Natural Riparian Resources
Water
Landscape & Soil
Vegetation
Riparian/Wetland Vegetation Groups
Stabilizers
Intermediate
Colonizers
Invaders
Stabilizer group
Establish along streams, rivers,
lakes, ponds, springs, & seeps
Strong, fibrous, deep root system
Rhizomatous
Provide protection against water’s
energy
0 to 4 in
4 to 8 in
8 to 12 in
12 to 16 in
25
20
M
i 15
l
e 10
s
Root Length
Manning, M.E., et al, 1989
5
0
Nebraska
Sedge
Root Mass
(Weight)
Baltic Rush
Douglas
Sedge
Nevada
Bluegrass
Column of soil
12"X12"X16"
0 to 4 in
4 to 8 in
8 to 12 in
12 to 16 in
1.00
0.80
P
o
0.60
u
n
d 0.40
s
0.20
0.00
Nebraska
Sedge
Baltic
Rush
Douglas
Sedge
Nevada
Bluegrass
Column of soil
12"X12"X16"
Sedges (Carex) “Sedges have edges”
Leaves 3-ranked
Stem Triangular
Solid
Beaked Sedge
(Carex utriculata)
Formerly
(Carex rostrata)
Typical Habitat
Saturated Soils
Nebraska sedge
(Carex nebrascensis)
Emery Creek
Panicled bulrush (Scirpus microcarpus)
Rushes (Juncus) “Rushes are Round”
Solid and Round
or Compressed
Leaves Alternate or
2-Ranked
Baltic Rush or Wire Grass
(Juncus balticus)
Typical Growth Pattern
Baltic Rush
Roots
True
Grasses
Leaves 2-ranked
Stem Hollow
With
Nodes and Internodes
Fowl Manna Grass
(Glyceria striata)
Blue Joint Reedgrass
(Calamagrostis
canadensis)
Reeds
Canarygrass
(Phalaris arundinacea)
Little Wood River
Woody Species
(Willow, Alder, Birch, etc.)
Willow
Roots
Birch
Willow
Willow
Alder
Red Osier Dogwood
Intermediate
Plants that are considered colonizers

Establish on freshly deposited soil or
disturbed sites
Have intermediate root systems
Can result in proper functioning condition
Spike Rush
(Eleocharis
pauciflora)
Coyote (Sand Bar)
Willow (Salix exigua)
Teton River
Arroyo Willow
(Salix lasiolepis)
Cottonwood
(Populus spp.)
South Fork Snake
River
Cottonwood Roots
(“rebar”)
Colonizers
First to establish
freshly deposited soil
 shallow open water
 barren areas

Root systems
stoloniferous or rhizomatous
 shallow and relatively weak

Critical to recovery
Brook Grass
(Catabrosia aquatica)
Water-cress
(Rorippa nasturtiumaquaticum)
Short-awned Foxtail
(Alopecurus arundinaceus)
Invaders
Replaces stabilizers species as a result of
disturbance.
Shallow, less massive root systems
Less protective of streambanks against
water’s energy
Noxious weeds
Kentucky Bluegrass
(Poa prentensis)
East Fork Castle Creek
Redtop
(Agrostis gigentea)
Formerly A.
stolonifer and alba
Leafy Spurge
Purple Loosestrife
Standard Checklist (lotic)
Yes
No
N/A
VEGETATION
6) There is diverse age-class distribution of riparianwetland vegetation (recruitment for maintenance/recovery)
Rationale:
7) There is diverse composition of riparian-wetland
vegetation (for maintenance/recovery)
Rationale:
8) Species present indicate maintenance of riparian-wetland
soil moisture characteristics
Rationale:
9) Streambank vegetation is comprised of those plants or
plant communities that have root masses capable of
withstanding high streamflow events
Rationale:
10) Riparian-wetland plants exhibit high vigor
Rationale
11) Adequate vegetative cover present to protect banks and
dissipate energy during high flows
Rationale:
12) Plant communities are an adequate source of coarse
and/or large woody material (for maintenance/recovery)
Rationale:
6) There is diverse age-class distribution of
riparian-wetland vegetation (recruitment for
maintenance/recovery)
Purpose: To determine if the number of age classes that
provide recruitment to maintain an area or to allow an
area to recover are present. Multiple age-classes usually
indicate that riparian-wetland areas can recover or
maintain themselves.






