Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Plant species richness in ephemeral and perennial reaches of a dryland river

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ephemeral reaches are common along desert rivers but are less well studied than those with perennial stream flow. This study contrasted riparian plant species richness and composition (extant vegetation and soil seed bank) between stream reaches with different low-flow conditions (perennial vs. ephemeral flow) but similar flood patterns and similar watershed-derived species pools. Data were collected at Cienega Creek (Arizona, USA) over a 2 year period spanning drought conditions and wetter conditions. Consistent with expectations relating to water limitation effects on diversity, species richness in the riparian zone was lower at ephemeral-flow sites during a season with minimal precipitation and no overbank flooding; under these conditions, the more permanent water sources of the perennial-flow sites sustain the larger number of species. During seasons with greater precipitation and elevated stream flows, in contrast, species richness at ephemeral-flow sites increased to levels at or slightly above those of perennial-flow sites. For values pooled across two wet seasons of a calendar year, year-round richness was greater at the two ephemeral-flow sites (total of 92 vascular plant species) than at the two perennial-flow sites (68 species). This greater year-round richness was a combination of multiple factors: greater light, space, and bare ground, a diverse soil seed bank (with the seed banks equally species-rich among hydrologic types), and moderately abundant precipitation and flooding sufficient to stimulate establishment of opportunistic species (mainly annuals) during the bimodal wet seasons. These results indicate that long-term patterns of site water availability, by influencing woody plant cover, mediate the diversity response to episodic water pulses in dryland rivers. The results also have implications for riparian conservation efforts, which to date have focused primarily on perennial stream reaches: ephemeral reaches of spatially intermittent rivers harbor many riparian plant species, and warrant conservation efforts, as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ali MM, Dickinson G, Murphy KJ (2000) Predictors of plant diversity in a hyperarid desert wadi ecosystem. J Arid Environ 45:215–230. doi:10.1006/jare.2000.0631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auble GT, Friedman JM, Scott ML (1994) Relating riparian vegetation to present and future streamflows. Ecol Appl 4:544–554. doi:10.2307/1941956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagstad KJ, Stromberg JC, Lite SJ (2005) Response of herbaceous riparian plants to rain and flooding on the San Pedro River, Arizona, USA. Wetlands 25:210–223. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2005)025[0210:ROHRPT]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkeland GH (1996) Riparian vegetation and sandbar morphology along the lower Little Colorado River, Arizona. Phys Geogr 17:534–553

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloss DA, Brotherson JD (1979) Vegetation response to a moisture gradient on an ephemeral stream in central Arizona. Gt Basin Nat 39:161–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Boudell JA, Stromberg JC (2008a) Propagule banks: potential contribution to restoration of an impounded and dewatered riparian ecosystem. Wetlands 28:656–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudell JA, Stromberg JC (2008b) Flood pulsing and metacommunity dynamics in desert riparian ecosystems. J Veg Sci 19:373–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brock MA, Rogers KH (1998) The regeneration potential of the seed bank of an ephemeral floodplain in South Africa. Aquat Bot 61:123–135. doi:10.1016/S0304-3770(98)00062-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown D (1992) Estimating the composition of a forest seed bank—a comparison of the seed extraction and seedling emergence methods. Can J Bot 70:1603–1612

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunn SE, Thoms MC, Hamilton SK, Capon SJ (2006) Flow variability in dryland rivers: boom, bust and the bits in between. River Res Appl 22:179–186. doi:10.1002/rra.904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busch DE, Smith SD (1995) Mechanisms associated with decline of woody species in riparian ecosystems of the southwestern US. Ecol Monogr 65:347–370. doi:10.2307/2937064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capon SJ (2007) Effects of flooding on seedling emergence from the soil seed bank of a large desert floodplain. Wetlands 27:904–914. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[904:EOFOSE]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capon SJ, Brock MA (2006) Flooding, soil seed bank dynamics and vegetation resilience of a hydrologically variable desert floodplain. Freshw Biol 51:206–223. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2005.01484.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK (2005) EstimateS, Ver. 7.5: statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples (statistical estimation software with 20 p manual)

  • Goodson JM, Gurnell AM, Angold PG, Morrissey IP (2003) Evidence for hydrochory and the deposition of viable seeds within winter flow-deposited sediments: the River Dove, Derbyshire. UK River Res Appl 19:317–334. doi:10.1002/rra.707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP (1973) Competitive exclusion in herbaceous vegetation. Nature 242:344–347. doi:10.1038/242344a0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutierrez JR, Meserve PL (2003) El Nino effects on soil seed bank dynamics in north-central Chile. Oecologia 134:511–517

