Because the underlying cause of riparian system alteration is often attributed to the effects of dams on flow regime, managing flow releases, particularly high flows, from dams is an often-advocated approach to river and riparian restoration. Our work has focused on understanding effects of managed high flow releases (a.k.a., pulse flows, controlled floods) from dams along rivers in the lower Colorado River basin.
On the Bill Williams River in western Arizona, we have had the opportunity to help design and monitor the effects of several high flow releases since the mid 1990’s. On the main stem of the Colorado River, we helped study the effects of the 2014 “pulse flow” to the Colorado River delta (Minute 319), and are working with a range of collaborators to provide input to possible future releases to the delta (Minute 32X). Finally, we are working with collaborators from USGS, USDA Forest Service, and Northern Arizona University to understand how different groups of riparian plants (“riparian response guilds”) respond to high flow experiments on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Riparian Ecology
Below are publications associated with this project.
Geomorphic change and sediment transport during a small artificial flood in a transformed post-dam delta: The Colorado River delta, United States and Mexico
Coupled hydrogeomorphic and woody-seedling responses to controlled flood releases in a dryland river
Ecosystem effects of environmental flows: Modelling and experimental floods in a dryland river
Beaver dams, hydrological thresholds, and controlled floods as a management tool in a desert riverine ecosystem, Bill Williams River, Arizona
Coupling groundwater and riparian vegetation models to assess effects of reservoir releases
- Overview
Because the underlying cause of riparian system alteration is often attributed to the effects of dams on flow regime, managing flow releases, particularly high flows, from dams is an often-advocated approach to river and riparian restoration. Our work has focused on understanding effects of managed high flow releases (a.k.a., pulse flows, controlled floods) from dams along rivers in the lower Colorado River basin.
On the Bill Williams River in western Arizona, we have had the opportunity to help design and monitor the effects of several high flow releases since the mid 1990’s. On the main stem of the Colorado River, we helped study the effects of the 2014 “pulse flow” to the Colorado River delta (Minute 319), and are working with a range of collaborators to provide input to possible future releases to the delta (Minute 32X). Finally, we are working with collaborators from USGS, USDA Forest Service, and Northern Arizona University to understand how different groups of riparian plants (“riparian response guilds”) respond to high flow experiments on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Riparian Ecology
Riparian ecologists at the Fort Collins Science Center study interactions among flow, channel change, and vegetation along rivers across the western United States and worldwide. Our work focuses on issues relevant to the management of water and public lands, including dam operation, climate change, invasive species, and ecological restoration. Investigations take place on a range of scales. For... - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Geomorphic change and sediment transport during a small artificial flood in a transformed post-dam delta: The Colorado River delta, United States and Mexico
The Colorado River delta is a dramatically transformed landscape. Major changes to river hydrology and morpho-dynamics began following completion of Hoover Dam in 1936. Today, the Colorado River has an intermittent and/or ephemeral channel in much of its former delta. Initial incision of the river channel in the upstream ∼50 km of the delta occurred in the early 1940s in response to spillway releaAuthorsErich R. Mueller, John C. Schmidt, David J. Topping, Patrick B. Shafroth, Jesús Eliana Rodríguez-Burgueño, Jorge Ramírez-Hernández, Paul E. GramsCoupled hydrogeomorphic and woody-seedling responses to controlled flood releases in a dryland river
Interactions among flow, geomorphic processes, and riparian vegetation can strongly influence both channel form and vegetation communities. To investigate such interactions, we took advantage of a series of dam-managed flood releases that were designed in part to maintain a native riparian woodland system on a sand-bed, dryland river, the Bill Williams River, Arizona, USA. Our resulting multiyearAuthorsAndrew C. Wilcox, Patrick B. ShafrothEcosystem effects of environmental flows: Modelling and experimental floods in a dryland river
Successful environmental flow prescriptions require an accurate understanding of the linkages among flow events, geomorphic processes and biotic responses. We describe models and results from experimental flow releases associated with an environmental flow program on the Bill Williams River (BWR), Arizona, in arid to semiarid western U.S.A. Two general approaches for improving knowledge and predicAuthorsP.B. Shafroth, A.C. Wilcox, D.A. Lytle, J.T. Hickey, D.C. Andersen, Vanessa B. Beauchamp, A. Hautzinger, L.E. McMullen, A. WarnerBeaver dams, hydrological thresholds, and controlled floods as a management tool in a desert riverine ecosystem, Bill Williams River, Arizona
Beaver convert lotic stream habitat to lentic through dam construction, and the process is reversed when a flood or other event causes dam failure. We investigated both processes on a regulated Sonoran Desert stream, using the criterion that average current velocity is < 0.2 m s-1 in a lentic reach. We estimated temporal change in the lotic:lentic stream length ratio by relating beaver pond lengthAuthorsD.C. Andersen, P.B. ShafrothCoupling groundwater and riparian vegetation models to assess effects of reservoir releases
Although riparian areas in the arid southwestern United States are critical for maintaining species diversity, their extent and health have been declining since Euro‐American settlement. The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to evaluate the potential for riparian vegetation restoration and groundwater recharge. A numerical groundwater flow model was coupled with a conceptual riparAuthorsAbraham E. Springer, Julie M. Wright, Patrick B. Shafroth, Juliet C. Stromberg, Duncan T. Patten