SliitSalinityy MtManagementg forf FlFloodplain dp l i RiRiparianp i RtRestoration ti GrabauGrabau, Matthew RR.1, MilczarekMilczarek, Michael AA.22, BanerjeeBanerjee, Monisha JJ., and Ashlee Rudolph3 1GeoSystemsy Analysis,Analysisly, Inc.,Inc , Tucson,Tucson, Arizona,Arizona, USA,USA, [email protected],matt@gsanalysis@gl y com ,2GeoSystemsy AnalysisAnalysis,ly, IncInc.,, TucsonTucson,, ArizonaArizona,, USAUSA,, 3US Departmentp off theh Interior,Interior, Bureau off Reclamation,Reclamationl , Boulderld City,Cityy, Nevada,Nevadad , USA

Introduction Studyd Locationsi Site Conditionsd SliitSalinity ModelingMdli Conclusionsli

Restoring native riparian plant communities on historic floodplains is a major objective Threeh Lower Coloradold River Multil ‐species SUMMARY: Soil and Groundwater Salinityy Governed byy: Conservation Programg HabitatHabitat CreationCreation Frequency/Amount of 1‐D Salt‐Balance Model: SaltMod—httpp:////wwwwww.waterlog.info/saltmod.htm waterlogg/ info/saltmod htm 11. Soil texture: Salinity decreased with higher percent sand of managementg agenciesg . For exampleexample,p,the Lower Colorado River Multi‐speciesp Groundwater Groundwater Site Soil texture percolation following (enhanced( drainage)g) ConservationCiProgram (MSCP)(MSCP),(SC)implementedil dbyb theh Bureau off ReclamationReclamation,liincludesild re‐ Areas:A depth salinity (enhanced drainage). irrigation events vegetationg of over 2,900 ha of historic floodplainp with salt‐intolerant native riparianp Model Zones 22. Irrigationg applicationpp : Greater irrigationg depthp resulted in BLCA SandySdy ShallowSh ll IntermediateIt dit High/ModerateHig/ h/M d t 1 BlBeal LakeLk ConservationCti AreaA (BLCA):()(BLCA) Model Structure dddecreased soilil salinityli ity (hi(higher(g h lhileachingg fti)fraction)). speciesi . PVER SandySdy withith some loamyl y areas DeepD p LowL Intermediate/HighIt dit/Hih/g Calibration Parameters A 107‐acre site comprised off dredge spoill Like most largeg rivers,rivers the Colorado River flow is highlygyregulatedg . Therefore,Therefore riparianp CNU1 Fine‐grained (silty loam) Intermediate High Low/Moderate Parameter Description 33. Groundwater depthp : Shallower waterwater=more more capillarypyrise and material.material Divided into 30 fieldsfields (1((1‐6.262 acres)) evapoconcentrationp tti ini roott zone. hbitthabitat creationti mustt bbe ilimplemented tdon didisconnected t d flfloodplains d l i whereh salinityli it iis forf researchh andd developmentdl t off riparianriparianii Storage Ratio of soil water stored often elevated due to a lack of overbank floodingflooding, evapoconcentration of salts in 4.4 Groundwater flow rates: slower flow=longerflow longerg residence time,time, restoration methodsmethods, withwith eacheach fieldfield wateredwatered Efficiency to porosity.porosity upstreamp reservoirs,reservoirs, and addition of fertilizer salts on adjacentj agriculturalg land. As a greatert salinityli it concentrationtti . RtRoot ZZone RtiRatio off pgpercolatinglti soilil idindependently.depe ded tlt y 5.5 Incomingg groundwatergrog nd ater salinitysalinity: upp‐gradientg groundwatergrog nd ater EC resultresult,l groundwaterd andd soilil salinityli i exceedd theh tolerancel off nativei vegetationi ini many LhiLeachingg watert salinityli ity tot watert areas. Furthermore,Furthermore because hydrologyygyis likelyy insufficient to supportpp plantedp dictatesdi t t groundwaterdtEC att eachh siteit . Palo Verde Ecologicalg Reserve (PVER):()(PVER): EfficiencyEffi i y salinityli ity iin ththe roott zone. vegetation,tti irrigationii ti isi requiredidforf habitathbittrestorationtti. ApplicationAliti off irrigationii ti over PtPotential tilSitSite‐specificp ifi MtManagementg AtiActions can IldInclude: A 1,3521 352‐acre riparianii habitathbitt creationti siteit TransitionTii ZoneZ TheTh ratioi off percolatingli shallow groundwater can result in upward salinity migration,migration exacerbating salinity comprised of 8 phases (36‐226 acres)acres). LeachingLhi soilil water salinityli i to thath 1.1 Soil texture: Select sites with intermediate soil textures— problemsp . AlternativelyAlternatively,y, irrigationg and drainageg mightg be managedg to mitigateg salinityy. FFormeroe agagriculturaliltl cu tu a ldland.ad Efficiencyffi i iin theh transitionii zone. sufficientsuffi c i e t didrainageda ageandadd moistureostueit retentionetetti t o fforo vegetationegetattti o . This effort aimed to identify salinity management options for riparian habitat 22. IiIrrigationg ti : OtiiOptimizep iiirrigationg ti dthdepthp tto providep id sufficientffi i t saltlt restoration,restoration, characterize soil and groundwaterg conditions at current MSCP habitat Cibola National Wildlife Refugeg UnitUnit 11 leachinglhi(minimum(ii applicationli ti tot provideid acceptabletbl salinity)li it ). 33. GdtGroundwater dthdepthp : DiDrainageg or ggroundwaterdtppgpumpingi . creationi sites,sitesi andd developdlpotentialilsalinityli i management strategiesi . ConservationCti AreaA (CNU1):(CNU1) VigorousVi GooddingGoodding’sG ddi ’ s willowsill att PVPVER2PVER2 R (left),(l ft) andd saltltcrustedtdsoilsil withithmarginallyill‐ A 900‐acre riparian habitat creation site successful Fremont cottonwood atat CNU1CNU1 CR1CR1 (right)()(right). 4.4 Incomingg ggroundwater salinityy: Avoid leachingg highg salt loads from comprisedp id off fifive “areas”.“” MixMi off researchh upp‐gradientg di t sitesit . Background fieldsfl and habitathb creation plotsplots.l 35 d May/June/ 201020 0 ed MdlModel CalibrationClibti ResultsRlt

