caa a22 4500 467904634 CHVBK 20180406152830.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20060401xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10661-006-6549-1 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10661-006-6549-1 Status of the Riparian Ecosystem in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona: Application of an Assessment Model [Elektronische Daten] [Juliet Stromberg, Sharon Lite, Tyler Rychener, Lainie Levick, Mark Dixon, Joseph Watts] A portion of Arizona's San Pedro River is managed as a National Riparian Conservation Area but is potentially affected by ground-water withdrawals beyond the conservation area borders. We applied an assessment model to the Conservation Area as a basis for monitoring long-term changes in riparian ecosystem condition resulting from changes in river water availability, and collected multi-year data on a subset of the most sensitive bioindicators. The assessment model is based on nine vegetation bioindicators that are sensitive to changes in surface water or ground water. Site index scores allow for placement into one of three condition classes, each reflecting particular ranges for site hydrology and vegetation structure. We collected the bioindicator data at 26 sites distributed among 14 reaches that had similar stream flow hydrology (spatial flow intermittency) and geomorphology (channel sinuosity, flood-plain width). Overall, 39% of the riparian corridor fell within condition class 3 (the wettest condition), 55% in condition class 2, and 6% in the driest condition class. Condition class 3 reaches have high cover of herbaceous wetland plants (e.g., Juncus and Schoenoplectus spp.) along the perennial stream channel and dense, multi-aged Populus-Salix woodlands in the flood plain, sustained by shallow ground water in the stream alluvium. In condition class 2, intermittent stream flows result in low cover of streamside wetland herbs, but Populus-Salix remain abundant in the flood plain. Perennial wetland plants are absent from condition class 1, reflecting highly intermittent stream flows; the flood plain is vegetated by Tamarixa small tree that tolerates the deep and fluctuating ground water levels that typify this reach type. Abundance of herbaceous wetland plants and growth rate of Salix gooddingii varied between years with different stream flow rates, indicating utility of these measures for tracking short-term responses to hydrologic change. Repeat measurement of all bioindicators will indicate long-term trends in hydro-vegetational condition. Springer Science + Business Media, Inc., 2006 assessment nationallicence arid region stream nationallicence bioindicator nationallicence ecosystem condition nationallicence ground water nationallicence riparian vegetation nationallicence Salix gooddingii nationallicence Stromberg Juliet School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut Lite Sharon School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut Rychener Tyler School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut Levick Lainie USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center, Tucson Arizona, USA aut Dixon Mark School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut Watts Joseph US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Topographic Engineering Center, Alexandria, VA, USA aut Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Kluwer Academic Publishers 115/1-3(2006-04-01), 145-173 0167-6369 115:1-3<145 2006 115 10661 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-6549-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-6549-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Stromberg Juliet School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lite Sharon School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Rychener Tyler School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Levick Lainie USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center, Tucson Arizona, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Dixon Mark School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Watts Joseph US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Topographic Engineering Center, Alexandria, VA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Kluwer Academic Publishers 115/1-3(2006-04-01), 145-173 0167-6369 115:1-3<145 2006 115 10661 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer