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Pamela L Nagler

Environmental flows have become important restoration tools on regulated rivers. However, environmental flows are often constrained by other demands within the river system and thus typically are comprised of smaller water volumes than the natural flows they are meant to replace, which can limit their functional efficacy. We review environmental flow programs aimed at restoring riparian vegetation on four arid zone rivers: the Tarim River in China; the Bill Williams River in Arizona, U.S.; the delta of the Colorado River in Mexico; and the Murrumbidgee River in southern Australia. Our goal is to determine what worked and what did not work to accomplish restoration goals. The lower Tarim River in China formerly formed...
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These data were compiled for evaluating plant water use, or river-reach level evapotranspiration (ET) data, in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River delta as specified under Minute 319 of the 1944 Water Treaty. Additionally, these data were compiled for evaluating restoration-level data in Reach 2 and Reach 4, as specified under Minute 323 of the 1944 Water Treaty. Objectives of our study were to measure the peak growing season evapotranspiration (ET) for the average of months in summer-fall (May to October) for the seven reaches, for the full riparian corridor, and for four restoration sites, from 2013 through 2022. The seven reach areas from the Northerly International Boundary (NIB) to the end of the delta...
Tags: 1944 Water Treaty, Arizona, Botany, Colorado River, Colorado River delta, All tags...
Tamarix spp. removal has been proposed to salvage water and allow native vegetation to recolonize western U.S. riparian corridors. We conducted wide-area studies on the Lower Colorado River to answer some of the scientific questions about Tamarix water use and the consequences of removal, combining ground surveys with remote sensing methods. Tamarix stands had moderate rates of evapotranspiration (ET), based on remote sensing estimates, averaging 1.1 m/yr, similar to rates determined for other locations on the river and other rivers. Leaf area index values were also moderate, and stands were relatively open, with areas of bare soil interspersed within stands. At three Tamarix sites in the Cibola National Wildlife...
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These data were compiled to understand the effects of riparian vegetation health on local abundance and species diversity of land birds. The primary objective of our study was to to determine the effects of riparian restoration on birds in the Colorado River delta. These tabular data represent vegetation indices and evapotranspiration (ET) data at varying spatial scales that correspond to avian use circles of 100 to 2000 meters. Three vegetation reflectance indices (VIs): NDVI, EVI, and EVI2 were obtained from Landsat imagery with a biweekly temporal frequency, and covering the entire period of bird surveys (2002-2020). The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and two-band...
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