Report on Grant-Funded Research on Xeric-Adapted Trees

in Mesic Landscapes
Funded for isotope analysis
Researcher:
Kathy Whiteman, PhD Candidate
New Mexico State University
Biology Department
MSC-3AF
Foster Hall
Las Cruces, NM 88003
Phone: (575)535-4013

Woody plant encroachment is a well documented global phenomenon. In New Mexico

and throughout the western US, native juniper (Juniperus spp.; Cupressaceae) have
increased in density and distribution over the last 200 years, generally at the expense of
grassland and woodland ecosystems. Causes of encroachment are the subject of much
debate, but land use changes, reduction in fire frequency and climate are important
drivers explaining this expansion. Recently, drought-tolerant juniper species are thought
to have expanded their range to include river or riparian habitats, raising considerable
concern about ecosystem functioning and water balance. Historically, riparian areas were
defined by phreatophytic, groundwater dependent species including sycamores, willows
and cottonwoods - not drought tolerant juniper species (i.e. J. monosperma). Certainly,
some juniper species do occur in riparian habitats because they have relatively high
moisture requirements; alligator juniper (J. deppeana) and Rocky Mountain juniper (J.
scopulorum) are two examples. Yet, the juniper of interest, J. monosperma, is extremely
drought tolerant and not thought to be adapted to wet environments.
To further the understanding of J. monosperma distribution in riparian habitats, I
have been conducting research along the hydrologically unmodified portions of the Gila
and Mimbres Rivers in southwestern New Mexico. Unlike the highly regulated Rio
Grande, the Gila and Mimbres Rivers are free flowing, perennial and subject to seasonal
flooding. These Rivers also support an incredibly diverse array of flora and fauna; in fact
over ¼ of New Mexico’s threatened and endangered species call the Gila/Mimbres
headwaters home. Thanks to funding from the Native Plant Society and others, I have
been able to address several important questions related to juniper establishment,
distribution, and water-use patterns in these areas.
My first objective was to determine whether or not one-seed juniper
encroachment has occurred recently within the Gila and Mimbres River floodplains
(Figure 1). By using a variety of methods including tree ring counts and herbarium
records, I found that the majority of one-seed juniper were young, establishing after 1950.
It stands to reason that flood frequency might explain the lack of riparian establishment
before 1950. Regular flooding would presumably scour non-riparian juniper from
floodplain habitats. However, peak flows were relatively low between the early 1900s
and about 1970 and it would seem that if flooding were important in keeping juniper
from establishing in these habitats, there would be a substantial number of older trees
present, and they are not. After 1973, peak flow increases significantly with a scouring
flood occurring about every 3-5 years; river scouring would have been an important
mechanism for juniper removal after 1973, but not before. Floods may actually promote
juniper establishment via scarification of long lived seeds.
My second objective was to describe the pattern of J. monosperma distribution in
riparian habitats. I used field data and spatial statistics to demonstrate a distinct
clustering of juniper beneath the canopies of mature phreatophytic trees (cottonwood and
sycamore, > 2m diameter). Few junipers occurred beyond the cottonwood canopy,
suggesting that mature trees may actually facilitate juniper establishment in riparian
areas. Birds are the primary seed vector for juniper dispersal and several researchers have
suggested that birds, which void juniper seeds while they perch, are responsible for
juniper distribution beneath trees. In riparian settings, this can only be part of the story
though. Birds have been migrating through riparian areas for millennia, dispersing seeds
as they travel. If juniper have only arrived within the Gila and Mimbres Rivers within the
last 60 years, some other factor must be important in explaining their germination and
establishment. Changes in historic disturbance regimes, and/or climate are likely to be
important.
Finally, because J. monosperma is so drought tolerant, I wanted to try to shed
light on water use relationships between junipers and phreatophytes. This portion of my
research involved the use of the stable isotopes of water. Briefly, an isotope is one of two
or more atoms in an element that has the same number of protons, but a different number
of neutrons. Isotopes are abundant within ecosystems, and can be measured. By using
water isotopes, I found that throughout the growing season, sycamores only used
groundwater while cottonwoods used groundwater but were more variable in their
acquisition of water from other sources in the soil profile (deep and shallow soil
moisture). This is not unusual; many plants have dimorphic root systems which allow
them to access spatially and temporally variable resources.
Interestingly, riparian juniper used deep soil moisture throughout the growing
season, while in upland areas representative of typical juniper habitats, juniper used rain
or shallow soil moisture during the hot summer monsoon months. This variability in
source water acquisition indicates that juniper are capable of extracting water from all
available water sources and are not physiologically constrained to using only deep or
shallow water. It appears that when water is available, one-seed juniper uses it, but it is
not clear what, if anything, this might mean to riparian ecosystem stability.
If mature cottonwoods or sycamore initially facilitate juniper establishment in
riparian areas and this facilitation gives way to competition, during a wet year
cottonwoods should be able to access groundwater to maintain sufficient growth,
regardless of the presence of juniper. However, during a dry year, drought-tolerant
juniper could be competitively superior in riparian settings. A recent study demonstrated
high cottonwood mortality when salt cedar (Tamarix) cover was high, and as regional and
extreme droughts are expected to increase as global warming progresses, the presence of
many drought tolerant juniper in riparian systems could bode poorly for cottonwoods
and other native phreatophytes - juniper are more resistant to drought than the well
known invasive salt cedar.
Figure 1. Juniper and
cottonwoods. Young one-seed
juniper (J. monosperma)
established beneath cottonwoods
(P. deltoides ssp. wislizeni) in an
active riparian floodplain; average
annual depth to groundwater at
this site is < 3m. The majority of
junipers in this image are less than
30 years old. Mimbres River, New
Mexico; after leaf senescence.