RIPARIAN VEGETATION VARIABILITY ALONG PERENNIAL STREAMS IN CENTRAL ARIZONA

Abstract

The spatial distribution of riparian vegetation is closely allied to abiotic processes along streams and rivers. There are dynamic relations between physical process, fluvial forms, and biotic structures. Explanation of these associations is critical to scientific understanding and practical management of riverine environments. Therefore, this study determines what geophysical parameters lead to the spatial patterns found in species of warm interior and cold montane riparian deciduous forests in central Arizona. Five riparian vegetation populations were examined along five perennial streams in the transition zone of central Arizona. The populations included Populus angustifolia (narrowleaf cottonwood), two commonly associated species of willow Salix lasiandra (western black willow) and Salix lasiolepis (arroyo willow), Alnus oblongifolia (Arizona alder), and Platanus wrightii (Arizona sycamore). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) with a forward selection was used to assess quantitatively the role of stream power in riparian vegetation patterns. Results indicated 40% of the spatial variability in the riparian populations was explained by channel morphology and several other variables related to changing channel geometry. Although floods are linked to the formation of geomorphic surfaces and the regeneration of riparian vegetation, changing fluvial landforms and channel patterns were closely related to the riparian species patterns in central Arizona. [Key words: Mogollon Rim, channel morphology, multivariate statistics.]