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1. Riparian plant species differ in sensitivity to both the mean and variance in groundwater stores

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaa049  

   Steinberg, Kelly A; Eichhorst, Kim D; Rudgers, Jennifer A (October 2020, Journal of Plant Ecology)

   Hui, Dafeng (Ed.)

   Abstract Aims Determining the ecological consequences of interactions between slow changes in long-term climate means and amplified variability in climate is an important research frontier in plant ecology. We combined the recent approach of climate sensitivity functions with a revised hydrological ‘bucket model’ to improve predictions on how plant species will respond to changes in the mean and variance of groundwater resources. Methods We leveraged spatiotemporal variation in long-term datasets of riparian vegetation cover and groundwater levels to build the first groundwater sensitivity functions for common plant species of dryland riparian corridors. Our results demonstrate the value of this approach to identifying which plant species will thrive (or fail) in an increasingly variable climate layered with declining groundwater stores. Important Findings Riparian plant species differed in sensitivity to both the mean and variance in groundwater levels. Rio Grande cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii) cover was predicted to decline with greater inter-annual groundwater variance, while coyote willow (Salix exigua) and other native wetland species were predicted to benefit from greater year-to-year variance. No non-native species were sensitive to groundwater variance, but patterns for Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) predict declines under deeper mean groundwater tables. Warm air temperatures modulated groundwater sensitivity for cottonwood, which was more sensitive to variability in groundwater in years/sites with warmer maximum temperatures than in cool sites/periods. Cottonwood cover declined most with greater intra-annual coefficients of variation (CV) in groundwater, but was not significantly correlated with inter-annual CV, perhaps due to the short time series (16 years) relative to cottonwood lifespan. In contrast, non-native tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis) cover increased with both intra- and inter-annual CV in groundwater. Altogether, our results predict that changes in groundwater variability and mean will affect riparian plant communities through the differential sensitivities of individual plant species to mean versus variance in groundwater stores. 

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2. Middle Rio Grande riparian plant cover sensitivity to variability in groundwater depth collected by the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/b0bb59fd39e327b2452be059cc6a8440  

   Eichhorst, Kim D (January 2020, Environmental Data Initiative)

   Determining the ecological consequences of interactions between slow changes in long-term climate means and amplified variability in climate is an important research frontier in plant ecology. We combined the recent approach of climate sensitivity functions with a revised hydrological ‘bucket model’ to improve predictions on how plant species will respond to future changes in both the mean and variance of groundwater resources. We leveraged spatiotemporal variation in a long-term dataset of riparian vegetation cover to build the first groundwater sensitivity functions (GSFs) for common plant species of dryland riparian corridors. Our results demonstrate the value of this approach to identifying which plant species will thrive (or fail) in an increasingly variable climate layered on top of declining groundwater stores. Riparian plant species differed in sensitivity to both the mean and variance in groundwater levels. Rio Grande cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii) cover was predicted to decline with greater interannual groundwater variance, while coyote willow (Salix exigua) and other native wetland species were predicted to benefit from greater year-to-year variance. No non-native species were sensitive to groundwater variance, but patterns for Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) predict declines under deeper mean groundwater tables. Warm air temperatures modulated groundwater sensitivity for cottonwood, which was more sensitive to variability in groundwater in years/sites with warmer maximum temperatures than in cool sites/periods. Cottonwood cover declined most with greater intra-annual coefficients of variation (CV) in groundwater, but was not significantly correlated with inter-annual CV, perhaps due to the relatively short time series (16 y) relative to cottonwood lifespan. In contrast, non-native tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis) cover increased with both intra- and inter-annual CV in groundwater. Altogether, our results predict that changes in groundwater variability and mean will affect riparian plant communities through the differential sensitivities of individual plant species to mean versus variance in groundwater stores. 

