Riparian Tree Species Distribution and Succession Along the Lower Escalante River, Utah
Irvine JR and West NE. 1979. Riparian Tree Species Distribution and Succession Along the Lower Escalante River, Utah. The Southwestern Naturalist. 24(2):331-346
The Escalante River was chosen for study as it is one of the few Southwestern rivers that has escaped impoundment. Its topography has discouraged livestock grazing and wood cutting. The study shows some strong environmental influences on the three tree species dominating riparian vegetation in the area. Although stratigraphy controls the distributions of trees, river flow exerts the strongest influence on species and age-class structure within riparian plant communities. A shift in tree species population equilibria and population age structure can be expected to occur with manipulation of river flow, especially an increase in tamarisk at the expense of willow and cottonwood. One table, 5 figures, bibliography
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Irvine, James; West, Neil
- Units
- GLCA
- Keywords
- Communities, Ecology, Escalante River, Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Management, Plants, Riparian Zone, Stratigraphy, Tamarisk (Tamarix), Trees, Vegetation, Willow (Salix)