Mapping longitudinal stream connectivity in the North St. Vrain Creek watershed of Colorado

Wohl, Ellen; Rathburn, Sara; Chignell, Stephen; Garrett, Krista; Laurel, DeAnna; Livers, Bridget; Patton, Annette; Records, Rosemary; Richards, Mariah; Schook, Derek M.; Sutfin, Nicholas Alan; Wegener, Pamela

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.05.004

Title: Mapping longitudinal stream connectivity in the North St. Vrain Creek watershed of Colorado

Journal Article · Fri May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Geomorphology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.05.004· OSTI ID:1414148

Wohl, Ellen ^[1]; Rathburn, Sara ^[1]; Chignell, Stephen ^[1]; Garrett, Krista ^[1]; Laurel, DeAnna ^[1]; Livers, Bridget ^[1]; Patton, Annette ^[1]; Records, Rosemary ^[1]; Richards, Mariah ^[1]; Schook, Derek M. ^[1];

^[2]; Wegener, Pamela ^[1]

Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

We use reach-scale stream gradient as an indicator of longitudinal connectivity for water, sediment, and organic matter in a mountainous watershed in Colorado. Stream reaches with the highest gradient tend to have narrow valley bottoms with limited storage space and attenuation of downstream fluxes, whereas stream reaches with progressively lower gradients have progressively more storage and greater attenuation. We compared the distribution of stream gradient to stream-reach connectivity rankings that incorporated multiple potential control variables, including lithology, upland vegetation, hydroclimatology, road crossings, and flow diversions. We then assessed connectivity rankings using different weighting schemes against stream gradient and against field-based understanding of relative connectivity within the watershed. Here, we conclude that stream gradient, which is simple to map using publicly available data and digital elevation models, is the most robust indicator of relative longitudinal connectivity within the river network.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Universities/Institutions; USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1414148

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-17-22329; TRN: US1800671

Journal Information:: Geomorphology, Vol. 277, Issue C; ISSN 0169-555X

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 31 works

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