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Quantification And Prediction Of Stream Dryness In The Interior Highlands, Justin M. Homan, Nicholas M. Girondo, Charles J. Gagen

Faculty Publications - Biological Sciences

Although ecological studies have noted streams drying in the Interior Highlands, published measurements of streambed dryness are lacking. Clearly, stream drying has the potential to affect benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities. In 2003, we initiated an assessment of streambed dryness for three streams in the Ouachita Mountains representative of the Central Hills, Ridges, and Valleys. In the following summer, we applied the approach to 15 similar size watersheds in three distinct ecoregions of the Interior Highlands: Ouachita Mountains-Athens Plateau, Ozark Highlands-Springfield Plateau, and Lower Boston Mountains. Repeated dryness measurements were recorded in each stream and correlated to nearby USGS stream …