Quantifying soil salinity in areas invaded by Tamarix spp.

Ohrtman, Michelle K.; Sher, Anna A.; Lair, Kenneth D.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.04.011

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…), and therefore higher soil salinity (Ohrtman et al. ) and may also represent an easier access to the sites by grazing livestock (Sher ), all situations seeming to disfavor natives (Rowland et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

González

Sher

Anderson

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Most studies assessing vegetation response following control of invasive Tamarix trees along southwestern U.S. rivers have been small in scale (e.g., river reach), or at a regional scale but with poor spatial-temporal replication, and most have not included testing the effects of a now widely used biological control. We monitored plant composition following Tamarix control along hydrologic, soil, and climatic gradients in 244 treated and 172 reference sites across six U.S. states. This represents the largest comprehensive assessment to date on the vegetation response to the four most common Tamarix control treatments. Biocontrol by a defoliating beetle (treatment 1) reduced the abundance of Tamarix less than active removal by mechanically using hand and chain-saws (2), heavy machinery (3) or burning (4). Tamarix abundance also decreased with lower temperatures, higher precipitation, and follow-up treatments for Tamarix resprouting. Native cover generally increased over time in active Tamarix removal sites, however, the increases observed were small and was not consistently increased by active revegetation. Overall, native cover was correlated to permanent stream flow, lower grazing pressure, lower soil salinity and temperatures, and higher precipitation. Species diversity also increased where Tamarix was removed. However, Tamarix treatments, especially those generating the highest disturbance (burning and heavy machinery), also often promoted secondary invasions of exotic forbs. The abundance of hydrophytic species was much lower in treated than in reference sites, suggesting that management of southwestern U.S. rivers has focused too much on weed control, overlooking restoration of fluvial processes that provide habitat for hydrophytic and floodplain vegetation. These results can help inform future management of Tamarix-infested rivers to restore hydrogeomorphic processes, increase native biodiversity and reduce abundance of noxious species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once established, Tamarix can contribute further to riparian habitat degradation, for example by increasing salinity in soils (Merritt and Shafroth , Ohrtman et al. ). By occupying floodplain habitats, Tamarix can alter relative abundances of native taxa of both plants and wildlife (Shafroth et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

González

Sher

Anderson

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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“…Groundwater salinization in coastal wetland is usually caused by the effects of climate change, sealevel rise, and anthropogenic interferences (Pauw et al 2012), while in arid and semi-arid areas evaporation is one of the main factors controlling either groundwater or soil salinity (Huang & Pang 2012;Ohrtman et al 2012). Our experimental setup simulated the typical groundwater conditions in the Yangtze River estuary under the influence of the Three Gorges Project, and thus the results obtained not only illuminate the processes of salt transport in the soil profile, but also provide some reliable theoretical references to build up a countermeasure system against the negative effects of the project.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt dynamics in soil profiles during long-term evaporation under different groundwater conditions

Liu

Yang

et al. 2013

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all As

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“…The degree of control of geomorphological processes by vegetation, however, was inconclusive in our study. We unexpectedly found a positive correlation between total vegetation and erosion along the field transects in the post-flood channel, whereas remotesensing analyses showed lower erosion : deposition ratios in the more (Merritt & Shafroth, 2012;Ohrtman et al, 2012). The increase in sediment salinity following erosion may have resulted from capillary rise of more saline groundwater, but this hypothesis should be confirmed by further research.…”

Section: A Large Flood In An Unregulated Braided River Caused Channmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tamarix (Merritt & Poff, 2010;Mortenson & Weisberg, 2010;Sher, Marshall, & Taylor, 2002;Stromberg, Beauchamp, Dixon, Lite, & Paradzick, 2007). Sediment salinity can be higher in Tamarix than in native stands (Merritt & Shafroth, 2012), but flooding may help flush salts from sediments under Tamarix (Ohrtman, Sher, & Lair, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Short‐term geomorphological and riparian vegetation responses to a 40‐year flood on a braided, dryland river

Shafroth

Lee

Leverich³

et al. 2019

Ecohydrology

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In December 2010, a 40-year flood occurred in the lower Virgin River (SE Nevada, southwestern United States), a braided river segment with riparian vegetation largely dominated by invasive shrubs in the genus Tamarix. We assessed geomorphological and vegetation responses to this large magnitude disturbance event by comparing pre-and post-flood remote sensing and field survey data in four river reaches. Analyses of orthophotos and light detection and ranging-derived topography showed that both the active channel area and channel width increased between 80% and 258%, representing an increase from 13% to 30% of the total river corridor area. Erosion predominated in the outer bends of the enlarged channel and deposition in the pre-flood channel, causing local avulsions of the low-flow channel. Field-based topographic data recorded before and after the flood in 385 plots also showed that deposition occurred in parts of the floodplain that were not eroded. Two thirds of woody vegetation cover (mainly dominated by Tamarix, with some native shrub Pluchea sericea) was lost in areas that eroded (~20% of the river corridor). In the remaining~80% of stable river corridor (aggrading or no change in elevation) Tamarix remained dominant. Following erosion, but also where sediment deposition predominated under the Tamarix canopy, the most common colonizing vegetation in the understory was comprised of annual plants, especially Salsola tragus. Our study supported previous studies describing large floods in braided rivers; we documented the first phase of a cycle of channel widening and increase in vegetation heterogeneity that is commonly followed by narrowing and vegetation homogenization.

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Quantifying soil salinity in areas invaded by Tamarix spp.

Cited by 26 publications

References 34 publications

Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

Salt dynamics in soil profiles during long-term evaporation under different groundwater conditions

Short‐term geomorphological and riparian vegetation responses to a 40‐year flood on a braided, dryland river

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