Deer Creek Riparian Restoration Ecological Monitoring

Study Extent

Data were collected in 2015 through 2019. In 2015 a botanical survey was conducted to record and voucher plant species occurring in the area of interest for restoration. Twelve monitoring sites were established in 2016 and six were added in 2018 for a total of eighteen sites. Each site has a permanent 25 meter belt transect that was surveyed once per year during the summer months. Stream and water conditions in points of stream adjacent to transects were sampled once per year, as were aquatic macroinvertebrates. Specimens housed in the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium (KHD) collected during previous surveys of the area are also included in the data resource. These surveys were conducted as inventories to document species richness of the area.

Sampling

All sites were sampled once per year, during the growing season when vegetation was mature enough to make proper species identifications. For the first two years of monitoring (2016-2017), twelve 25 meter transects were installed to measure gound and canopy cover. For ground cover, every 0.25 meters was sampled via the point intercept method. Ground vegetation species were recorded as top canopy (1st hit) or lower canopy (2nd hits) and presented here as occurrences based on human observation. The ground surface type was recorded when no vegetation was present, and is provided in the extendedMeasurementOrFact extension within this resource. For canopy cover, every 0.5 meters was sampled. Canopy species observed through a GRS densiometer were recorded and are provided here as occurrences based on human observation. Any plant species observed within 1 meter of the transect, that were not recorded as part of the point intercept sampling, were also recorded as observation occurrences. Voucher specimens of plants were taken when identification to species was not confident or possible in the field. Sections of stream directly adjacent to the vegetation transects were sampled for stream conditions and water quality measurements, including nitrogen levels, E. coli content, stream velocity, stream depth, dissolved oxygen, water temperature, among others. Water samples were sent to a contractor for measurments. Aquatic macroinvertebrate communities were also sampled within the stream and sent to a contractor for sorting and identification. In 2018, six additional transects were added upstream of the temporary installed dam-like structures. Several additional measurements were also recorded along the vegetation transects: soil moisture percentage was measured every 1.0 meters, canopy cover percentage was measured with a spherical densiometer every 0.5 meters, and ground surface type, regardless of the presence of vegetation, was recorded every 0.25 meters. These measurements are provided within the extendedMesurementOrFact extension of this resource. Voucher specimens from previous botanic surveys, aimed at documenting species richness of the area, are also included in this resource as occurrences based on preserved specimens. Specimen occurrence data were downloaded from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF 2019) and subsequently limited to those falling within the immediate vicinity of the riparian zone of Deer Creek (within 0.0005 degrees of Deer Creek) (USGS 2018).

Quality Control

Raw data from sampling transects were checked upon transcription into digital format. Once data were submitted into a relational database, a random sample of records was produced and checked against the raw data. During ecological surveys herbarium voucher specimens were collected when species identification could not be confidently determined in the field.

