Growth rates, salt tolerance and water use characteristics of native and invasive riparian plants from the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico

Glenn, Edward P.; Tanner, Rene; Mendez, Shelby; Kehret, Tamra; Moore, David W.; Garcia, Jaqueline; Valdes, Carlos

doi:10.1006/jare.1998.0443

Cited by 131 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Given the extreme aridity of the study area and the high salinity of the agricultural return flows that maintain limitrophe reach vegetation during nonflood years, drought stress due to groundwater decline and salinity likely govern diversity levels. These stressors give competitive advantage to drought tolerant T. ramosissima (Busch and Smith 1995;Glenn et al 1998). This species was shown to outcompete P. sericia, B. salicifolia, P. fremontii, and S. gooddingii under conditions of elevated salinity and drought stress (Stromberg 1998;Vandersande et al 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood disturbance and riparian species diversity on the Colorado River Delta

et al. 2005

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Abstract. We investigated the influence of channel migration and expansion on riparian plant species diversity along the lower Colorado River near the United States-Mexico border. Using repeat aerial photography in a GIS we identified and classed areas of low, moderate, and high disturbance frequency caused by channel expansion and migration. Replicate vegetation plots (12 m Â 12 m) were sampled in each of the three disturbance classes. One-way ANOVA was used to test for differences in species richness, species diversity (using the Shannon-Weiner Index) and overall percent ground cover of plants between the three disturbance classes. Regardless of disturbance class, plots were dominated by trees or shrubs, especially the non-native Tamarix ramosissima, as well as Pluchea sericea, Baccharis salicifolia and Salix goodingii. Clearly woody species constitute the great bulk of overall species richness, percent ground cover, and species diversity (H 0 ) in each disturbance group. No overall statistically significant differences were revealed among the disturbance groups for values of species richness, percent ground cover, or the Shannon-Wiener Index, though paired contrasts of means revealed that total percent ground cover on low disturbance plots was significantly higher than on moderately disturbed plots. Spatial and temporal variability in riparian diversity in the study area appears to hinge on factors other than disturbance frequency such as salt or drought stress. Alternately, our results could be interpreted as suggesting that in the presence of intensive flow regulation, disturbance plays a secondary role to ecological stresses, similar to that demonstrated by others. Intentional flood pulses are advocated as a restorative management strategy for improving plant productivity, management of exotic species (particularly T. ramosissima), and restoration of overall biodiversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood disturbance and riparian species diversity on the Colorado River Delta

et al. 2005

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“…3-D eddy covariance data from T. ramosissima and P. deltoides communities, measured across a full growing season at multiple sites, will greatly assist in the success or failure of planning regional water resources, characterizing and explaining plant invasions, and restoring riparian gallery forests. Glenn et al, 1998 31 days g (g shoot fresh weight) -1 day -1 Xu et al, 1998 full season (183 days) mm yr -1 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal estimates of actual evapo-transpiration from Tamarix ramosissima stands using three-dimensional eddy covariance

Cleverly

Dahm

Thibault

et al. 2002

Journal of Arid Environments

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This study addresses the pattern of evapotranspiration (ET) throughout the growing season for Tamarix ramosissima between regularly flooded and unflooded sites. Spatial and temporal ET 2 patterns along the Middle Rio Grande demonstrated considerable variability. ET at the unflooded site was 61% of ET at the flooded site, totaling 74 and 122 cm yr -1 at the unflooded and flooded sites, respectively. The seasonal coefficient of variability was 37% and 38% at the flooded and unflooded sites, respectively. Spatial variability was 39%. Determining ET patterns with respect to the spatial, ecological and temporal setting improves riparian zone ET depletion predictions. Keywords: Rio Grande, flooding, seasonal variability, cottonwood, saltcedar, exotic species, restoration 3 IntroductionRiparian areas are prominent features within arid and semi-arid landscapes. They provide important economic, recreational and natural resources in disproportion to their limited spatial extent. Riparian water resources in the southwestern U.S. are in great demand for use in agriculture, urban development and ecosystem services (Jackson et al., 2001). Such conflicts of interests are especially acute during La Niña years, when water resources are commonly scarce (Molles & Dahm, 1990). Along the Middle Rio Grande, equitable assignment of water to competing groups and ecosystems has been hampered by the elusiveness of an accurate water budget. One of the main components lacking good quantification in the Middle Rio Grande water budget is evapotranspiration (ET) from the riparian forest, or bosque as it is known in New Mexico.Presently, ET estimates used in water budgets of the Middle Rio Grande bosque are based upon the modified Blaney-Criddle crop coefficient model (cf Hansen & Gorbach, 1997):where u is the consumptive water use, i is the month of the year, k is the empirical crop coefficient, T is the mean monthly temperature, and p is the mean monthly proportion of daylight hours (Jensen et al., 1990). Semi-empirical methods like the Blaney-Criddle model perform well over uniform vegetation like crops, but spatial, inter-annual and even seasonal variability is often poorly represented in monthly temperature and crop coefficient estimates, assuming of course that temperature controls ET in such a simple manner. Further limitations on such models are related to the applicability of crop coefficient data sources. For example, applied a model to the Middle Rio Grande bosque for Populus deltoides subsp. wislizenii (S. Wats.) Eckenw. in which the crop coefficient was determined from a three-year-old, well-watered Populus fremontii S. Watson plantation. It is currently unknown whether crop coefficients developed from juveniles provide an accurate estimate of ET above mature stands that are exposed to seasonal cycles of flooding and drought. Such variability likely limits the accuracy and utility of crop coefficient-based ET estimates.Determining sources of spatial and temporal variability in bosque ET will contribute to a more a...

