image: Pictured is a riparian forest where the groundwater is too deep for saplings to replace mature trees after they die. view more
Credit: Image credit: Melissa M. Rohde.
Combining satellite imagery with data on groundwater elevation and streamflow alteration, researchers assessed water stress for riparian forests across California from 2015 to 2020 and found that current anthropogenic water-use practices endanger the long-term survival of riparian ecosystems, suggesting the need for changes in water management across California, according to the authors.
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Article #20-26453: "Groundwater dependence of riparian woodlands and the disrupting effect of anthropogenically altered streamflow," by Melissa M. Rohde, John C. Stella, Dar A. Roberts, and Michael Bliss Singer.
MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa M. Rohde, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY; tel: 650-468-1901; email: <mmrohde@esf.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences