Abstract
Alteration of natural hydrologic regimes of most rivers in the southwestern United States has led to degradation of riparian habitats. Most areas historically covered by Rio Grande cottonwood [Populus deltoides Marshall subsp. wislizenii (Wats.) Eckenw.] have been replaced by exotic saltcedar (Tamarix chinensis Lour.). Following an earlier study in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico that evaluated faster staged water drawdowns to restore riparian habitat, we evaluated slower rates, 2 cm/day and 5 cm/day (starting depth = 30 cm) to determine if cottonwood seedling density could be increased. During the period of spring flood recession of the Rio Grande, we placed seed-bearing branches of cottonwood in experimental basins and applied the drawdown treatments. Following the end of drawdowns, we conducted the first vegetation sampling to determine cottonwood and saltcedar seedling densities in the area. We also conducted a mid-season, an end-season, and an over-winter vegetation sampling to observe changes in seedling densities over time. Saltcedar and cottonwood seedling densities did not differ statistically between the drawdown treatments. However, survival of cottonwood seedlings during the first growing season in the 2 cm/day drawdown was greater than in the 5 cm/day drawdown. Greater seedling survival in the slower drawdown was likely due to increased soil moisture levels in that treatment, corresponding to a more gradual descending limb of the historical hydrograph. Use of a slow water drawdown (2 cm/day; about 20 days duration) synchronized with natural seed rain of cottonwoods will result in high first season densities of this important riparian species.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Allred, K. 2002. Identification and taxonomy of Tamarix (Tamaricaceae) in New Mexico. Desert Plants 18: 26–31.
Anderson, B. W. and R. D. Ohmart. 1982. Revegetation for wildlife enhancement along the lower Colorado River. USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Boulder City, NV, USA.
Anderson, D. R., K. P. Burnham, and W. L. Thompson. 2000. Null hypothesis testing: problems, prevalence, and an alternative. Journal of Wildlife Management 64: 912–923.
Braatne, J. H., S. B. Rood, and P. E. Heilman. 1996. Life history, ecology and conservation of riparian cottonwoods in North America p. 57–85, In R. F. Stettler, G. A. Bradshaw, P. E. Heilman, and T. M. Hinckley (eds.) Biology of Populus and Its Implications for Management and Conservation. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Bullard, T. F. and S. G. Wells. 1992. Hydrology of the Middle Rio Grande from Velarde to Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Resource Publication 179.
Cabrera, L. R. and G. Dieringer. 1992. Reproductive biology of a population of Acourtian runicinata (Asteraceae: Mutisieae) at the northeastern limit of its range. American Midland Naturalist 129: 83–88.
Cameron, A. C. and P. K. Trivedi. 1998. Regression Analysis of Count Data, Econometric Society Monograph No. 30. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NM, USA.
Crawford, C. S., A. C. Cully, R. Leutheuser, M. S. Sifuentes, L. H. White, and J. P. Wilber. 1993. Middle Rio Grande ecosystem: Bosque biological management plan. United States Department of the Interior, Fish, and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Ellis, L. M., C. S. Crawford, and M. C. Molles, Jr. 2001. Influence of annual flooding on terrestrial arthropod assemblages of a Rio Grande riparian forest. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management 17: 1–20.
Ellis, L. M., M. C. Molles, Jr, and C. S. Crawford. 1999. Influence of experimental flooding on litter dynamics in a Rio Grande riparian forest, New Mexico. Restoration Ecology 7: 193–204.
Fenner, P., W. W. Brady, and D. R. Patton. 1984. Observations on seeds and seedlings of Fremont Cottonwood. Desert Plants 6: 55–58.
Friedman, J. M., M. L. Scott, and W. M. Lewis. 1995. Restoration of riparian forests using irrigation, artificial disturbance, and natural seedfall. Environmental Management 19: 547–557.
Gladwin, D. N. and J. E. Roelle. 1998. Survival of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. moniliferd) and saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) seedlings in response to flooding. Wetlands 18: 669–674.
Gordon, N. D., T. A. McMahon, and B. L. Finlayson. 1992. Stream Hydrology. An Introduction for Ecologists. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK.
Heslop-Harrison, J. 1965. Morphogenesis at the sub-cellular level p. 127–139, In E. Cutter (ed.) Trends in Plant Morphogenesis. Longmans Green, London, UK.
Horton, J. L. and J. L. Clark. 2001. Water table decline alters growth and survival of Salix gooddingii and Tamarix chinensis seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management 140: 239–247.
Johnson, D. H. 1999. The insignificance of statistical significance testing. Journal of Wildlife Management 63: 763–772.
Knopf, F. L. and T. E. Olson. 1984. Naturalization of Russian olive: implications to Rocky Mountain wildlife. Wildlife Society Bulletin 12: 289–298.
Lesica, P. and S. Miles. 2001. Tamarisk growth at the northern margin of its naturalized range in Montana, USA. Wetlands 21: 240–246.
Mahoney, J. M. and S. B. Rood. 1991. A device for studying the influence of declining water table on poplar growth and survival. Tree Physiology 8: 305–314.
Mahoney, J. M. and S. B. Rood. 1998. Streamflow requirements for cottonwood seedling recruitment-an integrative model. Wetlands 18: 634–645.
McBride, J. R., N. Sugihara, and E. Norberg. 1988. Growth and survival of three riparian woodland species in relation to simulated water table dynamics. Department of Forestry and Resource Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Molles, Jr, M. C., C. S. Crawford, L. M. Ellis, H. M. Valett, and C. N. Dahm. 1998. Managed flooding for riparian ecosystem restoration. Bioscience 48: 749–756.
