TY - JOUR
T1 - An ecohydrological stream type classification of intermittent and ephemeral streams in the southwestern United States
AU - Levick, Lainie
AU - Hammer, Samantha
AU - Lyon, Russell
AU - Murray, Joel
AU - Birtwistle, Amy
AU - Guertin, Phillip
AU - Goodrich, David
AU - Bledsoe, Brian
AU - Laituri, Melinda
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this research was provided by the Department of Defense, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) , under the Resource Conservation and Climate Change program area, Project RC-1727 . The USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center , Tucson, AZ, provided extensive in-kind support.
Funding Information:
We greatly appreciated the opportunity to conduct this research, and thank John Hall, former Program Manager of the Department of Defense, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) , Resource Conservation and Climate Change program area , his staff, and the staff at HydroGeoLogic for their funding, support, and guidance. We also acknowledge and thank the USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center , Tucson, AZ, for providing extensive in-kind support, including field vehicles for our many exciting excursions onto the installations. We thank the personnel at the Department of Public Works - Environmental and the Range Operations personnel at Fort Bliss, Fort Huachuca, Fort Irwin and Yuma Proving Ground for their logistical and technical support, and for granting us access to their installations.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/8
Y1 - 2018/8
N2 - An ecohydrological stream type classification was developed to improve decision making for ephemeral and intermittent streams at four military reservations in the southwestern U.S.: Fort Irwin, Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), Fort Huachuca, and Fort Bliss. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify stream reaches by ecohydrologic properties (vegetation, hydrologic, and geomorphic attributes derived using geographic information system analyses), and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) were used to determine thresholds for each variable for a predictive model. Final stream types were determined from statistical analyses, cluster validity tests, examination of mapped clusters, and site knowledge. Climate regime and geomorphology were most important for YPG and Fort Irwin where annual precipitation is low. Vegetation variables were important at Fort Bliss and hydrologic variables were important at Fort Huachuca where higher annual precipitation and a bimodal rainfall pattern occur. The classification results and input variables are spatially linked to specific stream reaches, allowing managers to identify locations with similar attributes to support management actions. These methods enable the development of a stream type classification in gauged or ungauged watersheds and for areas where intensive field data collection is not feasible.
AB - An ecohydrological stream type classification was developed to improve decision making for ephemeral and intermittent streams at four military reservations in the southwestern U.S.: Fort Irwin, Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), Fort Huachuca, and Fort Bliss. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify stream reaches by ecohydrologic properties (vegetation, hydrologic, and geomorphic attributes derived using geographic information system analyses), and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) were used to determine thresholds for each variable for a predictive model. Final stream types were determined from statistical analyses, cluster validity tests, examination of mapped clusters, and site knowledge. Climate regime and geomorphology were most important for YPG and Fort Irwin where annual precipitation is low. Vegetation variables were important at Fort Bliss and hydrologic variables were important at Fort Huachuca where higher annual precipitation and a bimodal rainfall pattern occur. The classification results and input variables are spatially linked to specific stream reaches, allowing managers to identify locations with similar attributes to support management actions. These methods enable the development of a stream type classification in gauged or ungauged watersheds and for areas where intensive field data collection is not feasible.
KW - Classification trees
KW - Cluster analysis
KW - Military
KW - Semi-arid land
KW - Stream classification
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.01.006
DO - 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.01.006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85042938936
VL - 155
SP - 16
EP - 35
JO - Journal of Arid Environments
JF - Journal of Arid Environments
SN - 0140-1963
ER -