Riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems in southern Oregon and northern California
A riparian ponderosa pine/chaparral community along the upper Klamath River.
This project began as a partnership between USDA Forest Service Region 4 and the Rocky Mountain Research Station to complete assessments for each national forest to support the revision of land management plans. Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists began combining national, regional, and local datasets to assess the current conditions of riparian ecosystems on each national forest in Region 4. The Rocky Mountain Research Station has expanded work to Forest Service Regions 5 and 6 and have consulted on riparian assessment ideas in Forest Service Regions 2 and 3.
Research methods follow requirements of the planning rule to consider drivers, stressors, and key ecosystem characteristics to determine the ecological integrity of riparian and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and whether they have been altered from the natural range of variation. This project is directly related to forest plan revision, which is an ongoing process for most land managers within the Rocky Mountain Research Station footprint and beyond. Many land management plans have not been updated since the 1980s and revision efforts are taking longer to complete than desired.
This partnership addresses requirements in the 2012 planning rule to assess the current condition of riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs). Planning teams are often staffed with fish biologists, hydrologists, and wildlife biologists who work in riparian systems and provide invaluable local knowledge but may not have specific riparian and groundwater-dependent ecosystems expertise. RMRS's approach and methodology are adaptable to other ecosystem types and forests. Additionally, findings directly inform needs-for-change, and updated standards and guides decided by the forest during plan revision.
As new regional planning groups are established, this will provide current information and citable references on the condition of riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, including roads, altered fire regimes, and climate change were major stressors to riparian, aquatic, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems on the national forests. The relative impacts of these stressors and the resistance and resilience of the focal ecosystems differed across the five national forests. Altered fire regimes and impacts from drought and climate change appear to be the most pronounced in the southern reaches of the study area. Projected hydrologic impacts of climate change are expected to be significant throughout the Cascades. Researchers found existing information and data related to groundwater-dependent ecosystems like springs and fens is uneven and often lacking. Other common information gaps identified across most national forests include condition of intermittent streams and spatial distribution of beaver activity.