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3. Groundwater Well Data from the Middle Rio Grande Valley Riparian Zone, New Mexico (1999-2014)

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/93d78d60c4672a8120d573d844739286  

   Thibault, Jim; Dahm, Clifford (January 2021, Environmental Data Initiative)

   This study originated with the objective of parameterizing riparian evapotranspiration (ET) in the water budget of the middle Rio Grande of New Mexico.  We hypothesized that flooding and invasions of non-native species would impact the ecosystem's use of water.  Our objectives were to measure and compare the ET of native (Rio Grande cottonwood, Populus deltoides ssp. wizleni) and non-native (saltcedar, Tamarix chinensis, Russian olive, Eleagnus angustifolia) bosque (woodland) communities and to evaluate how water use is affected by climatic variability resulting in high river flows and flooding as well as drought conditions and deep water tables.  This data set contains water table levels monitored at nine sites along the Rio Grande riparian corridor between Albuquerque and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.  Data date to 1999.  Two sites remain active and are well into their second decade of monitoring.  One is in a xero-riparian, non-flooding, saltcedar woodland within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.  The other is in a dense, monotypic saltcedar thicket at the Bosque del Apache NWR that is subject to flood pulses associated with high river flows.   

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4. Long‐term climate and hydrologic regimes shape stream invertebrate community responses to a hurricane disturbance

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14086  

   Strickland, Bradley A; Patrick, Christopher J; Carvallo, Fernando R; Kinard, Sean K; Solis, Alexander T; Reese, Brandi Kiel; Hogan, J Derek (July 2024, Journal of Animal Ecology)

   Abstract Disturbances can produce a spectrum of short‐ and long‐term ecological consequences that depend on complex interactions of the characteristics of the event, antecedent environmental conditions, and the intrinsic properties of resistance and resilience of the affected biological system.We used Hurricane Harvey's impact on coastal rivers of Texas to examine the roles of storm‐related changes in hydrology and long‐term precipitation regime on the response of stream invertebrate communities to hurricane disturbance.We detected declines in richness, diversity and total abundance following the storm, but responses were strongly tied to direct and indirect effects of long‐term aridity and short‐term changes in stream hydrology. The amount of rainfall a site received drove both flood duration and flood magnitude across sites, but lower annual rainfall amounts (i.e. aridity) increased flood magnitude and decreased flood duration. Across all sites, flood duration was positively related to the time it took for invertebrate communities to return to a long‐term baseline and flood magnitude drove larger invertebrate community responses (i.e. changes in diversity and total abundance). However, invertebrate response per unit flood magnitude was lower in sub‐humid sites, potentially because of differences in refuge availability or ecological‐evolutionary interactions. Interestingly, sub‐humid streams had temporary large peaks in invertebrate total abundance and diversity following recovery period that may be indicative of the larger organic matter pulses expected in these systems because of their comparatively well‐developed riparian vegetation.Our findings show that hydrology and long‐term precipitation regime predictably affected invertebrate community responses and, thus, our work underscores the important influence of local climate to ecosystem sensitivity to disturbances. 

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5. Soil cover heterogeneity associated with biocrusts predicts patch-level plant diversity patterns

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-024-01986-x  

   Havrilla, Caroline_A; Villarreal, Miguel_L (November 2024, Landscape Ecology)

   Abstract ContextSoil resource heterogeneity drives plant species diversity patterns at local and landscape scales. In drylands, biocrusts are patchily distributed and contribute to soil resource heterogeneity important for plant establishment and growth. Yet, we have a limited understanding of how such heterogeneity may relate to patterns of plant diversity and community structure. ObjectivesWe explored relationships between biocrust-associated soil cover heterogeneity and plant diversity patterns in a cool desert ecosystem. We asked: (1) does biocrust-associated soil cover heterogeneity predict plant diversity and community composition? and (2) can we use high-resolution remote sensing data to calculate soil cover heterogeneity metrics that could be used to extrapolate these patterns across landscapes? MethodsWe tested associations among field-based measures of plant diversity and soil cover heterogeneity. We then used a Support Vector Machine classification to map soil, plant and biocrust cover from sub-centimeter resolution Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) imagery and compared the mapped results to field-based measures. ResultsField-based soil cover heterogeneity and biocrust cover were positively associated with plant diversity and predicted community composition. The accuracy of UAS-mapped soil cover classes varied across sites due to variation in timing and quality of image collections, but the overall results suggest that UAS are a promising data source for generating detailed, spatially explicit soil cover heterogeneity metrics. ConclusionsResults improve understanding of relationships between biocrust-associated soil cover heterogeneity and plant diversity and highlight the promise of high-resolution UAS data to extrapolate these patterns over larger landscapes which could improve conservation planning and predictions of dryland responses to soil degradation under global change. 

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