Urban ecosystems are characterized by human disturbance and changes in the amount, types, and spatial arrangement of wildlife habitat. The relative importance of habitat and human associated variables to urban birds is unknown. In 1999, I surveyed spring bird and plant communities along 54 perennial streams
in the Portland, Oregon...
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...
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...
Riparian areas that can be used as reference sites on which to base goals of vegetation restoration have not been documented in the Oregon Coast Range. I examined the composition and distribution of unmanaged riparian overstories in the central Oregon Coast Range along nine streams which have experienced minimal disturbance...
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...
This study was conducted to describe variation of riparian vegetation in an Oregon Coast Range system according to geomorphic characteristics and in relation to streamflow. Specific objectives of this study were to: I) examine if the vegetation composition and structure of the riparian forest varied among channel-reach morphologies, 2) examine...
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...