Riparian Vegetation and Environmental Variables, Colorado River, 2014Data

These data consist of species relative cover, percent cover of dead plant material, percent cover of soil and rock, and a variety of broad - and local- scale environmental variables. These data relate to sample sites along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon between Lees Ferry and river mile 245. The plant and ground cover data included here were originally collected as a part of annual vegetation monitoring by Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. Environmental variables were either recorded in the field or obtained through other data sources. Species and ground cover data were collected in August and September 2014 at 96 randomly selected sample sites that were approximately evenly distributed along the river corridor. The sample sites were distributed among three geomorphic features: channel margins (44), debris fans (28), and sandbars (24). These data were compiled to study riparian vegetation patterns along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon and relate those vegetation patterns to environmental variables. In particular, the objectives of this study were to 1) determine if the riparian plant assemblages along the Colorado River change longitudinally and, if so, 2) describe how those assemblages differ in floristic composition, richness, and functional diversity, 3) determine if those assemblages are more likely explained by landscape or local factors, and 4) discuss the management and ecological implications of these results. These data are associated with the journal manuscript: Palmquist, E., Ralston, B.E., Merritt, D.M., and Shafroth, P.B., 2017, Landscape-scale processes influence riparian plant composition along a regulated river: Journal of Arid Environments, v. (online), doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.10.001.