9504

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9504
• Author: Cooper, D. J. and C. Severn.
• Title: Ecological Characteristics of Wetlands at the Wetland Clough, Moab, Utah.
• USFW Year: 1994.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

VEGETATIQN
The goals of the current study were to quantify hydrologic,
-•water chemistry and invertebrate relationships in the wetlands.
While the senior author's specialty is wetland vegetation, time
did not permit a quantitative analysis of Moab's vegetation.
Instead the vegetation is stratified into major communities only
to allow sampling of water levels, chemistry and invertebrate-
- composition. Each community in the Moab study area is briefly
described below.
1.-Open Water-Aquatic Community. This community occurs in
sites with standing water of at least 40 cm. The vegetation of
-this community was very poorly developed with very few patches of
true submersed aquatic plants. Some patches of smartweed
(Persicaria amphibia) occur, but little else . Some stands-had
been dominated by broad-leaf cattail (Typha latifolia) prior to
1993. However, the floods of 1993 drowned these cattails, and
the stands are now open-water communities. The reason for the
poor aquatic-vegetation development is not known. In the
southern part of the study-area, stands of knotgrass (Paspalum
distichum) are abundant.- This grass forms dense stands-with
floating stems. It is a grass species of southern distribution
that reaches in northern Limit in the Rocky Mountain .region in
the Moab area. -
2. Hardstem bulrush Community. This is the most- abundant ,~~
wetland community in the study area. The stands are very
productive,-with .standing crop most likely in the range of 800-
1200 g m'Z. Plant species diversity-is very low and typically
this is the-only species present, although-some duckweed (Lemna
minor) also occurs. These stands occur where water up to 1 m in
'depth occurs on a regular basis.
3. Flooded willow.Community. This is the most .unique
community in the study-area. It is dominated by black willow
(Salix nigra).which reaches its northern limit in-the Rocky
Mountain region in the Moab area. The trees are large, up to 20
m tall, and occur in.seasonal or perennial standing water up to 2
m deep. The presence of permanent water does not appear to
injure this species. Many new individuals occur. in the eastern
portion of the study area. Few other plant species occur with
the flooded willow.--This community is present in the earliest
photos of the study area, thus it is not a result of irrigation
or other human practices.
4. Backwater Community. Backwaters were unvegetated sand
.flats with little current in the midsummer.- Only one well
developed backwater was found. Other than algae, no
photosynthetic plants. occur.. Sanford (1993) mentions that'
backwaters in .the Colorado River drainage should have true
aquatic plants, but-none were seen-during. the coarse of this
37