The Desert Flows Assessment

Kelly Mott Lacroix Elia Tapia

Abraham Springer

American Water Resources Association Annual Meeting Orlando, Florida

November 17, 2016

• One of 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives in North America

• Federal partnership (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service led)

• Partners from federal, state, NGO and academic communities (in U.S. and Mexico) working together to ID and address science needs

• Focused on Springs, Streams, and Grasslands

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WHAT IS THE DESERT FLOWS DATABASE?

• Tabular database of available peer-reviewed articles and agency reports on the environmental flow needs and flow responses for flora and fauna in watersheds of the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico

• Spatial layer of reaches where flow needs/responses have been observed, modelled, or recommended

• Spatial layer of perennial streams for U.S. and Mexico within the DLCC

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GATHERING THE DATA

• Survey of land and water managers: • >50% of respondents are not using water needs data to manage

riparian or aquatic species and ecosystems • Most important information

• depth to groundwater, • surface water flows, and • legal or regulatory requirements for the species that are being considered

• Information needed • links between groundwater depths and surface water flows and • species abundance, age structure, and survivorship

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LOOKING FOR GAPS BY…

• Ecoregion • State • River • Species

• Methods used • Risks and stressors

identified • Human aspects studied • Study elements • Flora and fauna

relationships • Ecology and hydrology

relationships • Species studied

IDENTIFYING TRENDS IN…

EXTENT OF INVENTORY

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408 Studies 257 of flow needs and/or flow responses

48 of relationships between riparian vegetation and fauna

50 of human values

53 review of multiple studies/multiple study synthesis w/o “new” flow needs/responses information

Desert Rivers Studied

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STUDIES BY STATE

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State No. of Studies % of Studies

Arizona, US 224 46 California, US 14 3 Colorado, US 1 0 New Mexico, US 106 22 Nevada, US 21 4 Texas, US 39 8 Baja California, MX 15 3 Chihuahua, MX 22 4 Coahuila, MX 14 3 Nuevo León, MX 3 1 Sonora, MX 28 6 Tamaulipas, MX 2 0 Total 489 100

TYPES OF METHODS USED

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34 different methods used across 408 studies.

67% of methods used were “Qualitative”

Most commonly used method was describing the distribution of flora/fauna associated with water sources (37% of studies)

QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE STUDIES

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124

43

52

18

104

1

41

16

32

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A Z - N M M T N S / P L A T E A U

C H I H U A H U A N

M A D R E A N

M O J A V E

S O N O R A N

S I E R R A M A D R E

Qualitative Quantitative

QUALITY OF EVIDENCE FOR FLOW METHODS

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Category Quality of evidence

I Strong evidence obtained from at least one properly designed; randomized controlled trial of appropriate size.

II-1 Evidence from well-designed controlled trials without randomization.

II-2

Evidence from a comparison of differences between sites with and without (controls) a desired species or community.

II-3 Evidence obtained from multiple time series or from dramatic results in uncontrolled experiments.

III

Opinions of respected authorities based on qualitative field evidence, descriptive studies or reports of expert committees.

IV

Evidence inadequate owing to problems of methodology (e.g., sample size, length or comprehensiveness of monitoring) or conflicts of evidence.

CA Calibrated studies NCA Not calibrated

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RISKS AND STRESSORS

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FLOW NEEDS AND RESPONSES TO CHANGES IN FLOW

Biological Element

Natural Flow Regime Element

Ecology Relationship

Flow need • Depends upon • Does not depend on • Uses • Associated with

Flow response • Influenced • Enhanced • Harmed

Hydrology

• Magnitude • Frequency • Duration • Timing • Rate of

Change

• Abundance • Age structure • Survivorship • Reproduction

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FOR EXAMPLE

Cottonwood/Willow Forest abundance is associated with ~655 cfs every 10-25 years (community type found on fine-loamy over sandy cobbly soil)

Durkin, Paula, Esteban Muldavin, Mike Bradley, Stacey E. Carr, and others. 1996. “A Preliminary Riparian/wetland Vegetation Community Classification of the Upper and Middle Rio Grande Watersheds in New Mexico.” In Desired Future Conditions for Southwestern Riparian Ecosystems: Bringing Interests and Concerns Together, RM-GTR-272:44–57. Albuquerque, New Mexico: U.S. Forest Service.

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Study Subject Number of Studies Taxa

Populus 66

Veg. Tamarix 40 Prosopis 24

Salix 20 Gila 16

Fish

Hybognathus amarus 8 Rhinichthys osculus 8 Catostomus clarkii 7 Cyprinella lutrensis 6

Meda fulgida 6 Baccharis salicifolia 6

Veg. Platanus wrightii 6 Pluchea sericea 6

Castor canadensis 6 Mam. Empidonax traillii 6 Bird

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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• Significant areas with perennial streams, such as the Sierra Madre in Mexico and the White Mountains in the United States, that remain unexamined • There is a need for further systematic evaluation of perennial and

intermittent streams in the desert watersheds of the United States and Mexico and of flow needs and flow responses in the Sierra Madre in Mexico and the White Mountains in the United States.

• Only one-third of the 312 species or genera have been studied more than once and only 15 genera (or 5%) have been studied five or more time • Focus on working with the people who manage riparian and

aquatic systems to determine if data on a handful of species are sufficient, or if a broader array of species need to be examined

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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• The majority of flow studies are qualitative • Determine if qualitative studies provide sufficient information

for land and water managers to establish and secure environmental flows

• Climate change impacts are infrequently examined • Studies that explicitly examine how species will be impacted

by altered flow regimes due to changes in climate are needed

• Desert Flows Database is current through July 2015, but the long-term utility of this dataset is dependent upon periodic updates and maintenance • The Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative should

establish a protocol for periodic updates

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THANK YOU!

Get in touch with me…. Kelly Mott Lacroix

kmottlacroix@fs.fed.us

Learn more about the database, Water RAPIDS, or the WRRC… Elia Tapia

emtapia@email.arizona.edu Ashley Hullinger

hullinger@email.arizona.edu

wrrc.arizona.edu/waterrapids

Report and database available online at: wrrc.arizona.edu/desertflowsdata