te 30 at 2 ra Recommendations ur 25 February 2012 Native riparian trees require abundantabundant, low salinity water . ThereforeTherefore, revegetation is m tu /m at typicallyyp y reliant onon shallowshallow ggroundwatergroundwater and/orand/or/ highhighg irrigationirrigationg rates.rates S/ 200 Sa S 8 dS d 35 Approximate Riparian Tree

, Sites with acceptable salinity:  Shallow groundwaterg  e 15 Simulated Measured ite C Salinity Tolerance 7 30 m si E EC 11. Test soil and groundwater salinity conditions periodically to detect  SimulatedSi l t d MeasuredMd os High evaporation rates can lead toto soilsoil salinitysalinity accumulation.accumulation m S/m 10 S /m 6 e p d po changes. te 25 changes S/

 st LimitedLi i d unsaturatedd zone forf leachinglhi saltssaltsl fromffrom soilsoilil—root zone typicallyill penetrates dS m 5 5 y, , d as ty 2. Monitor vegetation for salinity stress. o 2 Monitor vegetation for salinity stress om y, 20

to groundwatergroundwater. PaP cit ity C ac

C 0 4 ni

pa Sites with unacceptable salinity—Adaptive Management: k 2 3  h h 1 2 T T lin LhdLeached saltslt can accumulatelt ini near‐surfacef groundwater,g,dt dependingddipg on S 6' 6 er ar ap 15 al - - R2 R R R2 FS NT ve nt nt ea MT M 3

ee 3 Ca C Sa 0 0 S ev on on ER ER SF C C CR CR

groundwaterd flowfl . C groundwater flow. CN 11. Identifydfsite‐specificf toolsl forf remediationd . Ye /Y d r S W We VE VE Ne N Mo Mo

/W 10 2/ 2 /M /M er 2 PV PV 2 P P eld 1 2 1/ 2/  IrrigationIig ti  ie 2.2 ImplementIl tdemonstrationdttiprojectjt. ate Fi

wa 5 w 5  1 t F

Addition of salts to soil profile and groundwatergroundwater. dw BLCA PVER CNU1 (1-2/Month)() (1 2/Month) at 33. MitMonitor ffor fblfavorable results,lt , andd revisei remediationdi ti tltools as n (2/Month)() y a u  More near‐surface soil evaporationevaporation. Projectj overview mapmap.p 0 ty 0 neededdd. o 2 3 LL L 1 2 T T LL 2 3 L 1 2 K B T T NN H D K B nit G H D NN G in LLL LLL R2 R3 R1 R2 NT KKK BBB R2 R3 R1 R2 NT KKK BBB HHH DDD MTM HHH DDD MTM

Project Site (Irrigation Frequency) GGG GGG GroG al ER ER CRC CRC ER ER CNC CRC CRC CNC Sa VE VE VE VE Disconnected Floodplainp —Conceptualp Models S PVP PVP Site Characterization Average composite soil salinity by site and sub‐sitesite. Error bars encompass one standard PVP PVP oil o AA: BB: errorerror. BLCA PVER CNU1 S BLCA PVER CNU1 RfReferences Model Area Model Area 0 BLCA PVER CNU1‐CR  Soills: 2

t Beauchamp,Beauchamp V.B., Walz, C., Shafroth,Shafroth P.B. 2009. Salinity tolerance and

ft 2  Sampled to 66’ or until groundwater,groundwater f mycorrhizal responsiveness of native xeroriparian plants in semi‐arid r,

composited on 2‐foot intervals.intervals e 4 ModelingMdli off IrrigationIi ti ManagementMt ScenariosSiScenarios western USA. Applied Soil Ecology, 43:175‐184. ate  6 2 wa Measured:d Texture, salinity,li i nutrients.i w Jackson,Jackson J., Ball,Ball J. and Rose,Rose M. 1990. Assessment of the Salinity Tolerance of dw 8 Irrigation Management Scenarios: Eight Sonoran Desert Riparian Trees and Shrubs. Yuma,Yuma AZ: U.S. Bureau nd  Groundwater:Gd n u Assess a range of irrigation volumes to determine minimum amount of water needed during the growing season to maintain acceptable soil salinity. of Reclamation. 102 pp.