Method steps

1. Measuring Ground Cover/Community Composition (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Pull out the 25m tape in between two rebar posts. The line should be taut and as close to the ground as possible. 2. Take photograph at origin of transect. Stand behind the post, face the endpoint, and take the picture with the post in the photo. 3. Begin at the “0” end of the line, move at 0.25m intervals toward the end. 4. At origin (0m), midpoint (12.5m), and end (25m), measure distance from transect to bank and bank height. 5. 0.25m will be the starting point. Always stand on the same side (away from the stream) of the line. 6. Drop a pin flag to the ground from a standard height of 1m next to the stream side of the tape. The pin should be vertical. The pin should be dropped from the same height every time. Do not guide the pin to the ground, let it fall freely. 7. Once the pin flag is on the ground, record every species it intercepts. The first species it hits (the highest one/farthest from the ground) is the “Top canopy”. If no leaf, stem, or plant base is intercepted, record “NONE” in the “Top canopy” column. Record all additional species intercepted by the pin in the “Lower Canopy Layers” column. Record them in order from closest to the top canopy to farthest (highest to lowest). Record each species only once, even if it is intercepted multiple times. If species can’t be identified at current stage, flag the plant and record location on “Unidentified Species” datasheet and “Unidentified Species” section of the vegetation datasheet. Return later to identify or collect voucher specimen of same species from outside the transect. 8. Record the ground surface the pin flag rests on. Options are litter, bare soil, rock (>5mm diameter), standing dead vegetation, water, downed woody debris (logs/large branches), road/trail (paved or gravel trail).
2. Measuring Soil Moisture (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Beginning at the “0” end of the transect, measure the soil moisture on the right side of the tape at 1m intervals, starting at 1m. 2. At each point, insert the soil moisture meter at the right side of the transect 20 cm deep into the soil. 3. Record the percent volumetric soil moisture that appears on the screen.
3. Measuring Tree Canopy Cover (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Beginning at the “0” end of the transect, and starting at the 0.5m mark, measure the tree canopy cover every 0.5m. Stand on the side of the tape furthest from the creek. 2. At each point, open the spherical densiometer. 3. Hold the densiometer out so that the bubble in the corner is in the center of its circle, indicating that the instrument is level. 4. Hold the densiometer about 12-18 inches away from you and low enough so you can see all 24 squares in the window. 5. Imagine 4 dots at each corner of each of the 24 squares. Count the number of dots that in which a tree is visible. 6. Additionally, record species of every tree that appears in the densiometer window.
4. Recording additional species (Hufft et al 2019) 1. After measuring for percent cover, use the meter stick as a guide to search the belt transect area for any species that were not recorded while measuring percent cover. 2. Record additional species identified that are rooted within the 25m x 2m belt. Collect a voucher specimen if unable to identify in the field.
5. Measuring abiotic water quality characteristics for lab analysis (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Start at thalweg (deepest point) adjacent to transect origin. 2. Collect three water samples in official Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) bottles: a. Nitrate/Nitrite (250 ml) b. Total Nitrogen (125 ml) c. E. coli (125 ml) 3. Fill each bottle to the max fill line. 4. Attach supplied CDPHE labels. 5. Fill out CDPHE Request for Analytical Services form. Each transect needs its own testing form. 6. Each water quality test will have its own specific bottle (3 per transect for E. coli, nitrate/nitrite, and total nitrogen) a. Nutrient bottles contain an acid for preservation, so do not dump or spill bottles. 7. Take water samples at the thalweg origin, or if stream is too deep for wading, at the deepest point possible. Make sure to collect probe data and water samples at the same place and record this location on the datasheet. 8. Samples are TIME SENSITIVE. Samples must be dropped off within 8 hours of sampling. No sample drop-offs on Fridays. Water analyses are conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Samples are time sensitive. Please coordinate a time to drop off samples ahead of time.
6. Measuring abiotic water quality characteristics in the field (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Start at thalweg adjacent to vegetation transect origin. If thalweg is too deep to wade, take measurement at the deepest point possible and record this point on datasheet. 2. For each probe, make sure to not submerge probes past the point where the storage caps seal and swish the probe in water to remove air bubbles and allow reading to stabilize before recording. 3. Using the appropriate probes, collect the following data and record on data sheet: a. Temperature (°C)- Use pH probe’s thermometer. b. pH i. Probe should not be allowed to dry out. Store in pH 4 standard (or storage solution if available). ii. If probe does dry out, must soak in standard or storage solution for 1 hour before use. c. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) d. Dissolved Oxygen (DO, mg/L) i. If the probe has not been used in 7 days, requires 3 minutes to polarize. Turn probe on and wait 3 minutes before testing. ii. Sponge in storage cap must always be moistened (but not soaked) with DI or RO water. e. Electrical Conductivity (EC) f. Flow i. Beginning at thalweg at origin, find a section of reach with uniform bottom and flow. ii. If thalweg is too deep to wade, take measurement at the deepest point possible at the origin and record location on datasheet. iii. Plug cord into back of white unit, zero should appear on screen. iv. To zero counter, switch position up. v. To pause measurements, put switch in middle. vi. To start measuring, put switch down. vii. Use timer to measure flow for 60 seconds at 60% of stream depth. viii. Once back in the office, to calculate surface velocity (m/s), convert the flowmeter readout using the following equation: V(c/m)=(0.000854C)+0.05 g. Rinse all probes with RO water after use and before putting on cap to avoid contamination.
7. Measuring Stream Bank Characteristics (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Total Bank Height: Distance from streambed at edge of bank to top of bank. 2. Surface to bank height: Distance from the water surface level to top of bank. 3. Distance to bank from Origin: Distance from the origin rebar to the edge of the adjacent stream bank. 4. If water is too deep at the thalweg to wade in, take measurements at the deepest point possible adjacent to the origin and record location on datasheet. This is especially important for stream reaches with dams.
8. Collecting samples to measure aquatic macro invertebrate community diversity (Hufft et al 2019) 1. Since the water is moving when we sample, we use the kicknetting method. 2. Start at thalweg at 20 m mark downstream from origin. Start downstream and move upstream toward origin. 3. Conduct kicknetting for 1 minute every 5 meters, for 5 sampling bouts moving upstream. 4. 5 sampling bouts should be conducted for each transects. a. However, samples should be 5m apart, so if large parts of the stream are dry, only take as many samples as the stream allows. 5. At each sampling bout: a. Disturb area 1 m2 upstream of net, using heel or toe to dislodge the upper layer of cobble/gravel and scrape underlying bed. b. Pick up larger substrate and rub by hand to remove attached organisms. c. If the water is slow moving, use your hands or feet to push what has been kicked up into the net. d. Exclude specimens clinging to the outside of nets. 6. Place contents of net into the mesh bucket. a. Rinse outside of net to move sediment and specimens inside the net to one corner. b. Flip net inside out in bucket and rinse down outside of net with more water to wash all contents into bucket. c. To avoid contamination of the sample, do not pour water into the side of the net with the specimens. Only pour water on the outside of the net. d. Continue adding contents of net into mesh bucket for the length of the transect. 7. Scoop specimens into 1L plastic rectangular Nalgene sampling jar with hand. It may be necessary to place the mesh bucket in the stream and swirl to get specimens to one side. a. Release any fish, amphibians, reptiles, or crayfish back into stream, but record their presence on the data sheet. 8. Fill jar with no more than 50% of sample material from the stream. Use more than one jar per sample if necessary. a. Add ethanol to the bottles to create a 50:50 sample to ethanol ratio. b. In 2018 we used an average of 2-3 bottles per sample site (max 5 at TSP and dammed sites) and roughly 2.5 750ml of ethanol per day. 9. Pick out and scrape off larger rocks in the bucket to remove any macroinvertebrates clinging to them. Smaller gravel can be added to bottle. 10. Properly label each bottle using a marker that is not alcohol-soluble. Check naming conventions file to make sure samples are labelled consistently from year to year. 11. Follow the instructions below for proper storage and sample drop off for identification. 12. Backwash the net with stream water before collecting samples from the next site.

