Colorado. Las Vegas, Nevada. Karen A. Koestner, Hydrologic Research Technician, U.S. Acknowledgments ____________________ Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Flagstaff, This effort was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department Arizona. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Daniel G. Neary, Research Soil Scientist, U.S. Department of Station, Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Center. The authors would like to particularly thank Dr. Terry Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Flagstaff, Arizona. Shaw for his support and vision over the years regarding threats to western U.S.A. riparian ecosystems. You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and number. Publishing Services Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1122 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Cover: Rocky Mountain Station scientists and technicians working with White Mountain—Fort Apache Nation personnel in evaluating the physical conditions of streams in high elevation riparian areas in the White Mountains, Arizona. Summary ___________________________ ers to journal websites where the PDFs can be downloaded, read, or ordered. This bibliography can be obtained as a hard In the western United States, riparian ecosystems occupy copy or downloaded as an electronic version from the Rocky a small percentage of the landscape (<2%), but they provide MountainResearch Station’s Publications website: http://www. essential ecological functions for both human and biotic popu- fs.fed.us/rm/publications/. lations. Despite their small portion of the landscape, western The bibliography presents publications on a range of ripar- riparian ecosystems provide habitat for about one-third of ian threats elucidated by Obedzinski and others (2001) and the plant species. In arid regions like the Southwest and the Theobald and others (2010). The topics include agriculture, Great Basin, about 60% of all vertebrate species and 70% of climate change, dam construction, disease, drought, invasive all threatened and endangered species are riparian obligates. species, fire, floods, flow regulation, forest harvesting, graz- This bibliography is a compendium of 480 state-of- knowledge ing, groundwater depletion, insects, mining, recreation, roads, publications about the threats affecting western U.S.A. ripar- water diversions, urbanization, and water quality. Most of the ian ecosystems and it is a companion to the website: http:// bibliographic entries deal with three or more threats and are www.rmrs.nau.edu/awa/ripthreatbib/. The website contains listed as multiple threats. The two topics with the most refer- Adobe Acrobat PDFs of the publications or it directs read- ences are grazing and invasive species. Threats to Western United States Riparian Ecosystems: A Bibliography Boris Poff, Karen A. Koestner, Daniel G. Neary, and David Merritt Introduction Riparian ecosystems serve critical ecological functions in all ecotones throughout the world. In the western United States, many components of these keystone ecosystems are and have been in decline since Euro- pean settlement (Obedzinski and others 2001). This bibliography is a compilation of available research results, technical, position and policy papers published between 1938 and 2010 on the threats posed to riparian ecosystems. Over the course of two-thirds of a century, scientists and policy makers have publicly discussed the causes of this constant decline. The threats identified herein range from agricultural development, climatic changes, dam construction, in- creases in insect and disease attacks, drought, fire, floods, flow regulation, forest harvesting, improperly Figure 1—Gunnison River, Colorado (photo by Lisa Lynch, managed grazing activities, groundwater depletion, National Park Service). invasion of exotic species, mining, recreation, roads, water diversion, urbanization and degradation in water quality. While the majority of the papers listed in this bibli- human and biotic populations (figs. 2 and 3). While ripar- ography focus on one specific riparian threat, there are ian ecosystems occur on less than 2% of the total land several articles that examine the importance of inter- area in the West (Svejcar 1997a), they provide habitat for actions among various factors in causing the decline. about one-third of the plant species. In the arid Southwest Some papers also clarify issues that need to be addressed and similar arid regions, about 60% of all vertebrate in order to restore and maintain sustainable riparian species (Obedzinski and others 2001) and 70% of all ecosystems in the western United States, including the threatened and endangered species are riparian obligates function of vegetation, hydrologic conditions, riparian (Johnson 1989). These ecosystems are not only unique zone structure, landscape features, geomorphology and because they have high species diversity and densities management objectives. as well as high productivity, but they also allow for con- tinuous interactions to occur between riparian, aquatic, Riparian Ecosystems in the Western and upland terrestrial ecosystems through exchange of United States energy, nutrients and species (Johnson and McCormick 1978). Riparian ecosystems are systems with a high water In the western United States, riparian ecosystems table because of proximity to an aquatic ecosystem or (fig. 1) occupy a small percentage of the landscape, but subsurface water and have distinct vegetation and soil they provide essential ecological functions for both characteristics. Aridity, topographic relief and presence USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-269. 2012 1 Figure 2—Rio Grande River, New Mexico (photo courtesy of Figure 4—Colorado River, Arizona (photo by Daniel G. Neary, http://artsblog.freedomblogging.com/). USDA Forest Service). Figure 3—Gila River, New Mexico (photo by Daniel G. Neary, Figure 5—Yellowstone River, Wyoming (photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service). http://wallpaper-s.org/). of depositional soils most strongly influence the extent of high water tables and associated riparian ecosystems (Johnson and McCormick 1978). Even though riparian zones are not easily delineated, they are composed of mosaics of landforms, communities and environments within the larger landscape (Gregory and others 1991). Riparian zones range in width from a few to hundreds of meters. Large rivers such as the Colorado can have riparian zones that are narrow (fig. 4) or wide in the case of the Yellowstone River, depending on the geomor- phology of the fluvial system (fig. 5). They can be wooded banks of rivers in the Pacific Northwest (fig. 6) (Obedzinki and others 2001). They are found along Figure 6—Spanish Creek, North Fork, Feather River, ephemeral stream channels, such as in southwestern California (photo courtesy of Plumas National Forest). 2 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-269. 2012 arroyos that carry water only during rain or snowmelt is usually measured in terms of watershed level function. events or along perennial streams and flood plains with Riparian vegetation also influences light penetration, dense vegetation. This vegetation can vary from aquatic air and water temperatures, and trophic interactions graminoid-sedge wet meadows (fig. 7) to extensive conifer such as the transition between aquatic and terrestrial forests (fig. 8). Riparian ecosystems provide an enormous zones (figs.8