Upper Colorado River Basin Riparian Ecosystems

Research Task: 832797V.5.0
Task Manager: Douglas Andersen

The processes responsible for producing the structure and controlling the functioning of riparian landscapes in Western desert environments are not well understood, in part because insight from studies of other riparian systems in extremely limited. This study will describe the effects of river regulation on key riparian species and processes and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for those effects. The work will increase the general understanding of how regulated flows modify species’ distribution and abundance, community interactions, and floodplain ecosystem functioning while also providing species- and site-specific information of immediate benefit to water resource managers in the Colorado River Basin.

 For more information contact Douglas Andersen

Related Products

Publications

• Characterizing flow regimes for floodplain forest conservation: an assessment of factors affecting sapling growth and survivorship on three cold desert rivers
• Flood pattern and weather determine Populus leaf litter breakdown and nitrogen dynamics on a cold desert floodplain
• Variable role of aquatic macroinvertebrates in initial breakdown of seasonal leaf litter inputs to a cold-desert river