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A PROBABILITY SURVEY OF SUCCESSIONAL FOREST COMPOSITION AND CONDITION IN A GREAT RIVER FLOODPLAIN LANDSCAPE
Citation:
Schweiger, E. W., T. Angradi, D W. Bolgrien, AND J. R. Kelly. A PROBABILITY SURVEY OF SUCCESSIONAL FOREST COMPOSITION AND CONDITION IN A GREAT RIVER FLOODPLAIN LANDSCAPE. Presented at 2003 Missouri River Natural Resources Center, Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, June 1-4, 2003.
Description:
Floodplains within the Great River Ecosystems (GREs) of the central U.S. are composed of dynamic mosaics of successional habitat that (when unmodified) are typically dominated by cottonwood forest (Populus ssp.). GRE riparian habitat condition and successional dynamics are linked to endangered species habitat, maintenance of biodiversity and provision of many ecosystem services. Most research suggests that the successional trajectories of GRE riparian systems have been drastically altered by flow regulation, reservoir inundation, and shifts in land use. Nearly all existing estimates of these systems rely on biased sample designs which cannot quantify with known precision estimates of composition and condition of riparian habitat. Given potential changes in the management of many GREs, a more robust, empirical, and defensible understanding of these resources is timely.
We present preliminary (2 of 3 years) data from the U.S. EPA Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program pilot study on the Garrison Reach of the Upper Missouri River. EMAP uses probability survey and inference techniques that generate unbiased estimators of an entire resource. We present an array of indicators (e.g., woody species density, size distribution, dispersion, canopy structure, tree vigor) that describe riparian stand composition (successional status) and condition. Meso- and landscape scale measures of patch structure and composition and measures of current and historical geomorphology were used in preliminary models associating current riparian condition and successional status with historical condition and current stressors. Finally, we compare our results with previous estimates of successional status and trajectories in the Garrison Reach and discuss the implications of our findings on GRE management. This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.
Floodplains within the Great River Ecosystems (GREs) of the central U.S. are composed of dynamic mosaics of successional habitat that (when unmodified) are typically dominated by cottonwood forest (Populus ssp.). GRE riparian habitat condition and successional dynamics are linked to endangered species habitat, maintenance of biodiversity and provision of many ecosystem services. Most research suggests that the successional trajectories of GRE riparian systems have been drastically altered by flow regulation, reservoir inundation and shifts in land use. Nearly all existing estimates of these systems rely on biased sample designs which can not quantify with known precision estimates of composition and condition of riparian habitat. Given potential changes in the management of many GREs, a more robust, empirical and defensible understanding of these resources is timely.
We present preliminary (2 of 3 years) data from the U.S. EPA Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program pilot study on the Garrison Reach of the Upper Missouri River. EMAP uses probability survey and inference techniques that generate unbiased estimators of an entire resource. We present an array of indicators (e.g., woody species density, size distribution, dispersion, canopy structure, tree vigor) that describe riparian stand composition (successional status) and condition. Meso- and landscape scale measures of patch structure and composition and measures of current and historical geomorphology were used in preliminary models associating current riparian condition and successional status with historical condition and current stressors. Finally, we compare our results with previous estimates of successional status and trajectories in the Garrison Reach and discuss the implications of our findings on GRE management. This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.