ou 10

 Gridid off piezometersi illdinstalledinstalled, ro 2GlennGlenn, E.P., TannerTanner, T., MendezMendez, S., Kehret, TT, et al. 1998. Growth ratesrates, salt G instrumented,instrumented and sampled . Gr 12

o 8 tolerance and water use characteristics of native and invasive riparian to 8 8  Measured:Md GroundwaterGdt depth,dth 14 BLCA N plants from the delta of the Colorado River,River Mexico. Journal of Arid h t h A:A CNU1 MT elevation/gradientelevation/gradient,/ groundwater salinity.salinity PVER2 EnvironmentsEnvironments, 40:281‐294. pt 16 BB: CC: ep e 7 BLCA L 7 7 2 D  Aquifer:f D 18 CNU1 CNT GeoSystems AnalysisAnalysis, Inc. 2007. Feasibility Study Using Native Seeds in

r Restoration,Restoration California‐Arizona‐Nevada. 2006 Annual Report. Contract

BLCA LL r  ar Slugl testing. PVER3 ar ea 6 ea 6 CNU1 CR‐1 No. 06CR308057. Prepared for The United States Department of the ea 6

Date ye ye /ye

 /y Measured:Meas red HydraulicHy dra lic conductivitycond cti ity. /y InteriorInterior, Bureau of ReclamationReclamation, Lower Colorado Region Boulder CityCity, m River/aquiferq interactions—no managementg ()(A) and inducingg ggroundwater fresheningg byy m/ BLCA BB m

BLCA BB m

m/ m

Representative groundwater depth for BLCA (PZ(PZ‐2‐BL)BL), PVER (PZ2PVER),(PZ2PVER) and CNU1

,

d, CNU1 CR‐2 Nevada. dt i (B) d, groundwaterg ppgpumping ()(B). 5 d, ed 5 5 PET 5 ed ie (PZ5C)(PZ5C).() Peaks indicate percolationp duedue toto irrigationirrigationg events.events lie

lie 2

pl PET

pli Shafroth, P.B., Friedman,Friedman J.M., and Ischinger, L.S. 1995. Effects of salinity on pp pp

Characterization layout for PVERPVER. pp PET A A ApA establishment of Populus fremontii (cottonwood) and Tamarix ApA

8

n

4 n 4 y,y BLCA PVER CNU1 n 4

on AitApproximatepp RiparianRip i

on ramosissima (saltcedar) in Southwestern United States. Great Basin

Approximatepp Riparianp io it tio io Approximate Riparian at TTree ToleranceTl

7 at ni NaturalistNaturalist, 55:58‐65. ati in

Tree Tolerance ga iga ga Tree Tolerance rig rri rig al

Ir 3 3 2 rr

3 IrrI

Ir Siegel, R. S., and J. H. Brock. 1990. Germination requirements of key

SaS 6

r southwestern woody riparian species. Desert PlantsPlants, 10:3–8. er te 5 2 1 at 2 2 USBR. 2004. Lower Colorado River Multi‐Species Conservation PlanPlan, Volume II: wa

mm Habitat Conservation Plan. Final. December 17. (J&S 00450.00.)

dwd 4 S/mS n 1 SacramentoSacramento, CA. dSd un 1 1

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GrG 2 0 e 0 0 AcknoAcknowledgements ledgements ge 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 ag

ra 1 Annual Average Root Zone Saturated Paste Annual Average Root Zone Saturated Paste Annual Averageg Root Zone Saturated Paste er

ve ECEC, dS/m ECEC, dS/m ECEC,, dS/m/

AvAA 0 We thank the Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Regional office and SliSaline groundwaterd diidraining (A) andd salineli groundwaterd diidraining withih fhfreshwater moundingdi 1/7/2011 6/6/2011 11/3/2011 4/1/2012 8/29/2012 1/26/2013 6/25/2013 the LCR MSCP for their support and funding of these efforts. Thanks to due to flooding (B)(B). Date Cibola NWR and Havasu NWR staff for their supportpp in implementedp field Characterization layout for BLCABLCA. Characterization layout for CNU1CNU1. Model‐predictedp soil salinityy for a subset of Beal Lake Conservation Area model areas (A)(A),() Palo Verde Ecologicalg Reserve model areas (B)(B),() and Cibola NWR Average groundwater salinity by site . Error bars encompass one standard error. UitUnit 1 CtiConservation AreaA modeldl areas. HllHollow ppointsit iditindicate modeldl results,lt , andd solidlid ppointsit iditindicate currentt iiirrigationg ti amountts andd salinityli ity conditions.diti studiestdi .