Initial Draft Made Easy

Initial draft

welcome to our tenth lecture in my period function and management our previous lesson covered some of the key considerations and understanding the riparian plant community the considerations we discussed helped answer the key questions are the right plants present and are they healthy stemming from that we discussed plant cover expanding colonies stabilizing roots large wood vigor species diversity age diversity and wetland indicators status in this lesson we'll begin training our eyes to see the riparian areas for their function with an eye for function it becomes easier to recognize poor health and to identify the activities that may be hindering when Parian recovery the riparian bull's-eye and evaluation tool uses ten key indicators to plot health on a target learning to see in this way can help to inform decision-making in the favor of riparian function and all the values that it can deliver these three areas are functioning quite well in this last picture don't be misled the site is highly functional the banks are fortified with roots and anchored with very large wood or large wood signs indicate the floodplain is accessed regularly and that it contains plenty of energy dissipation oppositely these three dysfunctional riparian areas can be evaluated by observing the vegetation present or lack thereof a hindrance is any activity or situation that interferes was natural riparian recovery and a healthy function usually the result of human or animal activity Hendrix's can be identified through close observation of the riparian vegetation the following are common hindrances observed in Texas riparian areas farming mowing or spraying weeds a brush too close to the bank logging and related timber harvest activities adjacent to the creeks manicured or altered residential or park landscapes next to the creek prolonged grazing concentrations in Creek areas excessive population of deer exotics or feral hogs and Creek areas burning in riparian areas removal of large Deadwood and downed trees artificial manipulation of bank's channels or sediments such as bulldozing physical alteration of floodplains excessive vehicle traffic and Creek areas excessive recreational activity or foot traffic in Creek areas excessive alluvial pumping or other withdrawals in some cases the excessive growth of invasive species that have inhibit the ability of natural riparian plants to do their jobs low water dams and large reservoirs and poorly designed road crossings and bridges using the riparian bulls-eye evaluation found in the back of your remarkable riparian field guide you can develop your eyes to see why Parian areas for their function and you can identify activities that may be hindering the natural riparian recovery process can you see these can you see the active floodplain the energy dissipation new plant colonization stabilizing vegetation age diversity can you see species diversity plant vigor water storage bank and channel erosion or sediment deposition consistent notation of your observations with this guide combined with photo point images collected over time are key to monitoring riparian health not all of the parameters will be appropriate for all channel types leaving some portions of the target blank will not detract from your evaluation most of it 10 parameters will not apply to ephemeral streams and likewise some of the indicators will be difficult to evaluate on title influenced segments of coastal streams the bullseye area and the center of the target represents optimal function the middle ring the middle ring of the target represents an at-risk condition a kind of riparian health danger zone and the outermost ring of the target represents dysfunction to register your observations you need to fill and the dots for the appropriate zone of each of the ten indicators again the inner zone or the bullseye area in the center of the target represents optimal function the middle represents an at-risk condition in a kind of riparian health danger zone and the outer ring of the target represents dysfunction one of the first and foremost considerations is floodplain access this flood water have access to a floodplain why is this important it's important because access to a floodplain is essential in order to give flood water a place to spread out and slow down floodplains allow flood waters to slow down and deposit their sediment a necessary component of water storage and riparian areas organic matter contained in most flood sediment is known to increase the water holding capacity of soils sands and gravels riparian areas can support stream flows during dry times by releasing stored water so how can you see it to evaluate of a stream has access in its floodplain look for debris or silted deposits from a recent flood event you will likely notice that where vegetation is thick in the floodplain new sediments such as sand fine gravels or flood mud have been trapped look closely at that sediment and you may find pieces of leaves tree bark seed holes and other tiny bits of organic matter to identify those would be ideal you would hit the bull's eye for active floodplains is their new plant colonization this is important because if floodwaters are being slowed down and sediment trapped then those sediments need to be colonized by new oh I totally misread pop okay resuming with appropriate slide active floodplains when streams are down cut or if they are confined by roads or cement embankments or if they are down cut and lack access to a floodplain it is very difficult for them to heal and other problems will ensue for energy dissipation ask yourself is there enough present this is important because floodwaters carry a lot of energy if enough vegetation rocks are large Deadwood are present then floodwaters will be slowed down and their energy will be dissipated or spread out across the rough surfaces of these items slowing water down and dissipating energy is essential for healthy functioning riparian systems so how can you see it just look for an uncapped array of natural stuff if the riparian area is open and park-like and it's probably lacking in energy dissipation for new plant colonization is there enough of it this is important because if floodwaters are being slowed down and sediment trapped then those sediments need to be colonized by new plants in order to become stabilized and incorporated into the floodplain this eventually will add to the water storage capacity to see this look for new young plants or runners