Treesearch

The Bureau of Land Management, Alturas Resource Area with the cooperation of the Tule Lake Allotment permittees and private landowners has embarked on a riparian enhancement program for the allotment which crosses many traditional boundaries and barriers in land management and land management planning. Currently in the plan development stages the concept provides for a multi-disciplinary planning document which includes all program management in one plan, the development of which is guided by a thirteen member steering committee drawn from the general public representative of a broad range...

Yellow-billed Cuckoo numbers have decreased alarmingly in recent decades. This is associated with demise of their riparian habitats. Study of habitat along the lower Colorado River and along the South Fork Kern River led to the conclusion that they require dense habitats dominated by cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and willow (Salix spp.). They nest predominantly in willow and forage primarily in cottonwood trees on insects and tree frogs. On the basis of this information habitat designs were made and revegetation efforts were undertaken to create habitat for this bird species. Factors that...

This paper describes the procedure for developing a specific habitat restoration model. Results of a detailed Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) habitat study on the Sweetwater River drainage, San Diego County California, generated the baseline vegetative and habitat data used. Mean percent cover, density, abundance, species composition, and expected mortality rates of vegetation were used to determine the specifications for the restoration design. Mapped nesting plots were used to determine the arrangement of the planting components.

The Kings River Conservation District planted over 1200 plants of 19 riparian species in the first of two phases of a riparian revegetation project in the San Joaquin Valley. To date, tree survival rates vary from 17 to 96 percent among species, with an overall rate of 62 percent. Shrub survival averages 57 percent and ranges from 23 to 73 percent. Factors affecting plant survival include soil quality, irrigation technique, climate, topography, weed competition, gopher and beaver depredation, vandalism, maintenance practices, and budget constraints.

Data on riparian community composition and environmental conditions were collected on over 20 streams in the Sierra Nevada as part of hydropower licensing studies. Over 1,000 samples were analyzed using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), to determine riparian dominance types. Ordination techniques were applied to evaluate associations between environmental conditions and community characteristics. Results indicate that at least 15 communities are found in riparian settings at altitudes ranging from 300 to 3000 m on eastern and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. These communiti...

A base-line analysis and long-term monitoring study of the riparian system along California's Bishop Creek is being conducted to measure the effects that planned increases in streamflow may have on riparian vegetation and associated wildlife. Six sites located in different major physiographic valley types have been selected for study. Biotic, climatologic, hydrologic, geomorphologic, and edaphic response parameters are being measured to evaluate streamflow and riparian vegetation relationships. Biotic parameters being monitored include stand structural parameters, species composition and...

The Santa Clara Valley Water District, located in Northern California, is currently evaluating a pilot riparian revegetation project on a 1.6 ha (4 ac) site adjacent to Coyote Creek in the south San Francisco Bay Area. Specific techniques used during the design, site preparation and installation of 3640 plants (including seed planting locations) are described. This paper reports on the analysis of 1 year's data, comparing the survival of various types of plant materials for each of the 15 native plant species installed. Plant survival is evaluated for portions of the site irrigated by...

Water potential and stomatal conductance are important indicators of the response of vegetation to manipulations of riparian systems. However, interpretation of measurements of these variables is not always straightforward. An extensive monitoring program along the Carmel River in central California, carried out by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, provides examples of the complications that can arise in practice.