Emma C. Sevier, Karen L. Pope, David N. Dralle, Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Adam K. Cummings, Paul Richardson, Margaret Lang
{"title":"Rapid Hydrological Responses Following Process-Based Restoration in a Degraded Sierra Nevada Meadow","authors":"Emma C. Sevier, Karen L. Pope, David N. Dralle, Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Adam K. Cummings, Paul Richardson, Margaret Lang","doi":"10.1002/hyp.70005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n <p>Mountain meadows are ecologically important groundwater dependent ecosystems that retain and store water in upland forested landscapes. They tend to occur in low gradient, broad valleys where water slows and sediment accumulates, making them efficient locations for restoration. Over a century and a half of land use has degraded many meadows in the Sierra Nevada, reducing their hydrological and ecological functionality. Process-based restoration (PBR) is an ecosystem rehabilitation approach that utilises biogeomorphic processes to facilitate functional ecosystem recovery. Low-tech applications of PBR leverage fluvial processes, plant growth and the manipulation of onsite materials to increase structural and hydrological complexity. In meadows, typical goals associated with restoration are to increase groundwater elevations, expand wetted area, encourage sediment capture and create diffuse flow paths leading to improved ecological function over time. This study compares surface and groundwater conditions in a degraded riparian meadow in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA for 1 year before and after process-based restoration to understand initial changes in meadow hydrogeomorphic function. Restoration included the installation of 39 postless beaver dam analog structures in ~1 km of incised meadow channel. Stage-discharge data at the inlet and outlet of the project area were paired with groundwater data collected from 13 wells distributed across the meadow to estimate increased water storage of 3700 m<sup>3</sup> due to restoration. After the wet winter of 2023, we estimated that pools upstream of structures filled to over half their volume with fine sediment. We also applied hydrodynamic modelling to evaluate fluvial changes at high flows and found that restoration increased flow complexity and wetted surface area. These short-term responses highlight the potential speed and ability of low-tech, process-based restoration in achieving restoration outcomes.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":13189,"journal":{"name":"Hydrological Processes","volume":"38 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Hydrological Processes","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.70005","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Environmental Science","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Mountain meadows are ecologically important groundwater dependent ecosystems that retain and store water in upland forested landscapes. They tend to occur in low gradient, broad valleys where water slows and sediment accumulates, making them efficient locations for restoration. Over a century and a half of land use has degraded many meadows in the Sierra Nevada, reducing their hydrological and ecological functionality. Process-based restoration (PBR) is an ecosystem rehabilitation approach that utilises biogeomorphic processes to facilitate functional ecosystem recovery. Low-tech applications of PBR leverage fluvial processes, plant growth and the manipulation of onsite materials to increase structural and hydrological complexity. In meadows, typical goals associated with restoration are to increase groundwater elevations, expand wetted area, encourage sediment capture and create diffuse flow paths leading to improved ecological function over time. This study compares surface and groundwater conditions in a degraded riparian meadow in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA for 1 year before and after process-based restoration to understand initial changes in meadow hydrogeomorphic function. Restoration included the installation of 39 postless beaver dam analog structures in ~1 km of incised meadow channel. Stage-discharge data at the inlet and outlet of the project area were paired with groundwater data collected from 13 wells distributed across the meadow to estimate increased water storage of 3700 m3 due to restoration. After the wet winter of 2023, we estimated that pools upstream of structures filled to over half their volume with fine sediment. We also applied hydrodynamic modelling to evaluate fluvial changes at high flows and found that restoration increased flow complexity and wetted surface area. These short-term responses highlight the potential speed and ability of low-tech, process-based restoration in achieving restoration outcomes.
期刊介绍:
Hydrological Processes is an international journal that publishes original scientific papers advancing understanding of the mechanisms underlying the movement and storage of water in the environment, and the interaction of water with geological, biogeochemical, atmospheric and ecological systems. Not all papers related to water resources are appropriate for submission to this journal; rather we seek papers that clearly articulate the role(s) of hydrological processes.