Applying a hydrogeomorphic channel classification to understand spatial patterns in riparian vegetation

Abstract

Hydrogeomorphic channel classifications are widely employed to understand natural phenomena in Earth sciences, but are rarely used in riparian vegetation studies. However, when these types of classifications correspond to physical process domains (discrete landscape units with consistent abiotic attributes), they may be useful in distinguishing habitat and vegetation types. We assessed the ecological significance of a hydrogeomorphic stream channel classification by addressing the following questions: (1) does perennial plant community composition differ among hydrogeomorphic channel types; (2) which species and functional groups contribute to compositional variation among channel types in the Sonoran Desert; and (3) what are the stream reach‐scale geomorphic drivers of compositional variation?

Document Details

• Document Type: Pub Defense Publication
• Publication Date: May 01, 2018
• Source ID: 10.1111/jvs.12629

Entities

People

• David J. Cooper
• Jeremy R. Shaw
• Nicholas A. Sutfin

Organizations

• Colorado State University
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• United States Department of Defense

Tags

Fields of Study

• Environmental science

Readers

• Theoretical Analysis.
• Wetland-Land-Environmental Management.