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“…A mid-summer Landsat image was selected in each study year and used for computing NDVI o , NDVI s , and NDVI*, which was integrated with annual grass-based reference ET (ET o ) [51] and precipitation to map annual riparian ET based on Equation (1). The average annual ET was estimated for the subareas in CA (1,5,6) and the subareas in AZ (2,3,4), and was compared with two independent ET estimates: the remotely sensed MODIS ET product known as MOD16 [52,53] averaged over the same subareas, and the crop-coefficient approach implemented by USBR in the Lower Colorado River Accounting System (LCRAS) and reported for the CA and AZ sections of the study area.…”

Section: Long-term Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Glenn and Nagler [3] reported that tamarisk spreads at rates exceeding 20 km·year −1 , becoming a dominant plant on the banks of rivers, streams, and ponds from eastern Oklahoma to northwestern California, and from western Montana to Sonora, Mexico. In addition, tamarisk has a high tolerance to salinity [4,5] and drought [6]. The negative impacts of tamarisk invasion include, but are not limited to: displacing native vegetation [3,7], increasing fire frequency [8], degrading wildlife habitat [9], reducing biodiversity [10], and increasing water consumption [2,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Annual Riparian Water Use Based on the Single-Satellite-Scene Approach

2017

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Abstract:The accurate estimation of water use by groundwater-dependent riparian vegetation is of great importance to sustainable water resource management in arid/semi-arid regions. Remote sensing methods can be effective in this regard, as they capture the inherent spatial variability in riparian ecosystems. The single-satellite-scene (SSS) method uses a derivation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from a single space-borne image during the peak growing season and minimal ground-based meteorological data to estimate the annual riparian water use on a distributed basis. This method was applied to a riparian ecosystem dominated by tamarisk along a section of the lower Colorado River in southern California. The results were compared against the estimates of a previously validated remotely sensed energy balance model for the year 2008 at two different spatial scales. A pixel-wide comparison showed good correlation (R 2 = 0.86), with a mean residual error of less than 104 mm·year −1 (18%). This error reduced to less than 95 mm·year −1 (15%) when larger areas were used in comparisons. In addition, the accuracy improved significantly when areas with no and low vegetation cover were excluded from the analysis. The SSS method was then applied to estimate the riparian water use for a 23-year period . The average annual water use over this period was 748 mm·year −1 for the entire study area, with large spatial variability depending on vegetation density. Comparisons with two independent water use estimates showed significant differences. The MODIS evapotranspiration product (MOD16) was 82% smaller, and the crop-coefficient approach employed by the US Bureau of Reclamation was 96% larger, than that from the SSS method on average.

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Growth rates, salt tolerance and water use characteristics of native and invasive riparian plants from the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico

Cited by 131 publications

References 17 publications

Flood disturbance and riparian species diversity on the Colorado River Delta

Flood disturbance and riparian species diversity on the Colorado River Delta

Seasonal estimates of actual evapo-transpiration from Tamarix ramosissima stands using three-dimensional eddy covariance

Mapping Annual Riparian Water Use Based on the Single-Satellite-Scene Approach

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