Abundance and Production of Riparian Trees in the Lowland Floodplain of the Queets River, Washington
Balian EV and Naiman RJ. 2005. Abundance and Production of Riparian Trees in the Lowland Floodplain of the Queets River, Washington. Ecosystems. 8(7):841-861
From the Abstract: "Riparian zones associated with alluvial rivers are spatially dynamic, forming distince vegetative mosaics that exhibit sharp contrasts in structure and processes related to the underlying biophysical template. The productivity of riparian plants, especially tress, influences streamside community characteristics as well as the forms and fluxes of organic matter to adjacent streams - thereby strongly impacting patterns of channel morphology, water flow, sedimentation, and habitat in rivers. ... Overall, we show that riparian trees grow quickly in this coastal Pacific Northwest system and that the older riparian forests on mature terraces are the main contributors to stem production at the plot and floodplain scales for at least 350 years after stand initiation. This suggests that, in combination with the rapid lateral migrations of many alluvial rivers, the older riparian forests on those terraces are important and sustained sources of organic matter (especially large woody debris, LWD) that, over decades to centuries, shape the character of coastal rivers in the Pacific Northwest."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Balian, Estelle; Naiman, Robert
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- ECOSYSTEMS STUDIES, forest productivity, Queets River Watershed, Rainforest, riparian forest, tree abundance