Jonathan Friedman, Ph.D.
Biography
Jonathan Friedman is a hydrologist at the Fort Collins Science Center. Since joining the Fort Collins Science Center in 1993, he has devoted his career to studying interactions among riparian vegetation, river flow and channel change. Present research topics include use of riparian tree rings to reconstruct past river flow, quantification of federal reserved water rights, and determination of the effect of riparian vegetation on bank stability.
Education
- Ph.D. Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1993
- M.S. Oceanography and Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1987
- B.S. Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983
Professional Experience
- 1993-present, Hydrologist, USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO
- 1990-1993, Hydrologist, USGS Water Resources Division, Lakewood, CO
- 1988-1990, Community College Instructor, Bellevue Community College, Olympic College and Front Range Community College, Washington and Colorado.
- 1988 Assistant Natural Area Scientist, Washington Natural Heritage Program, Olympia, Washington
Affiliations
- Ecological Society of America
- American Geophysical Union
Science and Products
The influence of chilling requirement on the southern distribution limit of exotic Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) in western North America
Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.), a Eurasian tree now abundant along rivers in western North America, has an apparent southern distribution limit running through southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. We used field observations to precisely define this limit in relation to temperature variables. We then investigated whether...
Guilbault, Kimberly R.; Brown, C. S.; Friedman, J.M.; Shafroth, P.B.Genetic and environmental influences on cold hardiness of native and introduced riparian trees
To explore latitudinal genetic variation in cold hardiness and leaf phenology, we planted a common garden of paired collections of native and introduced riparian trees sampled along a latitudinal gradient. The garden in Fort Collins, Colorado (latitude 40.6°N), included 681 native plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera) and...
Friedman, Jonathan M.; Roelle, James E.; Cade, Brian S.Assessment of tannin variation in Tamarisk foliage across a latitudinal gradient
Certain phenotypic traits of plants vary with latitude of origin. To understand if tannin concentration varies among populations of tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) according to a latitudinal gradient, an analytical method was adapted from an enological tannin assay. The tannin content (wet basis) of tamarisk foliage collected from 160 plants grown in a...
Hussey, A.M.; Kimball, B.A.; Friedman, J.M.Genetic and environmental influences on leaf phenology and cold hardiness of native and introduced riparian trees
To explore the roles of plasticity and genetic variation in the response to spatial and temporal climate variation, we established a common garden consisting of paired collections of native and introduced riparian trees sampled along a latitudinal gradient. The garden in Fort Collins, Colorado (latitude 40.6??N), included 681 native plains...
Friedman, J.M.; Roelle, J.E.; Cade, B.S.Progression of stream bank erosion dudring a large flood, Rio Puerco, New Mexico
In August 2006, a large flood following saltcedar control efforts through a 12-km long segment of the Rio Puerco arroyo resulted in extensive lateral erosion of the streambanks. Almost all woody vegetation on the floodplain and channel banks had been killed by aerial spraying with herbicide in September 2003. During the flood, dead woody bank...
Griffin, Eleanor R.; Smith, J. Dungan; Friedman, Jonathan M.; Vincent, Kirk R.Erosional consequence of saltcedar control
Removal of nonnative riparian trees is accelerating to conserve water and improve habitat for native species. Widespread control of dominant species, however, can lead to unintended erosion. Helicopter herbicide application in 2003 along a 12-km reach of the Rio Puerco, New Mexico, eliminated the target invasive species saltcedar (Tamarix spp.),...
Vincent, K.R.; Friedman, J.M.; Griffin, E.R.Influence of flow variability on floodplain formation and destruction, Little Missouri River, North Dakota
Resolving observations of channel change into separate planimetric measurements of floodplain formation and destruction reveals distinct relations between these processes and the flow regime. We analyzed a time sequence of eight bottomland images from 1939 to 2003 along the Little Missouri River, North Dakota, to relate geomorphic floodplain...
Miller, J.R.; Friedman, J.M.Latitudinal variation in cold hardiness in introduced Tamarix and native Populus
To investigate the evolution of clinal variation in an invasive plant, we compared cold hardiness in the introduced saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima, Tamarix chinensis, and hybrids) and the native plains cottonwood (Populus deltoidessubsp. monilifera). In a shadehouse in Colorado (41°N), we grew plants collected along a latitudinal gradient in the...
Friedman, Jonathan M.; Roelle, James E.; Gaskin, John F.; Pepper, Alan E.; Manhart, James R.Transverse and longitudinal variation in woody riparian vegetation along a montane river
This study explores how the relationship between flow and riparian vegetation varies along a montane river. We mapped occurrence of woody riparian plant communities along 58 km of the San Miguel River in southwestern Colorado. We determined the recurrence interval of inundation for each plant community by combining step-backwater hydraulic...
Friedman, J.M.; Auble, G.T.; Andrews, E.D.; Kittel, G.; Madole, R.F.; Griffin, E.R.; Allred, Tyler M.Dating floodplain sediments using tree-ring response to burial
Floodplain sediments can be dated precisely based on the change in anatomy of tree rings upon burial. When a stem of tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima) or sandbar willow (Salix exigua) is buried, subsequent annual rings in the buried section resemble the rings of roots: rings become narrower, vessels within the rings become larger, and transitions...
Friedman, J.M.; Vincent, K.R.; Shafroth, P.B.Delayed effects of flood control on a flood-dependent riparian forest
The downstream effects of dams on riparian forests are strongly mediated by the character and magnitude of adjustment of the fluvial–geomorphic system. To examine the effects of flow regulation on sand-bed streams in eastern Colorado, we studied the riparian forest on three river segments, the dam-regulated South Fork Republican River downstream...
Katz, Gabrielle L.; Friedman, Jonathan M.; Beatty, Susan W.Dominance of non-native riparian trees in western USA
Concern about spread of non-native riparian trees in the western USA has led to Congressional proposals to accelerate control efforts. Debate over these proposals is frustrated by limited knowledge of non-native species distribution and abundance. We measured abundance of 44 riparian woody plants at 475 randomly selected stream gaging stations in...
Friedman, J.M.; Auble, G.T.; Shafroth, P.B.; Scott, M.L.; Merigliano, M.F.; Freehling, M.D.; Griffin, E.R.