Constraints on willow seedling survival in a Rocky Mountain Montane floodplain

Gage, Edward A.; Cooper, David J.

doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0908:cowssi]2.0.co;2

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…However, these areas are dominated by trees (S. nigra), and an immediate shift in plant species dominance would not be expected despite substantial sediment deposition. Even within the levee zone dominated by C. esculenta, it is unlikely that an increase in elevation would result in S. nigra dominance, because S. nigra germinates best on newly exposed land with little competition (Ahn et al, 2007;Gage and Cooper, 2004;Karrenberg, Edwards, and Kollmann, 2002). The specific germination requirements probably explain some of the overlap between its elevational niche and that of C. esculenta, because C. esculenta may prevent germination of S. nigra seedlings if it establishes first.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accretion and Vegetation Community Change in the Wax Lake Delta Following the Historic 2011 Mississippi River Flood

Carle

Sasser

Roberts

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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Carle, M.V.; Sasser, C.E., and Roberts, H.H., 2015. Accretion and vegetation community change in the Wax Lake Delta following the historic 2011 Mississippi River flood. Journal of Coastal Research, 31(3), 569-587. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.During the 2011 Mississippi River flood, discharge to the lower river exceeded that of the 1927 and 1937 floods and the lower river remained above flood stage for nearly 2 months. A combination of WorldView-2 and Land Satellite 5 Thematic Mapper (Landsat 5 TM) imagery was used to assess the impact of this flood event on the Wax Lake Delta, one of few areas where the river is building new land. Vegetation community change was mapped from 2010 to 2011 and related to elevation change using plant species elevation distributions calculated from light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data. Changes in the land area in the delta were also assessed by regressing land area against water level for a series of preand postflood Landsat 5 TM images. The results indicate a net growth of 6.5 km 2 at mean water level and 4.90 km 2 at mean sea level. Areal gains were greatest at high water levels, indicating substantial vertical accretion across the subaerial delta. At least 8.7 km 2 , or 31.8%, of the area studied converted to a higher-elevation species. The most change occurred at low elevations with conversion from fully submerged aquatic vegetation to Potamogeton nodosus and Nelumbo lutea. Conversion to lower-elevation species occurred across 3.4 km 2 , or 12.8% of the study area, while 55.5% remained unchanged. The results highlight the importance of infrequent, large flood events in the maintenance of river deltas and provide a reference for estimating the impact of proposed large-scale river diversions on the Mississippi River Delta.ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Coastal land change, river deltas, tidal freshwater marsh, plant species distributions, zonation, flood events, sedimentation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accretion and Vegetation Community Change in the Wax Lake Delta Following the Historic 2011 Mississippi River Flood

Carle

Sasser

Roberts

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…Throughout the western United States, willow-dominated riparian areas occur in broad valley bottoms, including unconfined and glaciated valleys with low slopes (<3%) in montane and subalpine settings (Patten 1998;Rocchio 2006). While floods and streamflow are important regulators of willow ecosystems, other major drivers are beaver and shallow subsurface drainage that contributes to maintenance of high water tables (Gage and Cooper 2004). Groundwater recharge can originate from deep glacial till, hillslopes with highly fractured rock, and long, slow-draining hillslopes.…”

Section: Non-native Invasive Plants In Riparian Areas Of the Western mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change, forests, fire, water, and fish: Building resilient landscapes, streams, and managers

Luce¹,

Morgan²,

Dwire³

et al. 2012

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“…Willows preferentially establish on fine-textured sediments (McBride and Strahan 1984), which have high water-holding capacity. In addition, young willows are often uprooted by fast-flowing water (Gage and Cooper 2004). Thus, establishment has become limited by a reduction in the extent and suitability of bare sediments, due to the shift in riparian setting from beaver ponds to high-energy channel margins.…”

Section: Establishment Response To Hydrologic Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrologic Regime and Herbivory Stabilize an Alternative State in Yellowstone National Park

Wolf

Cooper

Hobbs

2007

Ecological Applications

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151

162

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Abstract. A decline in the stature and abundance of willows during the 20th century occurred throughout the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where riparian woody-plant communities are key components in multiple-trophic-level interactions. The potential causes of willow decline include climate change, increased elk browsing coincident with the loss of an apex predator, the gray wolf, and an absence of habitat engineering by beavers. The goal of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of willow establishment through the 20th century and to identify causal processes. Sampled willows established from 1917 to 1999 and contained far fewer young individuals than was predicted from a modeled stable willow population, indicating reduced establishment during recent decades. Two hydrologically distinct willow establishment environments were identified: finegrained beaver pond sediments and coarse-grained alluvium. Willows established on beaver pond sediment earlier in time, higher on floodplain surfaces, and farther from the current stream channel than did willows on alluvial sediment. Significant linear declines from the 1940s to the 1990s in alluvial willow establishment elevation and lateral distance from the stream channel resulted in a much reduced area of alluvial willow establishment. Willow establishment was not well correlated with climate-driven hydrologic variables, but the trends were consistent with the effects of stream channel incision initiated in ca. 1950, 20-30 years after beaver dam abandonment. Radiocarbon dates and floodplain stratigraphy indicate that stream incision of the present magnitude may be unprecedented in the past two millennia. We propose that hydrologic changes, stemming from competitive exclusion of beaver by elk overbrowsing, caused the landscape to transition from a historical beaver-pond and willowmosaic state to its current alternative stable state where active beaver dams and many willow stands are absent. Because of hydrologic changes in streams, a rapid return to the historical state may not occur by reduction of elk browsing alone. Management intervention to restore the historical hydrologic regime may be necessary to recover willows and beavers across the landscape.

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Constraints on willow seedling survival in a Rocky Mountain Montane floodplain

Cited by 24 publications

References 20 publications

Accretion and Vegetation Community Change in the Wax Lake Delta Following the Historic 2011 Mississippi River Flood

Accretion and Vegetation Community Change in the Wax Lake Delta Following the Historic 2011 Mississippi River Flood

Climate change, forests, fire, water, and fish: Building resilient landscapes, streams, and managers

Hydrologic Regime and Herbivory Stabilize an Alternative State in Yellowstone National Park

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