HR: 0800h
AN: H31D-0427    [Abstracts]
TI: Hypothesis Testing in Hydrologic Restoration: Soil Moisture, Root Density, and Plant Community Associations in Northeastern Sierra Nevada, California, Meadows
AU: * Senter, A E
EM: asenter@sfsu.edu
AF: Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Conner, E F
EM: efc@sfsu.edu
AF: Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Sklar, L S
EM: leonard@sfsu.edu
AF: Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Strathmann, K S
EM: kat\_strathmann@sbcglobal.net
AF: Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AB: In order to test the qualitative impression of success of an innovative hydrologic restoration technique called `plug and pond', we investigated the linkages between meadow rehydration and changes in soil moisture, root density, and plant community composition in northeastern Sierra Nevada, California meadows. Conceptually, plug and pond restorations reconnect stream flows to floodplains and remnant channels, returning meadows to a pre-incised-channel moisture regime. We developed hypotheses to 1) determine if plant community composition can serve as an indicator of soil moisture and root density in northeastern Sierra meadows, and therefore, serve as an indicator of post- restoration soil moisture and root density changes, and 2) quantify year-to-year post-restoration variation of soil moisture and root density in Carmen Valley, Knuthsen Meadow, Tahoe National Forest (TNF). In the summers of 2003 and 2004, we gathered data at a six-inch depth on soil moisture, fine root density, and very fine root density, and identified plant species aboveground, at a series of randomly selected sites. We applied a detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) to the identified plant species in order to create groups of `wet', `intermediate', and `dry' plant communities in twelve TNF reference meadows. Using ANOVA, we found a statistically significant difference in soil moisture and root density between the wet plant community and a combined intermediate/dry community. Regression analysis suggests that 40.5% of the variation in very fine root density is accounted for by soil moisture. Preliminary results from data gathered in 2004 suggests that the qualitative division of Knuthsen Meadow into an `upper, wet' section and a `lower, drier' section is supported by soil moisture means of 13% and 9%, respectively. In the year-to-year analysis, we expect to find that hydrologic restoration has lead to an increase in soil moisture and root density in Knuthsen Meadow. Finally, we anticipate that this study will provide resource managers with quantitative tools that can be applied in conjunction with other adaptive management procedures to achieve project goals.
DE: 1803 Anthropogenic effects
DE: 1824 Geomorphology (1625)
DE: 1851 Plant ecology
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
DE: 1875 Unsaturated zone
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting