This paper sought to give some insight to the development, maintenance, and the role of riparian vegetation in the riverine landscape. Tabacchi et al. emphasize a riparian vegetation approach wherein surface and groundwater controls are considered, in context of stream ecosystem ecology from local to catchment spatial scales. Vegetation dynamics, within the riparian corridor, are clearly influenced by hydrological disturbance regimes. In turn, they suggest that vegetation productivity and diversity may widely influence riverine biogeochemical processes, especially as related to the consequences of changing redox conditions occurring from upstream to downstream. Surface and groundwater linkages are the predominant controls of landscape connectivity within riparian systems. The consequences of interactions between different communities (e.g., animals and plants, micro-organisms and plants) on biogeochemical processes are notably in need of research, especially with respect to control of landscape features.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.