Angiosperms and gymnosperms are provided as occurrences, both as preserved specimens and observations. These originate from botanical surveys, ground vegetation, and canopy monitoring efforts.

1. Tracheophyta
   common name: Vascular Plants rank: phylum
2. Bromus inermus
   common name: smooth brome rank: species
3. Populus deltoides
   common name: eastern cottonwood rank: species
4. Prunus virginiana
   common name: chokecherry rank: species
5. Agropyron critatum
   common name: crested wheatgrass rank: species
6. Salix
   common name: willow rank: genus
7. Populus angustifolia
   common name: narrowleaf cottonwood rank: species
8. Populus x acuminata
   common name: hybrid cottonwood rank: species
9. Cirsium arvense
   common name: creeping thistle rank: species

Invertebrate animals are provided as observation based occurrence data. Invertebrate samples were collected as part of the aquatic macroinvertebrate surveys within the stream and sent to a contractor laboratory for identification and analysis.

1. Baetis flavistriga
   common name: minnow mayfly
2. Cheumatopsyche
   common name: netspinning caddisflies
3. Crangonyx gracilis
   common name: northern lake crangonyctid
4. Hyalella azteca
   common name: amphipod
5. Tricorythodes explicatus
   common name: mayfly
6. Eiseniella tetraedra
   common name: earthworm
7. Animalia
   common name: animal rank: kingdom

Data were collected from 18 sites along Deer Creek, a stream that flows from west to east through urbanized montane foothills ecosystems in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The 4.67 kilometer section of stream studied here occurrs on the east slope of the Front Range mountain range, where is flows through Jefferson County Open Space Hildebrand Ranch Park and Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, sites of historical ranching and historical and active agriculture.