Graduate Project

 

A Spatial Assessment of Conservation Opportunities in the Willamette River Floodplain between Corvallis and Albany, Oregon Public Deposited

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_projects/bn999730j

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  • The Willamette River floodplain has been highly modified by urbanization, conversion of land to agriculture, construction of dams and revetments, and regulation of flow, all of which have reduced floodplain processes that provide valuable ecosystem services such as fish and wildlife habitat and flood storage. Efforts to protect and restore floodplains have increased in recent years as scientists and conservationists have began to recognize the importance of functioning floodplains to help recover native fish populations and mitigate flood effects. Restoration and protection of floodplain processes is linked to both the past land-uses that degraded the ecological systems and the current uses that sustain rural communities and farmers. This project assessed the opportunities to protect and restore floodplain forests and channel complexity in the floodplain of the Willamette River between Corvallis and Albany, Oregon. A geographic information system was used to analyze suitability for conservation in terms of floodplain forest, channel complexity, and human uses on a pixel by pixel basis across the floodplain. Suitability maps show the best locations to protect and restore floodplain processes while minimizing impacts to human uses in the floodplain. Most land highly suitable for conservation purposes is located near the current river channel. Some identified sites can be restored with little or no impact to private lands while others cross multiple ownerships and will be more challenging to restore. The goal of this project is to contribute to conservation planning and actions in the study area.
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