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Flooding Regime and Restoration of Riparian Ecosystem Integrity

Flooding Regime and Restoration of Riparian Ecosystem Integrity. University of New Mexico Department of Biology J.F. Schuetz, M.C. Molles, Jr., C.N. Dahm and C.S. Crawford. Why are we studying the Middle Rio Grande riparian forest?. Damming and diversion of the river

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Flooding Regime and Restoration of Riparian Ecosystem Integrity

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  1. Flooding Regime and Restoration of Riparian Ecosystem Integrity University of New Mexico Department of Biology J.F. Schuetz, M.C. Molles, Jr., C.N. Dahm and C.S. Crawford

  2. Why are we studying the Middle Rio Grande riparian forest? • Damming and diversion of the river • Altered volume and timing of the Rio Grande’s flow • Isolated riparian forest (bosque) • Reduced cottonwood germination; aging forest • Invasion by exotic plants • Limited scientific data to assess the ecological benefits of managed flooding

  3. Subsystems Under Study and Hypotheses H /predictions ° woody debris leaf litter Soils/ water table Vadose Zone Schematic Subsystems For flooded vs. nonflooded sites: i) C:N & C:P in new leaf tissue ii) root growth/biomass iii) litterfall, C:N in litterfall Cottonwoods iv) flowering v) defoliation i) leaf decomposition ii) forest floor respiration Forest Floor iii) native detritivores i) variation in water table depth ii) soil moisture iii) net N mineralization i) interstitial DO Alluvial Aquifer ii) conductivity (salinity)

  4. Study Sites

  5. Total leaf biomassNative, non-cottonwood leaf biomassWood falling from the canopy Preliminary Results

  6. Coarse woody debris

  7. Pitfall traps – collecting ground arthropods

  8. Forest floor litter storage

  9. Soil moisture throughout a depth of 1 meter

  10. Net nitrogen mineralization

  11. Groundwater levels

  12. What do we do with our results? • Contribute to the knowledge base of the scientific community – river restoration worldwide • Provide local natural resource managers and water policy-makers with information to make decisions on the use of managed floods – costs and benefits • Part of a larger initiative on restoring the river and bosque: Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service; Bosque Ecological Monitoring Project (BEMP); classes at UNM

  13. Acknowledgements Funding agency: National Science Foundation Grant DEB-9903973 Undergraduate assistance: Karyth Becenti, Nate Bohls, Sam Gray, Leslie Barker, Joseph O’Connell, Nick Johnson, Ben Zimmerman Cooperating agencies and institutions: Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge City of Albuquerque Open Space Division New Mexico State Land Office Rio Grande Nature Center Grinnell College The Nature Conservancy

  14. Questions/Comments http://sevilleta.unm.edu/~cdahm/Research/CRB/home/index.html

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