Morphology of Small, Discontinuous Montane Meadow Streams in the Sierra Nevada
Title | Morphology of Small, Discontinuous Montane Meadow Streams in the Sierra Nevada PDF eBook |
Author | Michelle Laura Slocombe |
Publisher | |
Pages | 98 |
Release | 2012 |
Genre | Meadow ecology |
ISBN |
Montane Meadows in the Sierra Nevada
Title | Montane Meadows in the Sierra Nevada PDF eBook |
Author | Sarah Elizabeth Purdy |
Publisher | |
Pages | |
Release | 2010 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9781124026510 |
We surveyed montane meadows in the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades for two field seasons to compare commonly used aquatic and terrestrial-based assessments of meadow condition. We surveyed 1) fish, 2) reptiles, 3) amphibians, 4) aquatic macroinvertebrates, 5) stream geomorphology, 6) physical habitat, and 7) terrestrial vegetation in 79 meadows between the elevations of 1000 and 3000 m. From the results of those surveys we calculated five multi-metric indices based on methods commonly-used by researchers and land management agencies. The five indices consisted of 1) fish-only, 2) native fish and amphibians, 3) macroinvertebrates, 4) physical habitat, and 5) vegetation. We compared the results of the five indices and found that there were significant differences in the outcomes of the five indices. We found positive correlations between the vegetation index and the physical habitat index, the invertebrate index and the physical habitat index, and the two fish-based indices, but there were significant differences between the indices in both range and means. We concluded that the five indices provided very different interpretations of the condition in a given meadow. While the assessment of meadow condition changed based on which index was used, each provided an assessment of different components important to the overall condition of a meadow system. Utilizing a multimetric approach that accounts for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats is the best opportunity to assess meadow condition, particularly given disproportionate importance of these systems in the Sierra Nevada landscape. To accept the results of just a single index in the absence of the others is potentially misleading and costly.
Terrestrial Vegetation of California, 3rd Edition
Title | Terrestrial Vegetation of California, 3rd Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Michael Barbour |
Publisher | Univ of California Press |
Pages | 732 |
Release | 2007-07-17 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 0520249550 |
"This completely new edition of Terrestrial Vegetation of California clearly documents the extraordinary complexity and richness of the plant communities and of the state and the forces that shape them. This volume is a storehouse of information of value to anyone concerned with meeting the challenge of understanding, managing or conserving these unique plant communities under the growing threats of climate change, biological invasions and development."—Harold Mooney, Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University "The plants of California are under threat like never before. Traditional pressures of development and invasive species have been joined by a newly-recognized threat: human-caused climate change. It is essential that we thoroughly understand current plant community dynamics in order to have a hope of conserving them. This book represents an important, well-timed advance in knowledge of the vegetation of this diverse state and is an essential resource for professionals, students, and the general public alike."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
Riparian Areas
Title | Riparian Areas PDF eBook |
Author | National Research Council |
Publisher | National Academies Press |
Pages | 449 |
Release | 2002-10-10 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0309082951 |
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.
An Ecological Characterization of Rocky Mountain Montane and Subalpine Wetlands
Title | An Ecological Characterization of Rocky Mountain Montane and Subalpine Wetlands PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Pages | 348 |
Release | 1986 |
Genre | Mountain ecology |
ISBN |
Sierra-Nevada Lakes
Title | Sierra-Nevada Lakes PDF eBook |
Author | George Henry Hinkle |
Publisher | |
Pages | 400 |
Release | 2011-07-01 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9781258077006 |
California Spider Wasps of the Subfamily Pompilinae (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)
Title | California Spider Wasps of the Subfamily Pompilinae (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) PDF eBook |
Author | Marius S. Wasbauer |
Publisher | Univ of California Press |
Pages | 140 |
Release | 1985-01-01 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 9780520099579 |