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WATER YIELD IMPROVEMENT POTENTIAL BY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT ON WESTERN RANGELANDS 1
Author(s) -
Hibbert Alden R.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1983.tb04594.x
Subject(s) - rangeland , environmental science , woodland , surface runoff , vegetation (pathology) , hydrology (agriculture) , infiltration (hvac) , precipitation , water use , juniper , agroforestry , agronomy , forestry , ecology , geography , geology , medicine , geotechnical engineering , pathology , meteorology , biology
Increasing water for onsite and offsite uses can be a viable objective for management of certain western rangelands. One approach utilizes water harvesting techniques to increase surface runoff by preventing or slowing infiltration of rain. An attractive alternative, where applicable, is to replace vegetation that uses much water with plants that use less so that more water percolates through the soil to streams and ground water. Most sites are too dry to increase water yield in this way; probably less than 1 percent of the western rangelands can be managed for this purpose. However, where annual precipitation exceeds about 450 mm (18 inches) and deep‐rooted shrubs can be replaced by shallow‐rooted grasses, there is potential to increase streamflows and to improve forage for livestock. Little or no increase can be expected by eradication of low‐density brush and pinyon‐juniper woodlands. Potentials for improving water yield are reviewed and summarized by vegetation types.