Viewpoint: Range Site/Ecological Site Information Requirements for Classification of Riverine Riparian Ecosystems

Abstract

Few ecological sites have been described sufficiently to interpret the specific functions and processes unique to riverine riparian areas. The utility of using ecological concepts for riparian classification has also been debated due to the dynamic nature of the systems and the paucity of unaltered vegetation. We evaluated riparian sites associated with streams or rivers in 9 western states to determine the feasibility of using ecological concepts in describing and evaluating riverine riparian ecosystems. Associated water features must be described in riparian descriptions to establish relationships and understand process pathways. A concept of site progression is proposed to differentiate between secondary succession associated with vegetation changes within a given physical environment and physical state changes that lead to a new or different potential natural plant community (i.e., a change in ecological and secondary succession sequences). We have concluded that ecological classification and inventory techniques utilized on uplands can be used on riparian areas with some enhancements to maintain consistency in evaluations at a management unit level.