9414767 Valett Flow regulation for the purposes of power generation, recreation and navigation has resulted in the engineered separation of rivers, floodplains and associated alluvial aquifers. the result has been a marked decrease in native riparian vegetation and increased accumulations of organic material on the forest floor. there is considerable evidence that overland flooding and associated scouring of floodplain sediments are necessary components for the successful recruitment of native riparian vegetation, but less is known about the effects of floods on the ground water of riparian zones and the types of interactions and processes that occur in the interstitial environment during floods. This proposal will assess the use of "manipulative flooding" as a restoration tool aimed at reestablishing historical conditions and processes in the riparian forest, or bosque, along the Rio Grande at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife refuge, New Mexico. %%% Controlled flooding of 20 has plots of the bosque will provide opportunities to investigate groundwater responses and the rates of respiration and nitrogen transformation in the temporarily saturated rooting zone and on the forest floor. Additionally, we will investigate the effects of flooding of the carbon and nitrogen content of riparian vegetation. Funds requested in this proposal will support metabolic and biogeochemical studies of the initial flooding of the riparian zone following 30 years of flow regulation.
