The structure and components of riparian areas influence the rate, amount, and timing of water, nutrients, organic debris, and inorganic materials that enter streams and rivers. The energy of floodwaters and their ultimate volume, timing and erosive power is influenced by the soils, vegetation and geomorphology of fluvial surfaces within...
This study examined the occurrence of coarse woody debris (i.e., pieces greater than 0.15 m in diameter and 2.0 m in length) in first- through fifth-order streams located within the Drift Creek Basin of the Oregon Coast
Range. Nine "tributary reaches" were surveyed to determine how three land management treatments...
As a key factor contributing to slope stability, in-stream habitat for aquatic species (e.g., salmonids), nutrient cycling, and corridors for upland species, riparian vegetation and its maintenance is of critical conservation importance. Subsequently, the chronic degradation of aquatic and riparian ecosystems in the semi-arid and arid landscapes of the western...
Managing riparian buffer zones is a potentially important approach to protecting streams from agricultural pollution. This study was conducted to determine if a pasture, a hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa x deltoides) stand, or a native oak (Quercus garryana) forest, had the greatest potential to serve as a nutrient buffer zone....
Little research has been directed toward determining the status and ecological role of riparian areas in agricultural landscapes of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. A research project has been designed to contribute to the development and evaluation of alternative future scenarios and to improve the basic understanding of the role of...
Organic matter dynamics in riparian ecosystems are largely driven by interactions among hydrology, soil, and vegetation. In two riparian meadows, northeast Oregon, I examined the hypothesis that vegetation and soil characteristics in three plant communities - defined as wet, moist, and dry meadow - were strongly influenced by hydrological and...
The purposes of this study were:1) to review the land use history of Oak Creek watershed since European settlement. And 2) to consider the human-caused impacts and their effects associated with different land uses. The study area was classified into three land use patterns: residential,agricultural, and forested areas.Since the European...
Riparian vegetation (trees > 10 cm dbh), woody debris (> 10 cm diam, > 1 m long), channel, and landform characteristics were inventoried in mature (80-150 yrs) and old-growth riparian areas (>250 yrs) selected from small tributaries of the Coos and Coquille River basins in southwestern Oregon. Basal area of...
Riparian forests in the central Oregon Coast Range vary along a coniferous-deciduous compositional continuum. Variations in structure and composition affect water quality, fish and wildlife, biodiversity, timber, and aesthetics. A retrospective approach was taken in this study in order to understand and compare the structure, pattern, and history of an...
I studied riparian forests of four western Oregon watersheds (dry south to wet north) to determine the multiscale controls on woody riparian vegetation. I conducted separate analyses of controls on plant distribution, diversity, and tree regeneration using vegetation and environmental data collected in two related field studies: (1) a multiscale...