Glacial loss and its effect on riparian vegetation of alpine streams
McKernan C, Cooper DJ, Schweiger EW. 2018. Glacial loss and its effect on riparian vegetation of alpine streams. Freshwater Biology. :1-12
We measured geomorphic conditions and riparian vegetation composition of alpine streams across a chronosequence of sites supported hydrologically by glaciers, permanent snowfields (PS) and seasonal snowfields (SS) in Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana, USA. Responses in the system to possible climate-driven shifts in hydrologic regime were identified using multivariate analyses. Glacier-fed streams had higher discharge and stream power and lower substrate stability than streams fed by PS and SS. Streams fed by PS supported a higher number of species than other stream types. Glacier-fed streams were characterised by higher abundance of disturbance-adapted shrub species than PS and SS.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- McKernan, Cristina; Cooper, David; Schweiger, E
- Units
- CRCO , GLAC , ROMN
- Keywords
- alpine vegetation, glaciers, riparian ecology, stream geomorphology, WEIReport
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Hydrology | Surface Water Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Riparian Communities