Fluvial Geomorphic History of the Virgin River in Response to Tamarisk Colonization and Removal
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Date
2022-02-18
Authors
Whitman, Dakota
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Perennial rivers in the southwestern United States are rare sources of consistent water supply and biodiversity in otherwise water-stressed environments. Tamarisk, an invasive shrubby tree, has colonized vast portions of floodplains on these river systems, leading to channel incision, bank stabilization, and reductions in water supply and biodiversity. Much research has been done on the adverse geomorphic effects of Tamarisk colonization; however, little research has been done on the effects of post-removal. The Virgin River in southwestern Utah, provides a case study to measure channel reaction to Tamarisk colonization and removal. Historic aerial imagery is obtained from 1953 to 2017 and georectified to imagery from the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP). Vegetation communities, the active channel, the channel centerline, and width measurements were digitized for each year of imagery. This research provides a way to test multiple hypotheses of how the channel may react over time to removal.
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Keywords
fluvial geomorphology, geomorphology, remote sensing, tamarisk