Need to determine if reach has potential for woody
vegetation and if it is necessary for functionality
At least 2 age-classes should be present
One of the age-class should be young
Older age classes can persist in degraded conditions
This is presence/absence issue, not an amount
Closed canopy/late seral types may have limited ageclass diversity but still should have some
Wolf Creek Colorado – absolutely
requires willow to function
Are there two or more age classes of stabilizer
riparian/wetland species present within the riparian area?
Are there two or more age classes of stabilizer
riparian/wetland species present within the riparian area?
Sufficient Herbaceous “Age-Class”
Diversity – Nebraska sedge
Sufficient willow & herbaceous age-class
diversity – Yes
“Yes” Sufficient willow age-class diversity
– system “likely” needs willow &
herbaceous veg to recover
“No” Insufficient willow age-class diversity
(all mature) system needs willow to function
“Yes” Sufficient age-class diversity –
Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus
angustifolia)
7) There is diverse composition of riparian-wetland
vegetation (for maintenance/recovery)
Purpose: To determine if the existing species
composition is sufficient for maintenance or
recovery. Diverse composition of riparianwetland vegetation (relative to the site’s
potential), is necessary to provide stability to
the site.




Not all species a site is capable of producing need to
be present, but more than two are common and
required in most cases
This is a presence/absence question not amount
At least stabilizing species present (upland plants do
not count)
Addresses entire riparian area (not just
streambanks)
Are there at least two stabilizer riparian/wetland
species present within the riparian area?
Are there at least two stabilizer riparian/wetland
species present within the riparian area?
Are there at least two stabilizer riparian/wetland
species present within the riparian area? There are
two but dominated by one (CAAQ)
Castle Cr Utah – functioning well with
herbaceous species (2 species of sedge)
“Yes” system needs to recover & has
adequate R-W vegetation diversity to do it
“No” Species composition is JUBA and
POPR (with some other UPL grasses)
2003
Sand + Popr + Upland Grasses + JUBA
patches = Vulnerability to rapid channel
response
2005
8) Species present indicate
maintenance of riparian soil moisture
characteristics
Purpose: To determine if the water table level
is being maintained or raised as indicated by
the presence of riparian-wetland vegetation.
Maintenance of an existing water table or
restoration of a former one is vital to the
functionality of the system.


Flow regime will dictate the kind and extent of
riparian-wetland plants – need to understand site
potential
Obligate & Facultative Wetland plants must
dominate the reach in order for a yes answer to be
given
Indicator Categories
In: National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands (USFWS)
website -- http://www.nwi.fws.gov/bha/list88.html
Obligate Wetland (OBL): Occur
almost always in wetlands.
Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually
occur in wetlands but occasionally in
nonwetlands.
Facultative (FAC): Equally likely to
occur in wetlands or nonwetlands.
Indicator Categories
Facultative Upland (FACU): Usually
occur in nonwetlands.
Obligate Upland (UPL): Occur in
wetlands in another region, but occur
almost always in nonwetlands.
Coyote willow - (FACW)
Nebraska sedge - (OBL)
“Yes”
No, little or no OBL & FACW species present -streambank is dominated by FAC & UPL plants
“No” – Stream incised/incising – water table
being abandoned – OBL and FACW species
being replaced by facultative species
Yes, species present indicate maintenance
of riparian soil moisture characteristics at
new elevation
Yellow willow
Scirpus
9) Streambank vegetation is comprised of
those plants or plant communities that have
root masses capable of withstanding high
stream flow events
Purpose: To determine if the right kinds of plants or
plant communities (deep rooted) occur on the
streambank. Deep rooted plants are necessary for
long-term streambank stability.


Streambank is the part of the channel between the scour line
and the first terrace (usually “bankfull” elevation)
Not a quantity question per se



Presence or absence
Most obligate wetland or facultative wetland plants have root
masses that stabilize streambanks
Focus is on the streambank – are the streambanks comprised
of at least patches of recognizable plant groupings?
Streambank
Terrace Wall
Valley Wall
B an k fu ll
Streambank
B as e Flow
Winward, 2000
0 to 4 in
4 to 8 in
8 to 12 in
12 to 16 in
25
20
M
i 15
l
e 10
s
Root Length
Manning, M.E., et al, 1989
5
0
Nebraska
Sedge
Root Mass
(Weight)
Baltic Rush
Douglas
Sedge
Nevada
Bluegrass
Column of soil
12"X12"X16"
0 to 4 in
4 to 8 in
8 to 12 in
12 to 16 in
1.00
0.80
P
o
0.60
u
n
d 0.40
s
0.20
0.00
Nebraska
Sedge
Baltic
Rush
Douglas
Sedge
Nevada
Bluegrass
Column of soil
12"X12"X16"
Channel Stability Rating
(Vegetation)
Adequate Root
Strength
Coyote Willow
Anchored Rock
Baltic Rush
Bluegrass
Beaked Sedge
Willow-Bluegrass
Willow-Sedge
Bare Ground
0
2
4
6
Relative Stability Class
8
10
Winward 2000
Appendix B
No, streambank is comprised of shallow
rooted FAC & UPL species
Yes, streambank is comprised of stabilizers
(Beaked sedge & Nebraska sedge)
No, although streambank is dominated by
an obligate species (spikerush) but it is not
a deep rooted stabilizer
Streambank comprised of stabilizers?
Yes
10) Riparian-wetland plants exhibit
high vigor
Purpose: To determine if riparianwetland plants are healthy and robust.
Item is important but difficult to answer

