Side channels along the lower Cedar River, Washington in the context of a regional floodplain assessment
Presentation Abstract
Floodplains are ubiquitous features of lowland river systems in the Salish Sea basin that present management challenges because of their ecological and social value. Regional assessment can be used to develop normative standards of floodplain function and condition, but benefit from field-based investigation for validating results and quantifying their precision. A case study from the lower Cedar River in Washington compares field survey of side channels to LiDAR-derived mapping . These methods can complement each other for delineating side channels and evaluating functional differences in terms of connectivity and community composition. The combined methods provide a baseline for future monitoring but also insight into the regional potential for increasing off-channel habitat along floodplains that is critical for imperiled salmon.
Session Title
Linking Metrics to Climate Impact Pathways and Restoration Performance Monitoring across Puget Sound Floodplains and Estuaries
Conference Track
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Floodplain ecology--Washington (State)--Cedar River (King County); Stream ecology--Washington (State)--Cedar River (King County); Environmental monitoring--Washington (State)--Cedar River (King County)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Cedar River (King County, Wash.)--Environmental conditions
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Side channels along the lower Cedar River, Washington in the context of a regional floodplain assessment
2016SSEC
Floodplains are ubiquitous features of lowland river systems in the Salish Sea basin that present management challenges because of their ecological and social value. Regional assessment can be used to develop normative standards of floodplain function and condition, but benefit from field-based investigation for validating results and quantifying their precision. A case study from the lower Cedar River in Washington compares field survey of side channels to LiDAR-derived mapping . These methods can complement each other for delineating side channels and evaluating functional differences in terms of connectivity and community composition. The combined methods provide a baseline for future monitoring but also insight into the regional potential for increasing off-channel habitat along floodplains that is critical for imperiled salmon.
