River Ecosystem Restoration Can Mean Just Add Water

[jeffreyi]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/river-ecosystem-restoration-can-mean-just-add-water/

[Kali]

1. yeah, what a shock

water in the desert = exploding life

who would think that?

I am involved with the next river east, the San Pedro. love how folks think they have "saved" the river by limiting heavy continuous livestock grazing. well duh, it only takes a year or two for overgrazed wet areas to recover. now what to do with the overgrowth? believe it or not it is harder to fix that than "overgrazing" and all anybody can think of is fire. gee, no other tools available?

[jeffreyi]

2. When I worked for a certain USDA agency (I am a retiree)...

The most no brainer (and cost effective) thing to do for near instant restoration gratification was to simply get the cows off the riparian area. As long as there was still water, voila. Graminoids, hardwoods, birds, small and large mammals, stream morphology, insects, fish, amphibians come roaring back, especially if the remnants are still there. And the increasing vegetation and organic matter would increase the sponge effect, meaning more water for a longer part of the year, leading to positive feedbacks, more productivity. Very satisfying. That being said, I also saw some amazing restoration things happen with intensely applied targeted grazing (no more than a few days), with ample recovery time, at least a year, built in after that disturbance. The basic mantra: feed the soil, keep the water on the land longer. However, have you seen what's happening with vapor pressure deficits? Geeze. Anything will burn now. The climate now here in the west is like a giant hair dryer turned on high. I cannot take credit for that analogy, saw it online somewhere, but I think it conveys the situation pretty well.