The shape of streams to come: New decision tools for assessing watershed sensitivity and ecological resilience in the Great Basin

Silvia Kantor; Jeanne C. Chambers; Jerry Miller; Shawn Espinosa

Treesearch

The shape of streams to come: New decision tools for assessing watershed sensitivity and ecological resilience in the Great Basin

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Silvia Kantor, Jeanne C. Chambers, Jerry Miller, Shawn Espinosa

Year:

2022

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 56. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 13 p.

Download (PDF 8.01 MB)

Download (PDF 8.01 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/64796.pdf

Abstract

Water is a precious resource in dryland regions of the western United States, including the Great Basin. Determining appropriate management strategies for stream and riparian ecosystems is challenging because Great Basin watersheds, stream systems, and associated riparian ecosystems have varying geomorphic and hydrologic conditions and support numerous different vegetation communities and animal species. These stream and riparian ecosystems show a wide variety of responses to both natural disturbances, such as floods, and human-caused disturbances, such as roads in the valley bottoms and improper livestock grazing. Decision support tools to manage and plan for disturbances that are increasingly amplified by climate change are imperative.

Keywords

Science You Can Use, SYCU, water, watershed sensitivity, ecological resilience, streams, riparian ecosystems, management

Citation

Kantor, Silvia; Chambers, Jeanne; Miller, Jerry; Espinosa, Shawn. 2022. The shape of streams to come: New decision tools for assessing watershed sensitivity and ecological resilience in the Great Basin. Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 56. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 13 p.