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hancock CN, Ladd PG, Froend RH (1996) Biodiversity and management of riparian vegetation in Western Australia. For Ecol Manag 85:239–250. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(96)03761-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horton JL, Kolb TE, Hart SH (2001) Physiological response to groundwater depth varies among species and with river flow regulation. Ecol Appl 11:1046–1059. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[1046:PRTGDV]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansson R, Zinko U, Merritt DM, Nilsson C (2005) Hydrochory increases riparian plant species richness: a comparison between a free-flowing and a regulated river. J Ecol 93:1094–1103. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01057.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansson R, Laudon H, Johansson E, Augspurger C (2007) The importance of groundwater discharge for plant species number in riparian zones. Ecology 88:131–139. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2007)88[131:TIOGDF]2.0.CO;2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson ME, Nilsson C, Nilsson E (1996) Do rivers function as corridors for plant dispersal? J Veg Sci 7:593–598. doi:10.2307/3236309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearney TH, Peebles RH (1960) Arizona flora (with supplement). University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Killingbeck KT, Whitford WG (2001) Nutrient resorption in shrubs growing by design, and by default in Chihuahuan Desert arroyos. Oecologia 128:351–359. doi:10.1007/s004420100668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolb TE, Hart SC, Amundson R (1997) Boxelder water sources and physiology at perennial and ephemeral stream sites in Arizona. Tree Physiol 17:151–160

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leitner LA (1987) Plant communities of a large arroyo at Punta Cirio, Sonora. Southwest Nat 32:21–28. doi:10.2307/3672005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lite SJ, Bagstad KJ, Stromberg JC (2005) Riparian plant species richness along lateral and longitudinal gradients of water stress and flood disturbance, San Pedro River, Arizona, USA. J Arid Environ 63:785–813. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.03.026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu GH, Li W, Li EH, Yuan LY, Davy AJ (2006) Landscape-scale variation in the seed banks of floodplain wetlands with contrasting hydrology in China. Freshw Biol 51:1862–1878. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01621.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meinzer OE (1923) Outline of ground-water hydrology, with definitions. US Geol Surv Water Supply Pap 494:1–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouw JEB, Alaback PB (2003) Putting floodplain hyperdiversity in a regional context: an assessment of terrestrial-floodplain connectivity in a montane environment. J Biogeogr 30:87–103. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00775.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, De Camps H, Pollock M (1993) The role of riparian corridors in maintaining regional biodiversity. Ecol Appl 3:209–212. doi:10.2307/1941822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nanson GC, Tooth S, Knighton AD (2002) A global perspective on dryland rivers: perceptions, misconceptions and distinctions. In: Bull LJ, Kirkby MJ (eds) Dryland rivers: hydrology and geomorphology of semi-arid channels. Wiley, Chichester, pp 17–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicol JM, Ganf GG, Pelton GA (2003) Seed banks of a southern Australian wetland: the influence of water regime on the final floristic composition. Plant Ecol 168:191–205. doi:10.1023/A:1024430919811

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Allan JD, Bain MB, Karr JR, Prestegaard KL, Richter BD, Stromberg JC (1997) The natural flow regime: a paradigm for river conservation and restoration. Bioscience 47:769–784. doi:10.2307/1313099

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollock MM, Naiman RJ, Hanley TA (1998) Plant species richness in riparian wetlands—a test of biodiversity theory. Ecology 79:94–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson HA, James KR (2007) Plant establishment from the seed bank of a degraded floodplain wetland: a comparison of two alternative management scenarios. Plant Ecol 188:145–164. doi:10.1007/s11258-006-9153-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rundel PW, Sturmer SB (1998) Native plant diversity in riparian communities of the Santa Monica Mountains, California. Madrono 45:93–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabo JL, Sponseller R, Dixon M, Gade K, Harms T, Heffernan J, Jani A, Katz G, Soykan C, Watts J, Welter A (2005) Riparian zones increase regional species richness by harboring different, not more, species. Ecology 86:56–62. doi:10.1890/04-0668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salinas MJ, Casas JJ (2007) Riparian vegetation of two semi-arid Mediterranean rivers: basin-scale responses of woody and herbaceous plants to environmental gradients. Wetlands 27:831–845. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[831:RVOTSM]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sambatti JBM, Rice KJ (2006) Local adaptation, patterns of selection, and gene flow in the Californian serpentine sunflower (Helianthus exilis). Evol Int J Org Evol 60:696–710

