The role of riparian vegetation in the evaluation of ecosystem health: The case of semiarid conditions in Northern Mexico

Abstract

The Pesquería River (north‐eastern Mexico) has long been subjected to considerable anthropogenic pressures. For this reason, it has been identified by the Mexican National Commission for the Knowledge and Usage of Biodiversity as a priority resource to be evaluated and restored. In order to establish the means required for the restoration of the river, the condition of its riparian ecosystem must be evaluated. To evaluate the quality of the riparian forest, we adapted the Qualitat del Bosc de Ribera index methodology for Mediterranean rivers for the semiarid rivers of north‐eastern Mexico (QBR‐RNMX). The QBR‐RNMX index included modifications to the four sections that comprise the original index, and their values range between 0 and 100. Using the five levels of riparian quality defined in the index, in the area surrounding the Pesquería River, we found poor or very poor conditions at 66% of the sampling sites, average‐good conditions at 27% of the sites, and only one sampling site with excellent conditions. These results show that the riparian forest has been impacted significantly by urbanization, agriculture, and the presence of many invasive species. We recommend the application of the QBR‐RNMX annually in order to evaluate the riparian forest's quality and to assess its ecological status. This may be used for the establishment of restoration plans in high‐impact zones and contingency plans to eliminate invasive species along the Pesquería River.

The Influence of Riparian Corridor Land Use on the Pesquería River’s Macroinvertebrate Community (N.E. Mexico)

“…As has been documented in most human-degraded ecosystems [78,79], the ecological communities in the PR seem to be decreasing in richness, diversity, and evenness, with anthropogenic pressures affecting macroinvertebrate communities the most. Our measurements of salinity and conductivity showed that the PR headwaters show evidence of "primary and secondary salinization" in freshwater [37]. In addition, urbanization and agricultural practices have also influenced the structure of the macroinvertebrate assemblage.…”

“…Even if this order contains tolerant species, be they rare or endemic, Plecoptera overall usually presents a low species richness in saline water bodies [80,92,[101][102][103]. The lack of Plecoptera in this study is probably due to the high salt concentration in the PR [37,80,92,104].…”

“…Citrus production, livestock, aquaculture, and rainfed agriculture are the main economic activities along the PR [33,41]. The natural water conditions of the PR present characteristics consistent with loamy basins and an elevated concentration of salt in the water (mesohaline habitats), as well as vegetation and fauna typical of semi-arid zones [37,42,43]. In order to corroborate this, we measured salinity and conductivity at each sampling site.…”

“…The mainstem flows through the Monterrey city metropolitan area. The PR's annual average flow is 2.04 m 3 /s [37]. Its mean elevation is 542 m a.s.l.…”

Salud de los bosques de galería y de los ecosistemas ribereños

“…El BG del río Santa Catarina tiene 16.7% de especies exóticas, entre ellas la paragüita (Cyperus involucratus Rottb) y el palo verde (Parkinsonia aculeata L.) (Mata-Balderas et al, 2020). El río Pesquería presenta 50% de los taxones de árboles y arbustos de especies invasivas, lo que impide buenas condiciones en el BG (Castro-López et al, 2019). El cedro salado (Tamarix aphylla (L.) H.…”