Riparian trees and aridland streams of the southwestern United States: An assessment of the past, present, and future

Riparian ecosystems are vital components of aridlands within the southwestern United States. Historically, surface flows influenced population dynamics of native riparian trees. Many southwestern streams has been altered by regulation, however, and will be further affected by greenhouse warming. Our analysis of stream gage data revealed that decreases in volume of annual discharge and mean peak discharge and a shift to earlier peak discharge will occur in the Southern Rockies region of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These changes will likely decrease rates of reproduction and survival of cottonwood (Populus fremontii and Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii), Goodding’s willow (Salix gooddingii), and boxelder (Acer...

Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > LANDSCAPE, LCC Network Science Catalog, LCC Network Science Catalog, Publication, climate change, All tags... completed, environment, regulation, southwest, stream, woody vegetation, Fewer tags