Wood Load - Glaciated Unconfined Channels
(Information compiled by Dan Cadol)
The riparian and near-stream vegetation in glaciated unconfined reaches is dominated by willows, and depending on elevation, cottonwood. Click here to go to riparian vegetation page. Most of the large wood in this process domain is delivered from upstream. Wood from deciduous species is much less resistant to decay than wood from conifers, so it tends to be transient in the system (Hyatt & Naiman, 2001). The low gradient and low stream power in these reaches lead to a low wood transport capacity.
Beavers - Glaciated Unconfined Channels
Beaver activity was likely very abundant in this process domain prior to European American trapping. The low gradients and high abundance of willow create ideal habitat for beaver (Butler, 1995). In some areas, beaver populations have recovered. For example, in Rocky Mountain National Park, beaver populations rose dramatically through the 1940’s (Westbrook, 2005). However, beaver populations in the park then began to decline from this peak as elk populations grew, increasing competition for food resources, especially willow. It is unclear if the peak beaver population was similar to the pre-trapping abundance, or if it was artificially high because of the lower elk abundance caused by hunting. Thus the question of pre-trapping beaver abundance is tied to the question of elk populations prior to wolf removal and the mutual dependence of beaver and elk on the willow population.