Look for obvious indicators of plant vigor
(plant growth form, leaf color, plant size,
etc.)
Plant Vigor-Leaves
and Roots
Caring for the Green Zone, Riparian Areas and
Grazing Management
Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Project,
“Cows and Fish Project”
Low vigor of
Nebraska Sedge
Are the herbaceous stabilizer (late seral) species obvious individual plants?
Are there new stabilizing herbaceous plants around the perimeter of the
mat?
Yes, obviously high vigor (herbaceous &
woody)
Low Plant Vigor (Arizona willow)
11) Adequate riparian-wetland vegetative
cover present to protect banks and
dissipate energy during high flows
Purpose: To determine if there is an
adequate amount of riparian-wetland
vegetation cover. It is crucial for the
banks to have enough R-W vegetation
to be able to function properly.

This item deals with amount while items 610 deal with other aspects of vegetation
Key to Greenline Riparian Capability Groups (Winword 2000)
Percent gradient and substrate classes modified from Rosgen (1996).
USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-47. 2000
Percent Stream Gradient
2.0-4.0%
<2.0%
0.5-2.0%
<0.5%
GR, CB
(or)
Consol.
Sl, C, S
Nonconsolidated
Sl, C, S
Group
III
(90+ %)
GR, CB
(or)
Consol.
Sl, C, S
Group
IV
>4.0%
4.0-10.0%
GR, CB
(or)
Consol.
Sl, C, S
Nonconsolidated
Sl, C, S
Group
V
Group
VI
Group
X
(85+ %)
(80+ %)
(98+ %)
BD, Bedrock
(85+ %)
Nonconsolidated
Sl, C, S
CB
(or)
Consol.
Sl, C, S
Group
VII
(Uncommon)
Group
VIII
Group
IX
(80+ %)
(85+ %)
(95+ %)
Nonconsolidated
Sl, C, S
Group
I
Group
II
(98+ %)
(90+ %)
Values in parentheses refer to percent of the
greenline that should be represented
by late seral community types or
anchored rocks/logs when riparian
areas fitting each capability group are
functioning properly.
0.5-2.0%
CB, BD
Abbreviations Used:
Sl ......................Silt ...............................<0.02 mm
C ......................Clay .............................0.02-0.05 mm
S ......................Sand ...........................0.05-2.0 mm
GR ...................Gravel .........................0.2-76 mm ....................08-3 in
CB ...................Cobble .......................76-250 mm ..................3-9.8 in
BD ...................Boulder ......................>250 mm ......................>9.8 in
Consol. ...........Consolidated Material
Non-Consol. ..Non-Consolidated Material
(Co Consolidated material refers to situations where at least one major soil horizon with within the
root rooting zone consists of strongly compacted, cohesive, or Ce cemented particles.
No, inadequate amount of riparian-wetland
vegetation cover
No, inadequate amount of riparian-wetland
vegetation cover
Adequate amount of riparian-wetland
vegetation cover “No”
Yes, adequate amount of riparian-wetland
vegetation cover
Adequate amount of R-W veg cover ? No –
right bank is dominated by kentucky
bluegrass
Presence of riparian-wetland species
(item 8)? Yes (CANE)
Streambanks comprised of stabilizing
plants (item 9)? Yes
12) Plant communities are an adequate
source of coarse and/or large woody
material (for maintenance/recovery)
Purpose: To determine if streamside
trees are present in adequate amounts
to be incorporated into the channel to
aid in energy dissipation.
First must determine if large wood is
necessary for functionality (many systems
in the intermountain west do not require
large wood for functionality)
 Sufficiently large to act as a hydrologic
modifier

Coarse/large wood is present and assisting
in stream function but is it necessary for
physical function?
Coarse/large wood is present and assisting in stream
function but is it necessary for physical function?
Hanna Creek, Black Hills
Natural Riparian Resources
Water
Landscape/Soil
Vegetation