from existing plants going on newly deposited sediment this may be most apparent on a point bar where new sediment may have been dropped at the edge of the channel plants that are good at this are called colonizers while they may lack strong stabilizing roots they are able to grow quickly and create conditions for other stronger plans to follow here on the barren area above the barren area pictured new plants have not visually begun to colonize if they're stabilizing vegetation this could be or basis and it could be woody or it could be a mix and why is this important it takes strong rooted vegetation to withstand the energy of floodwater plants are rated for their ability to withstand floods with a stability rating or SR number as you recall sr1 is bare ground and sr ten would be equivalent to the strength of an anchored rock good coverage with plants having sr ratings of six or higher is usually a minimum for weathering floods when deep rooted plants and high stability plants are mixed with low stability plants or large wooden boulders the community stability is greatly enhanced his roots are often interlocked and incorporated with the wood and rock material so how can you see it using your field guide identify riparian plants and look up their stability ratings you want to see good coverage in the riparian landscape of plants with an average of SR six or seven or greater along with the presence of large wood and boulders when stabilizing vegetation is sparse or absent then the site is clearly missing the bullseye are there plants of a variety of ages present why is this important well age diversity of riparian plants is an indicator of health plants of different ages can help provide stability during fluctuations in flow and climatic conditions the presence of both young and old palatable plants can indicate that past and present grazing and browsing have not hindered function how can you see it identify riparian plants using the field guide look for young and middle-aged as well as older mature examples the image here shows age diversity as well as a lack of diversity it does also in this image can you see it are there a number of different important riparian species present pictured here you can see eastern gamagrass Indian grass bulrush cattail Spike Rush and cottonwood in this next photo you can see Bald Cypress Mexican ash cedar Elm pecan red mulberry boxelder maple and roughly frog wood why is this important in nature diversity contributes to system stability and resilience this is also true in my Parian systems where the diversity of riparian plant species can help lead to better functional conditions a diverse group of riparian plants creates a plant community that is more durable and functional than any single species could be on its own this is especially important underground where an interlaced series of diverse roots can interlock to hold channels in place even elevating them to create more water storage across the entire valley so how can you see it identify riparian plants using your field guide look closely for a group of high stability native plants that can indicate a functional plant community you may find only grasses and sedges or only woody riparian plants or some of both but the important thing is to look for diversity within the groups there is little plant diversity here this white Parian area is dominated by so bald cypress in obligate with an SR ating of nine it is very stable but a single species is never a safe situation in nature these cypress trees need some woody understory and some herbaceous cover to support them many of the plants shown in these images are palatable grazing and browsing species yet there are no signs that vigor is impaired by humans or animals some of these locations are used for occasional livestock grazing but with proper management riparian plant bigger has been maintained so our plants healthy are they vigorous and why is this important riparian plants that are browsed mode or grazed grazed short continuously can become unhealthy unhealthy plants can be compromised and have compromised root systems that may not be able to provide energy dissipation and Bank stabilizing functions if figure is compromised and it is time to do something different such as removing the hindrances that are causing the problems so how can you see it look for plants that have their leaves intact over time heavy browsing grazing and mowing that cut the leaves and stems can cause them to develop scabs and sunnat' or scarred appearances once you have trained your eye to see stunted plants will recognize the Browse line then you can easily spot this hindrance this image shows a distinct browse line on riparian trees which indicates a vigor problem while these trees appear to be healthy when their trunks are exposed from browsing their their flood resilience is weakened bushy blue stem on the left and button Bush bush above are both palatable browse plants and are showing signs of extreme Ozar over grazing and or long-term browsing riparian grasses in this image are vigorous on one bank yet the opposite bank Bank is impaired by mowing and weed eating so either signs of water storage in banks and flood plains and why is that important well one of the important services maintained by riparian areas is the storage of water out of site below ground or within the banks for release to the stream during dry times water storage capacity is influenced by the volume of organic matter within soils and can be indicated by the presence of water loving plant species a plant's wetland indicator status can tell you if the water is regularly present below the ground where it's growing how can you see this use your field guide look for the obligate or OBL and faculty fouette facultative wet or fa CW plants this photo here indicates no or extremely poor water storage is there excessive Bank or channel erosion in this image some erosion is visible but not excessive and why is this important erosion is a natural part of the riparian system but like most things in nature balance is needed erosion of stream banks should be compensated by deposition in the creation and maintenance of meander bins meander bends can aid in energy dissipation within a channel the more crooked a stream becomes the lower the gradient or the flatter the slope and how can you see it look for signs of a bank or channel erosion is it four is it in predictable locations or on meander bends where point bars are being formed with the eroded materials just downstream