Growth and water and nitrate uptake patterns of grazed and ungrazed desert shrubs growing over a nitrate contamination plume

McKeon, C.; Glenn, Edward P.; Waugh, W.J.; Eastoe, C. J.; Jordan, Fiona L.; Nelson, Steven G.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.04.008

Cited by 19 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…At the arid Monument Valley site, two deep-rooted native shrubs, Sarcobatus vermiculatus (black greasewood) and Atriplex canescens (fourwing saltbush), are part of the remedy for nitrate contamination in soil, where a uranium mill tailings pile once stood, and in an alluvial aquifer spreading away from the source area soil [8]. When protected from livestock grazing, populations, these phreatophytic shrubs transpire enough water from the source area soil to limit recharge and nitrate leaching [34], and from the alluvial aquifer to slow the spread of the nitrate plume [35]. Monitoring the long-term performance of phytoremediation at Monument Valley will include tracking responses of phreatophyte health and transpiration rates to changing land management practices over many hectares [36].…”

Section: Study Area and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Cover Analysis of Hazardous Waste Sites in Utah and Arizona Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Jensen

et al. 2012

Remote Sensing

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This study investigated the usability of hyperspectral remote sensing for characterizing vegetation at hazardous waste sites. The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) estimate leaf-area-index (LAI) of the vegetation using three different methods (i.e., vegetation indices, red-edge positioning (REP), and machine learning regression trees), and (2) map the vegetation cover using machine learning decision trees based on either the scaled reflectance data or mixture tuned matched filtering (MTMF)-derived metrics and vegetation indices. HyMap airborne data (126 bands at 2.3 × 2.3 m spatial resolution), collected over the U.S. Department of Energy uranium processing sites near Monticello, Utah and Monument Valley, Arizona, were used. Grass and shrub species were mixed on an engineered disposal cell cover at the Monticello site while shrub species were dominant in the phytoremediation plantings at the Monument Valley site. Regression trees resulted in the best calibration performance of LAI estimation (R 2 > 0.80. The use of REPs failed to accurately predict LAI (R 2 < 0.2). The use of the MTMF-derived metrics (matched OPEN ACCESSRemote Sens. 2012, 4 328 filter scores and infeasibility) and a range of vegetation indices in decision trees improved the vegetation mapping when compared to the decision tree classification using just the scaled reflectance. Results suggest that hyperspectral imagery are useful for characterizing biophysical characteristics (LAI) and vegetation cover on capped hazardous waste sites. However, it is believed that the vegetation mapping would benefit from the use of higher spatial resolution hyperspectral data due to the small size of many of the vegetation patches (<1 m) found on the sites.

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Section: Study Area and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Cover Analysis of Hazardous Waste Sites in Utah and Arizona Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Jensen

et al. 2012

Remote Sensing

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“…The saltbush component can be fourwing saltbush, as in the present study, shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia, hereafter referred to as ATCO), quailbush (Atriplex lentiformis), or less widely distributed saltbush species. Analyses of oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes in water samples from soils, the aquifer, and plant stems showed that these shrubs are extracting water and nitrate from the contamination plume, at depths of 6-12 m below the soil surface (McKeon et al, 2005(McKeon et al, , 2006Jordan et al, 2008). The site is heavily grazed by sheep and cattle, and previous studies also showed that when shrubs were fenced to prevent grazing, they increased 2-to 3-fold in biomass over just 4 years (McKeon et al, 2006).…”

Section: Purpose Of the Present Studymentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Analyses of oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes in water samples from soils, the aquifer, and plant stems showed that these shrubs are extracting water and nitrate from the contamination plume, at depths of 6-12 m below the soil surface (McKeon et al, 2005(McKeon et al, , 2006Jordan et al, 2008). The site is heavily grazed by sheep and cattle, and previous studies also showed that when shrubs were fenced to prevent grazing, they increased 2-to 3-fold in biomass over just 4 years (McKeon et al, 2006). Therefore, reduction of grazing would allow greater shrub cover, and thus, more transpiration, minimizing the recharge of ground water and thereby reducing the migration of the plume.…”

Section: Purpose Of the Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Site characteristics and previous research are reported in McKeon et al (2005McKeon et al ( , 2006; Jordan et al (2008), and in documents from the United States Department of Energy (1999,2000,2004,2006). Annual precipitation is approximately 110 mm, arriving as summer monsoon rains and winter snow and rain.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 1 shows the areas of interest at the site covered in the present study. Phreatophyte shrubs growing over the plume consists primarily of ATCA and SAVE shrubs, with some ATCO shrubs, but annual plants and non-phreatophytic perennials augment the flora (United States Department of Energy, 1999;McKeon et al, 2006). The source area, site of the former milling activities, has been fenced since 1997.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scaling sap flux measurements of grazed and ungrazed shrub communities with fine and coarse‐resolution remote sensing

et al. 2008

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Vegetation as affected by groundwater depth and microtopography in a shallow aquifer area of the Great Basin

Mata-González

McLendon²,

Martin³

et al. 2011

Ecohydrology

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This study was designed to better define the nature of the relationship among vegetation, groundwater level and microtopography in an arid area where depth to groundwater (DTW) was 0–4 m. Plant cover, DTW and relative elevations were jointly measured along 67 vegetation transects throughout the Owens Valley, CA, USA. These transects were dominated by major species of the area: Artemisia tridentata, Atriplex torreyi, Ericameria nauseosa, Distichlis spicata, Juncus arcticus, Leymus triticoides, Sarcobatus vermiculatus and Sporobolus airoides. Plant species occurrence was associated with different DTW. J. arcticus and D. spicata occurred more frequently in areas with the shallowest groundwater (<1·5 m). A. torreyi, L. triticoides and E. nauseosa dominated areas with intermediate DTW (1·5–2·0 m); whereas S. airoides, S. vermiculatus and A. tridentata dominated areas with deeper water tables (>2·0 m). Species were also linked to different microtopographic positions: L. triticoides and J. arcticus were mainly restricted to depressions whereas A. torreyi and A. tridentata were widely distributed in higher positions on the microtopographical gradient. Only 6% of the variation in vegetation cover was accounted for by DTW throughout the study area (N = 820). Cover of individual species was usually unaffected by DTW variation. Results suggest that species distribution is linked to groundwater conditions, but cover of vegetation is only partially affected by DTW variation. This is possible because water tables in our study area are within the rooting depth of most species and plants appear to be well adapted to shallow DTW variations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Growth and water and nitrate uptake patterns of grazed and ungrazed desert shrubs growing over a nitrate contamination plume

Cited by 19 publications

References 38 publications

Vegetation Cover Analysis of Hazardous Waste Sites in Utah and Arizona Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Vegetation Cover Analysis of Hazardous Waste Sites in Utah and Arizona Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Scaling sap flux measurements of grazed and ungrazed shrub communities with fine and coarse‐resolution remote sensing

Vegetation as affected by groundwater depth and microtopography in a shallow aquifer area of the Great Basin

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