Event Title
Predicting the riparian vegetation response to dam removal on the Elwha River floodplain
Description
The removal of Glines Canyon and Elwha dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park Washington State, scheduled for 2012, will be among the largest planned dam removals in the world. Their removal presents a range of challenges for the science of river restoration. One of the challenges will be to understand processes controlling revegetation and invasive species colonization upon sediments that are exposed by dam removal. It is not clear how the approximately 14 million cubic yards of sediment trapped behind these dams will be deposited in the floodplain, or how this sediment deposition will affect downstream riparian plant communities. To determine the trajectory of vegetation succession within the Elwha River Floodplain and the extent to which reservoir sediments will facilitate the colonization of invasive species, I propose an experiment which will simulate the deposition of lake sediments in downstream floodplains.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2008 8:00 AM
Subject - LCSH
Riparian ecology--Washington (State)--Elwha River; Dam retirement--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Elwha River; Stream ecology--Washington (State)--Elwha River
End Date
8-3-2008 5:00 PM
Session
Poster Session
Genre/Form
posters
Type
event
Geographic Coverage
Elwha River (Wash.)
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Keywords
dams, Elwha River, river restoration
Predicting the riparian vegetation response to dam removal on the Elwha River floodplain
The removal of Glines Canyon and Elwha dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park Washington State, scheduled for 2012, will be among the largest planned dam removals in the world. Their removal presents a range of challenges for the science of river restoration. One of the challenges will be to understand processes controlling revegetation and invasive species colonization upon sediments that are exposed by dam removal. It is not clear how the approximately 14 million cubic yards of sediment trapped behind these dams will be deposited in the floodplain, or how this sediment deposition will affect downstream riparian plant communities. To determine the trajectory of vegetation succession within the Elwha River Floodplain and the extent to which reservoir sediments will facilitate the colonization of invasive species, I propose an experiment which will simulate the deposition of lake sediments in downstream floodplains.