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarr DA (2002) Riparian livestock exclosure research in the western United States: a critique and some recommendations. Environ Manag 30:516–526. doi:10.1007/s00267-002-2608-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schade JD, Sponseller R, Collins SL, Stiles A (2003) The influence of Prosopis canopies on understorey vegetation: effects of landscape position. J Veg Sci 14:743–750. doi:10.1658/1100-9233(2003)014[0743:TIOPCO]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw JR, Cooper DJ (2008) Linkages among watersheds, stream reaches, and riparian vegetation in dryland ephemeral stream networks. J Hydrol (Amst) 350:68–82. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.11.030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sponseller RA, Fisher SG (2006) Drainage size, stream intermittency, and ecosystem function in a Sonoran Desert landscape. Ecosystems (N Y, Print) 9:344–356. doi:10.1007/s10021-005-0167-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stromberg JC (2007) Seasonal reversals of upland-riparian diversity gradients in the Sonoran Desert. Divers Distrib 13:70–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Stromberg JC, Bagstad KJ, Leenhouts JM, Lite SJ, Makings E (2005) Effects of stream flow intermittency on riparian vegetation of a semiarid region river (San Pedro River, Arizona). River Res Appl 21:925–938. doi:10.1002/rra.858

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stromberg JC, Beauchamp VB, Dixon MD, Lite SJ, Paradzick C (2007) Importance of low-flow and high-flow characteristics to restoration of riparian vegetation along rivers in arid southwestern United States. Freshw Biol 52:651–679. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01713.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stromberg JC, Boudell JA, Hazelton AF (2008) Differences in seed mass between hydric and xeric plants influence seed bank dynamics in a dryland riparian ecosystem. Funct Ecol 22:205–212. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01375.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stromberg JC, Hazelton AF, White MS, White JM, Fischer RA Ephemeral wetlands along a spatially intermittent river: temporal patterns of vegetation development. Wetlands (in press)

  • Tabacchi E, Planty-Tabacchi A, Salinas MJ, Décamps H (1996) Landscape structure and diversity in riparian plant communities: a longitudinal comparative study. Regul Rivers Res Manag 12:367–390. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1646(199607)12:4/5<;367::AID-RRR424>;3.0.CO;2-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uys MC, OKeeffe JH (1997) Simple words and fuzzy zones: early directions for temporary river research in south Africa. Environ Manag 21:517–531. doi:10.1007/s002679900047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward JV, Tockner K (2001) Biodiversity: towards a unifying theme for river ecology. Freshw Biol 46:807–819. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.2001.00713.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward JV, Tockner K, Arscott DB, Claret C (2002) Riverine landscape diversity. Freshw Biol 47:517–539. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00893.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong S, Johansson ME, Hughes FMR, Hayes A, Richards KS, Nilsson C (2003) Interactive effects of soil moisture, vegetation canopy, plant litter and seed addition of plant diversity in a wetland community. J Ecol 91:976–986. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2745.2003.00827.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu HL, Li JM, Ye M (2008) Characteristics of soil seed bank in the regions with different groundwater levels in lower reaches of Tarim River. Chin J Ecol 27:305–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman JC, De Wald LE, Rowlands PG (1999) Vegetation diversity in an interconnected ephemeral riparian system of north-central Arizona, USA. Biol Conserv 90:217–228. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00035-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Support for this project was provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Program, the NSF’s Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas, and the US EPA Science to Achieve Results Program. We thank the Pima County Parks and Recreation Department for allowing site access; Bethany Lund, Elizabeth Makings, Theresa Price and Donna Shorrock for assisting with plant species identification; and Mead Mier and Becky Eden for map preparation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-4501, USA

    J. C. Stromberg, A. F. Hazelton & M. S. White

Authors
  1. J. C. Stromberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. F. Hazelton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. S. White
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. C. Stromberg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stromberg, J.C., Hazelton, A.F. & White, M.S. Plant species richness in ephemeral and perennial reaches of a dryland river. Biodivers Conserv 18, 663–677 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9532-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9532-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation