Meadows are important within forest ecosystems because they provide diverse species habitats, facilitate water cycling, help with sediment capture, aid in carbon sequestration, and create natural fire breaks in forested regions. However, fire suppression, poor grazing practices, and climate change have accelerated the encroachment of conifers into historical meadow habitat. This has led to an extensive loss of meadow habitat within the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain Ranges. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to quantify changes in percent soil moisture and groundwater levels following the removal of encroached lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in a historic meadow habitat near Lake Almanor, California. A before-after control-intervention (BACI) study design was used, with Marian Meadow (MM) as the control and Rock Creek Meadow (RCM) as the restored meadow. Soil moisture and groundwater level data was collected one year before (water year 2019), and three years after (water years 2020-2023) the removal of lodgepole pine from RCM in the fall of 2020. This data was then analyzed using multiple linear regression and estimated marginal means (EMMs) models. Percent soil moisture increased each year after restoration, with significant increases from pre-restoration values occurring in year 2 and year 3 post-restoration. The overall mean soil moisture content increased from 30.69% (pre-restoration) to 40.42% by the 3rd year post-restoration. Groundwater has had a much more mixed response to restoration, with the 1st year post-restoration seeing a significant decrease in groundwater availability. Years 2 and 3 showed gradual recovery of groundwater levels, although on average they were still less than pre-restoration groundwater levels. This can likely be attributed to moderate drought occurring in the 2020 and 2021 water years. Sources of variability include the 2021 Dixie Fire which burned through both meadows at different severity levels, gaps in the data due to issues with the data loggers, differences in snowmelt timing, and differences in soil attributes. Collectively, however, all these factors converge toward a wetter meadow habitat. Hopefully, the results of this research will help promote a better understanding of how meadow restoration can improve California forestland management.

Mountain meadows in the western USA are experiencing increased rates of conifer encroachment due to climate change and land management practices. Past research has focused on conifer removal as a meadow restoration strategy, but there has been limited work on conifer transpiration in a pre-restoration state. Meadow restoration by conifer removal has the primary goal of recovering sufficient growing season soil moisture necessary for endemic, herbaceous meadow vegetation. Therefore, conifer water use represents an important hydrologic output toward evaluating the efficacy of this active management approach. This study quantified and evaluated transpiration of encroached conifers in a mountain meadow using sap flow prior to restoration by tree removal. We report results of lodgepole pine transpiration estimates for an approximate 1-year period and an evaluation of key environmental variables influencing water use during a dry growing season. The study was conducted at Rock Creek Meadow (RCM) in the southern Cascade Range near Chester, CA, USA. Sap flow data were collected in a sample of lodgepole pine and scaled on a per-plot basis to the larger meadow using tree survey data within a stratified random sampling design (simple scaling). These estimates were compared to a MODIS evapotranspiration (ET) estimate for the meadow. The 1-year period for transpiration estimates overlapped each of the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons partially. The response of lodgepole pine transpiration to solar radiation, air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and volumetric soil water content was investigated by calibrating a modified Jarvis-Stewart (MJS) model to hourly sap flow data collected during the 2020 growing season, which experienced below average antecedent winter precipitation. The model was validated using spatially different sap flow data in the meadow from the 2021 growing season, also part of a dry year. Calibration and validation were completed using a MCMC approach via the DREAM(ZS) algorithm and a generalized likelihood (GL) function, enabling model parameter and total uncertainty assessment. We also used the model to inform transpiration scaling for the calibration period in select plots in the meadow, which allowed comparison with simple scaling transpiration estimates. Average total lodgepole pine transpiration at RCM was estimated between 220.57 ± 25.28 and 393.39 ± 45.65 mm for the entire campaign (mid-July 2019 to mid-August 2020) and between 100.22 ± 11.49 and 178.75 ± 20.74 mm for the 2020 partial growing season (April to mid-August). The magnitude and seasonal timing were similar to MODIS ET. The model showed good agreement between observed and predicted sap velocity for the 2020 partial growing season (RMSE = 1.25 cm h-1), with meteorological variables modulating early growing season sap flow and volumetric soil water content decline imposing transpiration decrease in the late growing season. The model validation performed similarly to calibration in terms of performance metrics and the influence of meteorological variables. The consistency of the declining volumetric soil water content effect during the late growing season between periods could not be evaluated due to an abridged validation period. Overall, the implementation GL-DREAM(ZS) showed promise for future use in MJS models. Lastly, the model derived transpiration estimates for the 2020 partial growing season showed some of the potential utility in using the MJS model to scale sap flow at the study locale. It also highlights some of the key limitations of this approach as it is executed in the present study.

