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Abstract
Loss of riparian habitat along the Middle Sacramento River, over the last 100 years, has reduced a once contiguous riparian forest to a series of disjunct remnants of varying size and quality. With limited financial resources to purchase and protect some of the remaining riparian plant communities, it has become necessary to develop methods to select which of the remaining habitats are to become protected. A site evaluation method was developed that included vegetation quality, type and rarity, size, viability, unique features, rare plants, shape, and potential for growth. Using this method 240 plant community sites that included 5 plant community types were evaluated and ranked. The evaluation method and the results are outlined and a critique of the method discussed in light of long term riparian nature preserve design.
Parent Publication
Citation
McCarten, Niall F. 1989. Plant Community Development, Site Quality Analysis and River Dynamics in the Design of Riparian Preserves on the Middle Sacramento River, California. In: Abell, Dana L., Technical Coordinator. 1989. Proceedings of the California Riparian Systems Conference: protection, management, and restoration for the 1990s; 1988 September 22-24; Davis, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-110. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 74-78
