Vegetation and geomorphic surfaces in the Elwha River delta, Washington, after dam removal, derived from 2016 and 2018 aerial imagery and 2007, 2014, and 2018 field surveys

Dates

Publication Date: 2023-09-12
Start Date: 2007
End Date: 2018

Citation

Perry, L.G., Shafroth, P.B., Alfieri, S.J., Miller, I.M., and Ritchie, A.C., 2023, Vegetation and geomorphic surfaces in the Elwha River delta, Washington, after dam removal, derived from 2016 and 2018 aerial imagery and 2007, 2014, and 2018 field surveys: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9O6NML1.

Summary

Removal of two large dams from the Elwha River, Washington USA, in 2011-2014 released ~20.5 metric tons (Mt) of impounded sediment, ~5.4 Mt of which was deposited in the river delta and estuary. This dataset presents measurements of geomorphic surfaces, vegetation colonization, and plant community development in the Elwha River delta and estuary after dam removal. Geomorphic surfaces and vegetation colonization were estimated from aerial imagery of the delta and estuary in 2016 and 2018. Plant community development was quantified from field plot surveys of pioneer plant communities on new surfaces in 2014 and 2018 and of established delta and estuarine plant communities on older surfaces in 2007, 2014, and 2018. The dataset includes [...]

Summary

Removal of two large dams from the Elwha River, Washington USA, in 2011-2014 released ~20.5 metric tons (Mt) of impounded sediment, ~5.4 Mt of which was deposited in the river delta and estuary. This dataset presents measurements of geomorphic surfaces, vegetation colonization, and plant community development in the Elwha River delta and estuary after dam removal. Geomorphic surfaces and vegetation colonization were estimated from aerial imagery of the delta and estuary in 2016 and 2018. Plant community development was quantified from field plot surveys of pioneer plant communities on new surfaces in 2014 and 2018 and of established delta and estuarine plant communities on older surfaces in 2007, 2014, and 2018. The dataset includes ortho-rectified aerial imagery for the delta and estuary: (1) 20160811_Elwha_delta and (2) 20180719_Elwha_delta. Second, it includes four polygon shapefiles of cover by geomorphic surface types and vegetation types drawn from the 2016 and 2018 aerial imagery: (3) BeachUnits_2016.shp, (4) BeachUnits_2018.shp, (5) VegUnits_2016.shp, and (6) VegUnits_2018.shp. Third, it includes three tabular data files of field plot measurements: (7) plant species richness and cover summed by functional group (woody, forb, graminoid, perennial, annual/biennial, native, introduced) in each plot each year (VegPlot_FunctGrpRichCover_2007-2014-2018.csv), (8) percent cover by plant species visually estimated in each plot each year (VegPlot_SpCover_2007-2014-2018.csv), and (9) edaphic conditions (soil depth, soil surface gravel/cobble, surface age, surface elevation) measured in each plot on new surfaces in the delta and estuary in years during and after dam removal (VegPlot_NewSurfaceEdaphic_2014-2018.csv). Fourth, it includes two point shapefiles of (10) locations of sampled field vegetation plots (VegPlot_Locations_2007-2014-2018.shp) and (11) point locations for a stratified random sample within new surface polygons in the delta and estuary in 2018 (NewSurface_StratRandSample_2018.shp); this stratified random sample was used in an analysis of surface development and dynamics based on U.S. Geological Survey annual digital elevation models of the delta and estuary in 2011-2018. Finally, the dataset includes 11 metadata files (.xml), one for each of the 11 data files.

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Patrick B Shafroth
Originator :: Laura Perry, Patrick B Shafroth, Samuel J Alfieri, Ian M Miller, Andrew C Ritchie
Metadata Contact :: GS-RMA-FORT Data Management
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
SDC Data Contact :: Fort Collins Science Center
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
SDC Data Owner :: Fort Collins Science Center
USGS Mission Area :: Ecosystems

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Elwha River Delta Vegetation and Geomorphology 2007-2018.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	16.08 KB	application/fgdc+xml
20160811_Elwha_delta.zip		210.8 MB	application/zip
20180719_Elwha_delta.zip		72.29 MB	application/zip
BeachUnits_2016.zip		65.04 KB	application/zip
BeachUnits_2018.zip		78.25 KB	application/zip
VegUnits_2016.zip		63.11 KB	application/zip
VegUnits_2018.zip		67.99 KB	application/zip
VegPlot_FunctGrpRichCover_2007-2014-2018.zip		10.86 KB	application/zip
VegPlot_SpCover_2007-2014-2018.zip		14.5 KB	application/zip
VegPlot_NewSurfaceEdaphic_2014-2018.zip		6.19 KB	application/zip
VegPlot_Locations_2007-2014-2018.zip		11.29 KB	application/zip
NewSurface_StratRandSample_2018.zip		32.14 KB	application/zip

Related External Resources

Type: Related Primary Publication

Perry LG, Shafroth PB, Alfieri S, Miller I. 2023. Coastal vegetation responses to large dam removal on the Elwha River. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11:1233903. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1233903	https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1233903

Purpose

Data were collected/produced to monitor and assess changes to coastal habitats after dam removal on the Elwha River, Clallam County, Washington, USA.

Vegetation and geomorphic surfaces in the Elwha River delta, Washington, after dam removal, derived from 2016 and 2018 aerial imagery and 2007, 2014, and 2018 field surveys

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