It is widely recognized that riparian health is inherently linked to watershed condition and the health of the adjacent ecological sites. �Land management has the potential to impact riparian stability as different uses may alter the ecological function of ecological sites. �To assess the relationship between the health of upland ecological sites and stream stability (stream type and risk of stream bank erosion), thirty-five reaches across five watersheds were sampled in Bowman County, ND. �The major land use in the study area is grassland as livestock production is the primary use. The stream types were classified using Rosgen�s classification of natural rivers which separates stream channels based on their dimensions. �The Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI) was used to determine stream bank�s risk of erosion. �Bank Height Ratio (BHR) was used to assess the risk of stream bank failure. The 17 Indicators of Rangeland Health (IRH) protocol was used to assess the ecological sites associated with each reach. �IRH evaluates the ecological functions of an ecological site by using 17 indicators to measure departure of soil and site stability, hydrologic function, and biotic integrity from the reference state. �A Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling ordination was performed to analyze the data. �Analysis indicated that IRH had the strongest relationship with BEHI and BHR. �Streams with greater instability and high risk of erosion, F and G stream and those with a high BEHI ratings, were correlated with soils with increased compaction and decreased aggregate stability. �Reaches with greater stability, E and C streams with low BEHI and BHR ratings, were associated with increased amounts of litter and minimal IRH departure. �Based on these findings IRH can be useful tool to determine if a stream reach is at risk of transiting to an unstable state.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.