Grantee Research Project Results
2000 Progress Report: Ecological, Demographic, and Economic Evaluation of Opportunities and Constraints for Riparian Restoration
EPA Grant Number: R825797Title: Ecological, Demographic, and Economic Evaluation of Opportunities and Constraints for Riparian Restoration
Investigators: Gregory, Stanley V. , Hulse, David , Whitelaw, E. , Landers, Dixon
Institution: Oregon State University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: June 1, 1998 through May 31, 2001
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 1, 2000 through May 31, 2001
Project Amount: $899,999
RFA: Ecosystem Restoration (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Aquatic Ecosystems , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
Our fundamental objective is to develop and demonstrate an integrated system for identifying areas of greater ecological, demographic, and economic potential for restoration of riparian areas. We are quantitatively linking the biophysical components of riverine ecosystems with the demographic and economic systems to determine the potential for riparian restoration. The research in Year 2 incorporates: (1) field measurements of fish assemblage structure in the Willamette River; (2) analysis of historical change in the river channel and riparian vegetation; (3) spatially explicit measurement of rates of demographic change; (4) determination of measures of economic characteristics of riparian lands; and (5) development of a screening process for restoration potential of the mainstem Willamette River. Finally, we have provided information to active stakeholder groups working on the Willamette River (Natural Resources Office of the Governor of Oregon, Willamette Livability Forum, Willamette Restoration Initiative). We are actively working with selected groups of stakeholders to evaluate the plausibility of options for restoration.Progress Summary:
Fish Species Richness in the Willamette River. Fish assemblages were sampled throughout the Willamette River from 1998 to 2000 (more than 40 sampling locations). Species richness for the mainstem Willamette River and all tributaries was determined from historical records, museum collections, and our field sampling. From this information, we constructed a map of fish richness for the entire basin and a longitudinal species richness curve based on our compiled database. The mainstem Willamette River and its floodplain support the highest richness of both native and introduced species. The mainstem river exhibits much higher richness of introduced species than stream reaches in the mountains surrounding the Willamette Valley.
Vegetation Richness in the Willamette River. Riparian plant communities were sampled in more than 40 sites along the Willamette River from 1998 to 2000. Tributary junctions and multiple channel reaches contained greater richness of riparian patches than single channel reach, illustrating the importance of geomorphic and hydrologic complexity. These floodplain forests also were related to greater amounts of large wood in the river, which creates important habitat for native fish species. In the upper, more shallow river in particular, the amount of wood in the channel was positively related to the extent of the riparian forest.
Historical Channel Change. We developed a longitudinal spatial framework for floodplain analysis by segmenting the floodplain into 1-km bands or slices. Between 1850 and 1995, the southern half of the basin experienced greater loss of 50 percent of the total length of channels, the middle reach was highly variable, and the downstream portion did not experience substantial geomorphic change. Between 1850 and 1995, more than 80 percent of the floodplain forest in the Willamette floodplain was converted to agricultural and urban lands. We used the floodplain "slices" to create a longitudinal measure of channel change through time in 1850, 1895, 1932, and 1995. These longitudinal depictions create an "EKG" of the biophysical conditions of the river and its floodplain.
Historical Floodplain Vegetation Change
In addition, we developed a longitudinal spatial framework to create a longitudinal measure of change in floodplain vegetation through time in 1850 and 1995. These longitudinal depictions, or "EKGs," of the floodplain forests demonstrate that the greatest biophysical change in the Willamette River and its floodplain has been the loss of floodplain forests. Historically, 20 to 80 percent of the Willamette River floodplain was forested, but now almost all of the floodplain has less than 20 percent of its area in forest, and the majority of the length of the river has less than 10 percent of its floodplain in woody forest.
Demographic Change. We developed spatial depictions of human population and structural modifications. In addition, we developed economic characterizations of the floodplain based on tax lot values and crop values. These databases provide a socioeconomic basis for uniform comparison of the human and biophysical conditions of the floodplain. These spatial analyses are being used to establish a quantitative framework for prioritization of restoration in a large river floodplain.
Future Activities:
We are publishing a book through Oregon State University Press on trajectories of change in the Willamette River Basin. The book includes a major section of the Willamette River floodplain and priorities for restoration. A review draft of the book will be completed on July 2, 2001. We anticipate that the book will be published in late fall 2001 or early winter 2002. In addition, we are submitting a manuscript on geomorphic and vegetative changes in the mainstem Willamette River to Ecological Applications in August 2001. These synthesis tasks will complete the goals of the research project and will make the results widely available to regional and local decisionmakers and the scientific community. The Willamette Restoration Initiative has developed a Conservation Strategy for the Willamette River based on the technical description of current and historical conditions created in this grant.Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 14 publications | 4 publications in selected types | All 2 journal articles |
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Hulse D, Ribe R. Land conversion and the production of wealth. Ecological Applications 2000;10(3):679-682. |
R825797 (2000) R825822 (2000) R825822 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
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Hulse D, Eilers JE, Freemark KE, White D, Hummon C. Planning alternative future landscapes in Oregon: evaluating effects on water quality and biodiversity. Landscape Journal 2000;19(2):1-19. |
R825797 (2000) |
not available |
Supplemental Keywords:
rivers, ecology, riparian vegetation, floods, ecosystem, restoration, regionalization, scaling, terrestrial, aquatic, habitat, integrated assessment, modeling, monitoring, surveys, satellite, landsat, remove sensing, public policy, decisionmaking, community-based, cost benefit, nonmarket valuation, contingent valuation, socioeconomic, compensation, conversation, environmental assets, sociological, Pacific northwest, OR, EPA Region 10., RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Water, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Restoration, Economics & Decision Making, EPA Region, State, Ecosystem Protection, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Ecology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, decision-making, Monitoring/Modeling, integrated assessment, Region 10, compensation, public values, bioavailability, ecological condition, ecological effects, ecosystem health, environmental consequences, forest, riparian, satellite, sociological, rivers, economic benefits, public issues, public resources, valuing environmental quality, aquaculture, aquatic biota , assessment methods, biodiversity, ecological risk assessment, ecosystem assessment, ecosystem condition, water quality, ecosystem, estuaries, stakeholder groups, economic goals, community-based, cost benefit, ecosystem valuation, policy analysis, social impact analysis, ecological assessment, habitat, incentives, monitoring, nonmarket valuation, streams, community involvement, stakeholder, aquatic, biotic integrity, ecosystem management, diversity, property values, public policy, remote sensing, surveys, wildlife, wetlands, biodiversity option values, cost/benefit analysis, environmental values, adverse impacts, ecological integrity, ecological exposure, social constraints, decision analysis, economic incentives, psychological attitudes, residential property values, social psychology, valuation, ecological indicators, ecological research, estuarine ecosystems, demographic, floods, GIS, modeling, social resistance, OR, aquatic ecosystems, contingent valuation, adaptation, ecological response, evaluating ecosystem responses, fish , ecological recovery, environmental assets, fish, river, socioeconomic, spatial analysis, stream, watershed, conservation, environmental policy, ecological impacts, ecosystem integrity, environmental benefits assessment, biological indicatorsRelevant Websites:
http://www.orst.edu/dept/pnw-erc/
http://www.oregonwri.org
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.