TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating the geomorphic channel response to beaver dam analog installation using unoccupied aerial vehicles
AU - Davis, Julianne
AU - Lautz, Laura
AU - Kelleher, Christa
AU - Vidon, Philippe
AU - Russoniello, Christopher
AU - Pearce, Casey
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant no. DGE-1449617 and by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant no. DGE-1650116. The authors thank CTEMPs, funded by the National Science Foundation (EAR awards 1832109 and 1832170), for timely and effective provision of experimental design support, logistical support, and equipment for the project. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Fieldwork was also supported by grants from the Central New York Association of Professional Geologists and the Syracuse University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The authors thank TNC of Wyoming for kindly providing access to the field site. The authors thank Julio Beltran and Nathaniel Chien for their contributions to fieldwork. The authors also thank the editor, Ellen Wohl, and two anonymous reviewers whose feedback greatly improved this manuscript. The Red Canyon Creek watershed is located on the traditional lands of the Crow, Eastern Shoshone, and Cheyenne peoples.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant no. DGE‐1449617 and by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant no. DGE‐1650116. The authors thank CTEMPs, funded by the National Science Foundation (EAR awards 1832109 and 1832170), for timely and effective provision of experimental design support, logistical support, and equipment for the project. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Fieldwork was also supported by grants from the Central New York Association of Professional Geologists and the Syracuse University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The authors thank TNC of Wyoming for kindly providing access to the field site. The authors thank Julio Beltran and Nathaniel Chien for their contributions to fieldwork. The authors also thank the editor, Ellen Wohl, and two anonymous reviewers whose feedback greatly improved this manuscript. The Red Canyon Creek watershed is located on the traditional lands of the Crow, Eastern Shoshone, and Cheyenne peoples.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2021/9/30
Y1 - 2021/9/30
N2 - Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are a stream restoration technique that is rapidly gaining popularity in the western United States. These low-cost, stream-spanning structures, designed after natural beaver dams, are being installed to confer the ecologic, hydrologic, and geomorphic benefits of beaver dams in streams that are often too degraded to provide suitable beaver habitat. BDAs are intended to slow streamflow, reduce the erosive power of the stream, and promote aggradation, making them attractive restoration tools in incised channels. Despite increasing adoption of BDAs, few studies to date have monitored the impacts of BDAs on channel form. Here, we examine the geomorphic changes that occurred within the first year of restoration efforts in Wyoming using high-resolution visible light orthomosaics and elevation data collected with unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs). By leveraging the advantages of rapidly acquired images from UAV surveys with recent advancements in structure-from-motion photogrammetry, we constructed centimeter-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) of the restoration reach and an upstream control reach. Through DEM differencing, we identified areas of enhanced erosion and deposition near the BDAs, suggesting BDA installation initiated a unique geomorphic response in the channel. Both reaches were characterized by net erosion during the first year of restoration efforts. While erosion around the BDAs may seem counter to the long-term goal of BDA-induced aggradation, short-term net erosion is consistent with high precipitation during the study and with theoretical channel evolution models of beaver-related stream restoration that predict initial channel widening and erosion before net deposition. To better understand the impacts of BDAs on channel morphology and restoration efforts in the western United States, it is imperative that we consistently assess the effects of beaver-inspired restoration projects across a range of hydrologic and geomorphic settings and that we continue this monitoring in the future.
AB - Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are a stream restoration technique that is rapidly gaining popularity in the western United States. These low-cost, stream-spanning structures, designed after natural beaver dams, are being installed to confer the ecologic, hydrologic, and geomorphic benefits of beaver dams in streams that are often too degraded to provide suitable beaver habitat. BDAs are intended to slow streamflow, reduce the erosive power of the stream, and promote aggradation, making them attractive restoration tools in incised channels. Despite increasing adoption of BDAs, few studies to date have monitored the impacts of BDAs on channel form. Here, we examine the geomorphic changes that occurred within the first year of restoration efforts in Wyoming using high-resolution visible light orthomosaics and elevation data collected with unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs). By leveraging the advantages of rapidly acquired images from UAV surveys with recent advancements in structure-from-motion photogrammetry, we constructed centimeter-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) of the restoration reach and an upstream control reach. Through DEM differencing, we identified areas of enhanced erosion and deposition near the BDAs, suggesting BDA installation initiated a unique geomorphic response in the channel. Both reaches were characterized by net erosion during the first year of restoration efforts. While erosion around the BDAs may seem counter to the long-term goal of BDA-induced aggradation, short-term net erosion is consistent with high precipitation during the study and with theoretical channel evolution models of beaver-related stream restoration that predict initial channel widening and erosion before net deposition. To better understand the impacts of BDAs on channel morphology and restoration efforts in the western United States, it is imperative that we consistently assess the effects of beaver-inspired restoration projects across a range of hydrologic and geomorphic settings and that we continue this monitoring in the future.
KW - UAVs
KW - Wyoming
KW - deposition
KW - drones
KW - erosion
KW - stream restoration
KW - structure-from-motion
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110982840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85110982840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/esp.5180
DO - 10.1002/esp.5180
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85110982840
SN - 0197-9337
VL - 46
SP - 2349
EP - 2364
JO - Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
JF - Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
IS - 12
ER -