Aerial Photographic Analysis of Historic Riparian Vegetation Growth and Channel Change at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona: Preliminary Results

Aerial photographs over the past 70 years show that a profound alteration in the channels of Canyon de Chelly National Monument has coincided with the establishment and expansion of riparian vegetation, in particular invasive tamarisk ( Tamarix ssp.) and Russian olive ( Elaeagnus angustifolia). Rectification of the air photos, using GIS, enabled detailed mapping of the extent and density of vegetation in the canyon bottom, and analysis of stream channel geometry for each photo set. Photo sets from 1934, 1989, and 2004 were used to track changes in vegetation and channel morphology through time. In 1934, scattered riparian vegetation, including cottonwood ( Populus ssp.) and willow ( Salix ssp.), covered <1% of the canyon bottom. By 2004 the full length of the channel was lined with a riparian vegetation belt, with vegetation covering as much as 40% of the canyon bottom in some 1 km long study reaches . However the width of the riparian belt was spatially discontinuous, with other study reaches having less than 10% coverage of the canyon bottom. Riparian vegetation growth has coincided with an alteration in the hydrology of the streams within the canyon. Air photos from 1934 show a wide sandy wash throughout the extent of the study area. By 1989, some reaches had narrowed, with the channel becoming a single, meandering thread, and with woody riparian vegetation well established on much of the former wash. By 2004, long reaches of the study area were single thread, and dense Russian olive and tamarisk stands filled much of the former wash. While in some reaches the channel changed from a wide braided system to a single thread, other areas remain a sandy wash. Additionally, some reaches of the channel had become deeply incised, as much as 3 meters below the 1934 floodplain, as indicated by persistent cottonwood individuals. Field work indicates that incision was still very active in 2005. However, quantitative analysis of incision through time throughout the study area was not possible using air photos. Instead, incision in discrete reaches was qualitatively described, using historic ground photos to constrain the timing of incision. Vegetation establishment is ubiquitous; however incision is limited to discrete reaches.