does the channel look down cut or incised like a drainage ditch and if so it may also lack an active floodplain this is how an out-of-balance erosion looks if sediment being deposited in a balanced way in this photo the answer is yes why is this important a river moves in processes both sediment and water and they must be imbalance if too much sediment is being delivered to the channel and there is not enough water energy to process it sediment can build up in the middle of the channel and other illogical places when water and sediment are imbalance sediments are deposited on point bars and contribute to the natural meander pattern of a waterway just recall the principles of lanes balance on page 8 of your remarkable riparian field cut so how can you see this if heaps and piles of sediment build up in the channel or if mounds of sediment are being trapped behind a structure with unnatural erosion below the knees are signs that sediment is not being processed and the stream is not imbalance these images show heaps and mounds of sediments and illogical places this is a riparian site along the South Llano River in Kimball County ten years ago the site was a large naked gravel bar but it is recovering nicely and slow now the wide well vegetated floodplain has caught enough fine sediment to sustain good plant growth backer s is the plant that kicked off the recovery and now there is good diversity of plants with increased stability ratings the site still lacks strong coverage of switchgrass Emory sedge and eastern gamagrass and while they are not yet and while they are present they are not yet dominant look closely and you can identify the distinct water storage zones by the plants growing here the obligate plants are mostly at the water's edge and the bushy blue stem of FAC wet plant can be seen in the next zone facultative plants like backer s in Sycamore are seen higher up on the floodplain this photo indicates a recovering gravel bar and a narrowing channel here is an observation of the same photo using the riparian bull's-eye evaluation note how the ten indicators are assessed and marked appropriately on the target first of all the floodplain is clearly defined and accessible if you look closely at it you can see bits of flood debris it's the inner zone the bullseye only in some energy dissipation along the bank and in the channel but abundant energy dissipation in the floodplain would be inners own bullseye abundant colonization of fresh sediment like water willow and Spike Rush would be a nurse ohn bullseye with some gaps in coverage of stabilizing plant communities which are not well enough stablished yet would be the med zone at risk abundant reproduction of woody plants like backer and sycamore or grasses and sedges like Spike Rush and blues and bushy blue stem would be the inner zone or bullseye modest diversity of woody plants like back heurists Sycamore button Bush etc and modest diversity of grasses and sedges which only four are visible would add up to a mid zone at-risk woody plant vigor not readily apparent in the video in the photo but herbaceous plant vigor appears healthy and vigorous would be an inner zone bullseye obligate and facultative wet species indicating water storage are abundant near the water's edge but not further back which means mid zone at risk with no excessive bank erosion visible in this photo we're hitting a bull's-eye the inner zone and sediment appears normal and balanced in this photo so that also would be bullseye inner zone for riparian function and water quality connections the quality of water and our rivers and streams can be influenced either positively by healthy riparian function or negatively by the presence of one or more hindrances the information here explains how seven common water quality parameters are connected to good riparian function with bacteria e.coli is a type of bacteria found in a large intestines of warm-blooded water animals that can cause severe illness to humans if ingested ecoli is an indicator that disease-causing organisms may be present in the water when wane rainfall runs off over the land it can carry bacteria into streams where I Parry and vegetation can slow and filter runoff water before it reaches a stream causing sediment causing sediment with bacteria particles attached to settle out and be deposited on the banks microorganisms in riparian soil can destroy harmful bacteria as a part of the soil food web second you have total suspended solids or TSS these are a measure of materials or particles like soil and minerals that are suspended in the water and can be trapped by a filter right peri and vegetation helps to slow runoff and allows for solids to settle out before entering the stream third are dissolved oxygen or do these are very vital to almost all aquatic life oxygen levels in water vary throughout the day and the seasons and are determined by many factors such as temperature flow aquatic plants dissolved or suspended solids altitude and human activities riparian vegetation helps to maintain healthy oxygen levels needed for aquatic life for this temperature temperature is the controlling factor for the life cycle of aquatic life it is influenced by the time of day seasonal shade water depth flow rate and altitude riparian vegetation especially tall trees can help to shade streams and to regulate fluctuations in water temperature so to maintain healthy fish habitat narrow meandering don't get as hot or cold as shallow flat and strained ones six is clarity clarity of water is a measure of how far light can travel through it the clearer the water the farther the light can travel promoting photosynthesis and aquatic plant growth clarity can be degraded by the presence of fine sediment within the stream channel good riparian vegetation can help to trap and stabilize fine sediment before they enter a stream and last is flow flow is often expressed in cubic feet per second or CFS and is a measurement of the velocity of surface water as it travels across the landscape soils aquatic plants and tree roots can affect flow rates and contribute to recharge when they capture floodwater and hold it in place for slow release thus helping maintain flow during dry times today's lesson on learning to see the bullseye gives us a meaning of evaluating a riparian site for key functional indicators for a home work we visit your site and complete the bullseye evaluation target you can find the target and instructions for its completion in your remarkable riparian field guide