National Research Council. 2002. Riparian Areas: Functions and Strategies for Management. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, USA.
Pope, D. P., J. H. Brock, and R. A. Backhaus. 1990. Vegetative propagation of key southwestern woody riparian species. Desert Plants 10: 91–95.
Rhoades, J. D., P. J. Shouse, W. J. Alves, N. A. Manteghi, and S. M. Lesch. 1990. Determining soil salinity from soil electrical conductivity using different models and estimates. Soil Science Society of America Journal 54: 46–54.
Rood, S. B., A. R. Kalischuk, and J. M. Mahoney. 1998. Initial cottonwood seedling recruitment following the flood of the century of the Oldman River, Alberta, Canada. Wetlands 18: 557–570.
Rowland, D. L., A. A. Sher, and D. L. Marshall. 2004. Inter- and intra-population variation in seedling performance of Rio Grande cottonwood under low and high salinity. Canadian Journal of Forestry Research 34: 1458–1466.
SAS. 2003. SAS/STAT user’s guide. SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA.
Scott, M. L., G. T. Auble, and J. M. Freidman. 1997. Flood dependency of cottonwood establishment along the Missouri River, Montana, USA. Ecological Applications 7: 677–690.
Scott, M. L., P. B. Shafroth, and G. T. Auble. 1999. Responses of riparian cottonwoods to alluvial water table declines. Environmental Management 23: 347–358.
Scott, W. H., M. A. Wondzell, and G. T. Auble. 1993. Hydrograph characteristics relevant to the establishment and growth of western riparian vegetation p. 237–246, In H. J. Morel-Seytoux (ed.) Proceedings of the 13th Annual American Geophysical Union Hydrology Days. Hydrology Days Publications, Atherton, CA, USA.
Segelquist, C. A., M. L. Scott, and G. T. Auble. 1993. Establishment of Populus deltoides under simulated alluvial ground water declines. American Midland Naturalist 130: 274–285.
Shafroth, P. B., G. T. Auble, J. C. Stromberg, and D. Patten. 1998. Establishment of woody riparian vegetation in relation to annual patterns of stream flow. Bill Williams River, Arizona. Wetlands 18: 577–590.
Shafroth, P. B., J. C. Stromberg, and D. Patten. 2002. Riparian vegetation response to altered disturbance and stress regimes. Ecological Applications 12: 107–123.
Sheets, K. R., J. P. Taylor, and J. M. H. Hendricks. 1994. Rapid salinity mapping by electromagnetic induction for determining riparian restoration potential. Restoration Ecology 2: 242–246.
Sher, A. A. and D. L. Marshall. 2003. Seedling competition between native Populus deltoides and exotic Tamarix ramosissima across water regimes and substrate types. American Journal of Botany 90: 413–422.
Sher, A. A., D. L. Marshall, and S. A. Gilbert. 2000. Competition between native Populus deltoides and invasive Tamarix ramosissima and the implications for reestablishing flooding disturbance. Conservation Biology 14: 1744–1754.
Siegel, R. S. and J. H. Brock. 1990. Germination requirements of key Southwestern woody riparian species. Desert Plants 10: 3–8.
Smith, L. M., M. D. Sprenger, and J. P. Taylor. 2002. Effects of discing saltcedar seedlings during riparian restoration efforts. Southwestern Naturalist 47: 598–642.
Snyder, A. K. and D. G. Williams. 2000. Water sources used by riparian trees varies among stream types on the San Pedro River, Arizona. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 105: 227–240.
Sprenger, M. D., L. M. Smith, and J. P. Taylor. 2001. Testing control of saltcedar seedlings using fall flooding. Wetlands 21: 437–441.
Sprenger, M. D., L. M. Smith, and J. P. Taylor. 2002. Restoration of riparian habitat using experimental flooding. Wetlands 22: 49–57.
Stanford, J. A., J. V. Wardet, W. J. Liss, C. A. Frissell, R. N. Williams, J. A. Lichatowich, and C. C. Coutant. 1996. A general protocol for restoration of regulated rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 12: 391–413.
Stromberg, J. C. 1993. Fremont cottonwood-Gooding willow riparian forests: a review of their ecology, threats, and recovery potential. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 26: 97–110.
Stromberg, J. C. 2001. Restoration of riparian vegetation in the southwestern United States: importance of flow regimes and fluvial dynamism. Journal of Arid Environments 49: 17–34.
Stromberg, J. C., R. Tiller, and B. D. Richter. 1996. Effects of groundwater decline on riparian vegetation of semiarid regions: The San Pedro, Arizona. Ecological Applications 6: 113–131.
Taylor, J. P. and K. C. McDaniel. 1998. Restoration of saltcedar (Tamarix sp.)-Infested floodplains on the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Weed Technology 12: 345–352.
Taylor, J. P., D. B. Wester, and L. M. Smith. 1999. Soil disturbance, flood management, and riparian woody plant establishment in the Rio Grande floodplain. Wetlands 19: 372–382.
Western Region Climate Center-[http: /www.wrcc.dri.edu]-Western Region Climate Center-climatological data for Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
deceased
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bhattacharjee, J., Taylor, J.P. & Smith, L.M. Controlled flooding and staged drawdown for restoration of native cottonwoods in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, USA. Wetlands 26, 691–702 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2006)26[691:CFASDF]2.0.CO;2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2006)26[691:CFASDF]2.0.CO;2