Geomorphic Controls on Great Basin Riparian Vegetation at the Watershed and Process Zone Scales

Download or read book Geomorphic Controls on Great Basin Riparian Vegetation at the Watershed and Process Zone Scales written by Blake M. Engelhardt and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Riparian ecosystems supply valuable resources in all landscapes, but especially in semiarid regions such as the Great Basin of the western United States. Over half of Great Basin streams are thought to be in poor ecological condition and further deterioration is of significant concern to stakeholders. A thorough understanding of how physical processes acting at multiple scales work independently and interactively to shape riparian communities is necessary for successful management and restoration. I investigated: 1) geomorphic influences on riparian vegetation pattern at the watershed scale; 2) the ecological significance of process zones, a hydrogeomorphic classification scheme; and 3) relationships between geomorphic characteristics, riparian community distribution, and plant species abundances.