The Desert Flows Assessment
Kelly Mott Lacroix Elia Tapia
Abraham Springer
American Water Resources Association Annual Meeting Orlando, Florida
November 17, 2016
• One of 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives in North America
• Federal partnership (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service led)
• Partners from federal, state, NGO and academic communities (in U.S. and Mexico) working together to ID and address science needs
• Focused on Springs, Streams, and Grasslands
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WHAT IS THE DESERT FLOWS DATABASE?
• Tabular database of available peer-reviewed articles and agency reports on the environmental flow needs and flow responses for flora and fauna in watersheds of the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico
• Spatial layer of reaches where flow needs/responses have been observed, modelled, or recommended
• Spatial layer of perennial streams for U.S. and Mexico within the DLCC
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GATHERING THE DATA
• Survey of land and water managers: • >50% of respondents are not using water needs data to manage
riparian or aquatic species and ecosystems • Most important information
• depth to groundwater, • surface water flows, and • legal or regulatory requirements for the species that are being considered
• Information needed • links between groundwater depths and surface water flows and • species abundance, age structure, and survivorship
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LOOKING FOR GAPS BY…
• Ecoregion • State • River • Species
• Methods used • Risks and stressors
identified • Human aspects studied • Study elements • Flora and fauna
relationships • Ecology and hydrology
relationships • Species studied
IDENTIFYING TRENDS IN…
EXTENT OF INVENTORY
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408 Studies 257 of flow needs and/or flow responses
48 of relationships between riparian vegetation and fauna
50 of human values
53 review of multiple studies/multiple study synthesis w/o “new” flow needs/responses information
Desert Rivers Studied
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STUDIES BY STATE
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State No. of Studies % of Studies
Arizona, US 224 46 California, US 14 3 Colorado, US 1 0 New Mexico, US 106 22 Nevada, US 21 4 Texas, US 39 8 Baja California, MX 15 3 Chihuahua, MX 22 4 Coahuila, MX 14 3 Nuevo León, MX 3 1 Sonora, MX 28 6 Tamaulipas, MX 2 0 Total 489 100
TYPES OF METHODS USED
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34 different methods used across 408 studies.
67% of methods used were “Qualitative”
Most commonly used method was describing the distribution of flora/fauna associated with water sources (37% of studies)
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE STUDIES
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124
43
52
18
104
1
41
16
32
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53
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A Z - N M M T N S / P L A T E A U
C H I H U A H U A N
M A D R E A N
M O J A V E
S O N O R A N
S I E R R A M A D R E
Qualitative Quantitative
QUALITY OF EVIDENCE FOR FLOW METHODS
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Category Quality of evidence
I Strong evidence obtained from at least one properly designed; randomized controlled trial of appropriate size.
II-1 Evidence from well-designed controlled trials without randomization.
II-2
Evidence from a comparison of differences between sites with and without (controls) a desired species or community.
II-3 Evidence obtained from multiple time series or from dramatic results in uncontrolled experiments.
III
Opinions of respected authorities based on qualitative field evidence, descriptive studies or reports of expert committees.
IV
Evidence inadequate owing to problems of methodology (e.g., sample size, length or comprehensiveness of monitoring) or conflicts of evidence.
CA Calibrated studies NCA Not calibrated
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RISKS AND STRESSORS
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FLOW NEEDS AND RESPONSES TO CHANGES IN FLOW
Biological Element
Natural Flow Regime Element
Ecology Relationship
Flow need • Depends upon • Does not depend on • Uses • Associated with
Flow response • Influenced • Enhanced • Harmed
Hydrology
• Magnitude • Frequency • Duration • Timing • Rate of
Change
• Abundance • Age structure • Survivorship • Reproduction
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FOR EXAMPLE
Cottonwood/Willow Forest abundance is associated with ~655 cfs every 10-25 years (community type found on fine-loamy over sandy cobbly soil)
Durkin, Paula, Esteban Muldavin, Mike Bradley, Stacey E. Carr, and others. 1996. “A Preliminary Riparian/wetland Vegetation Community Classification of the Upper and Middle Rio Grande Watersheds in New Mexico.” In Desired Future Conditions for Southwestern Riparian Ecosystems: Bringing Interests and Concerns Together, RM-GTR-272:44–57. Albuquerque, New Mexico: U.S. Forest Service.
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Study Subject Number of Studies Taxa
Populus 66
Veg. Tamarix 40 Prosopis 24
Salix 20 Gila 16
Fish
Hybognathus amarus 8 Rhinichthys osculus 8 Catostomus clarkii 7 Cyprinella lutrensis 6
Meda fulgida 6 Baccharis salicifolia 6
Veg. Platanus wrightii 6 Pluchea sericea 6
Castor canadensis 6 Mam. Empidonax traillii 6 Bird
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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• Significant areas with perennial streams, such as the Sierra Madre in Mexico and the White Mountains in the United States, that remain unexamined • There is a need for further systematic evaluation of perennial and
intermittent streams in the desert watersheds of the United States and Mexico and of flow needs and flow responses in the Sierra Madre in Mexico and the White Mountains in the United States.
• Only one-third of the 312 species or genera have been studied more than once and only 15 genera (or 5%) have been studied five or more time • Focus on working with the people who manage riparian and
aquatic systems to determine if data on a handful of species are sufficient, or if a broader array of species need to be examined
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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• The majority of flow studies are qualitative • Determine if qualitative studies provide sufficient information
for land and water managers to establish and secure environmental flows
• Climate change impacts are infrequently examined • Studies that explicitly examine how species will be impacted
by altered flow regimes due to changes in climate are needed
• Desert Flows Database is current through July 2015, but the long-term utility of this dataset is dependent upon periodic updates and maintenance • The Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative should
establish a protocol for periodic updates
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THANK YOU!
Get in touch with me…. Kelly Mott Lacroix
Learn more about the database, Water RAPIDS, or the WRRC… Elia Tapia
[email protected] Ashley Hullinger
wrrc.arizona.edu/waterrapids
Report and database available online at: wrrc.arizona.edu/desertflowsdata