Effects of dam operation and land use on stream channel morphology and riparian vegetation

Dams are well known for influencing channel and vegetation dynamics downstream, but little work has focused on distinguishing effects of land use and channel responses to the impoundment. In this paper, we examined interacting effects of a dam and land use on downstream changes in channel morphology and riparian vegetation along an agricultural stream system in northern California. Measurements of planform channel morphology, vegetation area, and land use were mapped along multiple stream segments based on a chronological sequence of historical aerial photographs over a 34-yr period prior to operation of the dam in 1983 and over a 17-yr period after dam operation, and compared to a nearby, undammed reference stream. A two-factor analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine the effect of the dam on changes in bankfull area, stream length, and riparian vegetation area while accounting for the effect of land use and distance downstream. The dammed stream's bankfull area contracted 94% after dam operation. Prior to dam operation, bankfull area decreased when land use area increased, but not after operation of the dam. Stream length varied 64% less after dam operation as a consequence of less frequent episodic channel migration and entrenchment. The area of riparian vegetation was decreasing during the pre-dam period, but then increased 72% after operation of the dam. Across time periods, decreases in the area of riparian vegetation were also associated with increases in land use area in both the dammed and reference stream. After operation of the dam, reduced peak discharges and sediment reduction likely lead to channel incision and constrained channel migration, which allowed vegetation to increase 50% on less accessible, abandoned banks. Rating curve and hydraulic exponent analyses based on stream gauge measurements corroborate statistical analyses of the mapped changes. In conclusion, we found that operation of the dam and land use patterns together influenced spatial and temporal changes in channel morphology and riparian vegetation. Use of a nearby undammed reference stream in conjunction with multivariable analysis of spatially and temporally replicated observations provided an effective framework for unraveling interacting effects of dams and land use activities on stream channel and vegetation dynamics.