Welcome to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program
Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Balancing Resource Use and Conservation

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Vegetation and Habitat

      Research and Monitoring - Habitat Monitoring

2007 vegetation plot for habitat monitoring at the Palo Verde Ecological Restoration site, near Blythe, CA - Reclamation2007 vegetation plot for habitat monitoring at the Colorado River Indian Tribes 'Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, near Parker, AZ - Reclamation2007 vegetation plot for habitat monitoring at Cibola Valley Conservation Area, near Blythe, CA - Reclamation

Habitat Monitoring

The Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) requires the creation of over 8,100 acres of various land cover types to provide habitat for targeted Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) covered species. The LCR MSCP planning area extends along the Colorado River from Lake Mead to the Southerly International Boundary with Mexico. Riparian communities identified in the HCP as covered species habitat include Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), willow (Salix gooddingii) and honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) land cover types.

Post development monitoring is necessary to assess the effectiveness of each habitat creation site including compliance monitoring, implementation monitoring, and response monitoring components that allow each habitat creation site to achieve target goals through an adaptive management process. Plant community composition is an important biotic component that must be evaluated at each habitat creation site throughout the 50 year LCR MSCP.

A pilot study was initiated in 2008 to evaluate vegetation characteristics at several habitat creation sites along the LCR. In 2009, the pilot year data and experimental design were evaluated and modified to increase the number of sampling units and reduce variability in the data. In 2010, a new vegetation monitoring protocol was implemented at four habitat creation sites (Beal Lake Conservation Area, Cibola NWR Unit #1, Cibola Valley Conservation Area, and Palo Verde Ecological Reserve). The objectives of this project are to:

  1. Determine the current density of target tree species occurring on LCR MSCP restoration sites,
  2. Assess change in density, species richness, vegetation structure, and frequency of native and non-native plant species occurring on LCR MSCP restoration sites,
  3. Assess the biotic and abiotic factors including, temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, distance to nearest irrigation inlet, distance to nearest open space ≥ 6 meters, original planting, soil chemistry, and soil moisture that may influence the density of target tree species and community composition/structure at LCR MSCP restoration sites.

For additional information on this project, please refer to Work Task F1: Habitat Monitoring (PDF). Find Technical Reports for this Work Task here.

Updated December 30, 2015