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Browsing by Author "Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, advisor"

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    A comparative analysis of wetland and riparian vegetation on Bureau of Land Management land in the western US
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Binck, Elin, author; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, advisor; Reynolds, Lindsay, committee member; Smith, Melinda, committee member; Havrilla, Caroline, committee member
    In 2011, the BLM deployed its first of three Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) programs as a large-scale, standardized ecological monitoring effort across the agency's land. The first two programs, known as Terrestrial AIM and Lotic AIM, were designed to sample all terrestrial and river ecosystems throughout the landscape. In 2019, the agency piloted its third AIM program, specifically targeting riparian areas and wetlands. This study addressed two main questions: 1) How do wetland and riparian areas sampled with the Terrestrial AIM program compare to those sampled with the Riparian and Wetland (R&W) AIM program, and 2) What are the drivers of plant community composition of the wetlands and riparian areas sampled on BLM land? I developed a set of criteria to identify sites sampled with Terrestrial AIM that had characteristics of wetlands or riparian areas. I then compared vegetation cover, floristic quality metrics, and species composition using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to those sites sampled with R&W AIM. R&W AIM sites had much greater foliar cover, hydrophytic species cover, and perennial cover, but Terrestrial sites had slightly higher floristic metric values. I similarly analyzed the R&W sites on their own, incorporating wetland-specific data that is collected with the new program. I found that sites that met the criteria to be classified as wetlands in the Terrestrial data were a distinct population from the sites sampled with R&W AIM. The main drivers of plant community composition among sites sampled with R&W AIM were elevation and the distribution of surface water, but impacts of grazing were also apparent. All sites assessed by both AIM programs had floristic quality metrics characteristic of highly impacted wetland systems. This study indicates the value of the new R&W AIM program for its ability to perform wetland-specific ecological monitoring, provide valuable data on the health of wetlands, and provide baseline condition that can help guide land management practices into the future.
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    Novel water-use strategies of Colorado wetland plants: implications for wetland water loss
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Wright, Anna, author; Ocheltree, Troy, advisor; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, advisor; von Fischer, Joe, committee member
    In the arid west, there is a tension between wetland restoration and water rights. Wetlands, relied upon by humans and wildlife alike, also contribute significantly to evapotranspiration (ET) due to higher water tables and dense vegetation. It is therefore critical to understand how much water wetlands lose to evaporation and transpiration, and what affects wetland water loss. This paper quantifies the transpiration of five abundant wetland species and investigates physiological mechanisms that drive transpiration rates for each species. The focal species transpire significantly different amounts at the leaf-level and when scaled to ground area. Stomatal response to environmental stimuli differed from upland stomatal responses, which suggests that wetland plants prioritize carbon uptake over hydraulic safety and do not align with current paradigms for stomatal responses to vapor pressure deficit, leaf water potential, or turgor loss point. Understanding species' stomatal responses to extreme environmental conditions is key to managing this rare and critical ecosystem as the climate changes.
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    Willow growth response to altered disturbance regimes in Rocky Mountain National Park: herbivory, water levels, and hay production
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Contento, Taryn Elizabeth, author; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, advisor; Schultz, Courtney, committee member; Wohl, Ellen, committee member
    Disturbances are essential to the perpetuation of functioning riparian areas. However, with westward expansion, riparian areas, with access to water, fertile soils, and abundant vegetation, have been the target of heavy human use and alteration. Disturbance regimes in riparian areas have been modified, and, as a result, riparian systems and their associated vegetation have been in decline across the United States. The west side of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in the Kawuneeche Valley has a history of human use and landscape level modification ranging from altered elk and moose populations, hydrological modification from trans basin diversions, and a history of vegetation removal from hay production. This study sampled willow growth (height, cover, and annual growth) response to these overlapping altered disturbances in the Kawuneeche Valley. We found that the largest influence on willow growth was a high level of herbivory that could be attenuated by exclosures. Depth to water level did not significantly relate to willow growth, but a possible -100 cm water level threshold could explain conditions below which water levels would influence growth. Lastly, hay production decreased the overall presence of willows and therefore cover. Future research is needed to explain mechanisms behind these trends but the high levels of browse and decreased overall vigor of willows in the Kawuneeche Valley indicate increased management needs.