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Riparian areas within desert grassland ecosystems provide many useful functions and benefits on which we depend and which we enjoy. To unsure the availability of these ecosystems now and in the future, we must understand how they function and be willing to work in harmony with them.
Water in excess of the surrounding ecosystems in combination with soils, geology, and other site conditions determines the location and extent of riparian ecosystems. However, it is not enough to know that water is present in excess. We also need to know the quantity, quality, and source of the water. As we investigate these parameters, we will find that they are linked inseparably to parameters in the surrounding ecosystems. For example, water quantity can be linked to watershed area, water quality to non-point source pollution, soil erosion to excessive runoff and land misuse.
Continued investigation can show that riparian areas, in many instances, are the results of delicate balances between water and multiple environmental parameters.
Reference (exemplary) riparian systems should be noted during investigations. These areas can then serve as barometers by which other sites are judged and as examples of the potential of other sites with similar conditions. Monitoring of environmental parameters such as water quality and quantity and/or the health and abundance of dependent species can serve as indications of when these ecosystems are unbalanced. Simulation models can be used to predict the future of these systems based on our past and current understanding of them.
A logical approach to address the maintenance of our riparian grassland ecosystems and waters is to involve an informed public. The papers and comments which follow provide a foundation on which to build an understanding of the hydrologic concerns of grassland riparian areas and their adjoining ecosystems.
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USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, NM.
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