Montane meadows provide essential habitat for a variety of unique species and important ecosystem services in the western United States. Although important, meadows have experienced increased rates of conifer encroachment due to climate change, fire suppression and grazing. To combat meadow degradation from conifer encroachment, land managers have employed various restoration strategies one of which is conifer removal. Multiple studies have investigated the relationship between meadow hydrology and vegetation; however, few have assessed the effect of conifer removal on meadow groundwater. The goal of this study is to determine if the removal of conifers from an encroached meadow has an effect on depth to the groundwater table (WTD) and soil moisture content (SMC), and to investigate the accuracy and potential usefulness of evapotranspiration (ET) calculation methodologies for montane meadows. This goal will be accomplished by the subsequent objectives: 1) perform an analysis of WTD and SMC in an encroached meadow preceding and following conifer removal and upland thinning; 2) calculate and compare daily ET estimates in a previously restored meadow using diurnal groundwater table fluctuation, diurnal groundwater fluctuation modelling, and SMC. Miranda Cabin Meadow (MC) is located within the Upper American River Watershed, southeast of French Meadows Reservoir, at an elevation of 6,200 feet. MC received conifer removal, upland thinning and road decommissioning in the fall of 2018 as part of the American River Conservancy’s American River Headwaters Restoration Project. This study found the average WTD in MC during the growing season decreased from 4.91 feet prior to restoration, to 3.39 feet after restoration. In addition, the number of days the WTD was within 0.98 feet and 3 feet increased from 12 days and 34 days, to 31 and 49 days. Analysis of SMC in MC was limited due to gaps in data, however this study found that after restoration the average weekly SMC decreased at a slower rate than prior to restoration, possibly indicating decreased hydrologic output from ET. Based upon WTD during the growing season and the limited SMC data it appears that removal of conifers and upland thinning at MM promotes SMC and WTD conditions conducive to meadow vegetation communities. Marian Meadow (MM), located in Plumas County, CA at an elevation of 4,900 feet, received conifer removal as part of a timber harvest plan carried out by Collins Pine Company in July 2015. The soil moisture sensors used in this study were installed in MM in September 2013 for previous graduate thesis research. Groundwater table data was collected using 10-foot wells installed in July of 2018. Daily ET was calculated during August 2018 using three methodologies, and during September 2018 using two methodologies. Daily ET estimates calculated using diurnal groundwater table fluctuation and the White method averaged 11.8 mm per day in August and 9.1 mm in September. Using diurnal groundwater table fluctuation modelling this study calculated an average daily ET of 4.2 mm in August and 3 mm in September. Daily ET estimates based on SMC were calculated for August 2018 using two methods which produced estimates of 0.9 mm and 1.2 mm per day. All three methods for calculating ET produced some daily estimates that compare well to previous research of Et in Sierra Nevada meadows, however the White method generally overestimated daily Et while SMC methods underestimated ET. Groundwater table fluctuation modelling produced the best estimates of daily ET for both August and September. ET results in this study support previous research on the applicability of the White method; and they also suggest that the applicability of groundwater fluctuation modelling to estimate meadow daily ET in Sierra Nevada montane meadows be investigated further.

The loss of biodiversity worldwide and methods of prevention are hot subjects receiving increased interest in todays’ research. Meadow construction in urban areas has been the focus of recent studies to increase both local and global biodiversity. In my report, I address potential analyses to conduct in advance before practical meadow constructions in a landscape. The subject I chose to focus on for this report was a LONA-project aimed to construct meadows on contemporary amenity grasslands in a semi-urban municipality. I used vegetation data from an inventory executed in 2021. Patches were in advance classified based on conditions observed during the inventory with class 1 obtaining the highest meadow potential, class 2 obtaining mediocre potential, and class 3 weak or no potential. I analysed vegetation data on species richness, environmental indicator values, and composition. Additionally, I analysed the soil types and historical land uses in the study area to display credible soil characteristics. The order of Lepidoptera was used as a model taxon for pollinators and the red-listed Marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) was separately analysed for conservational purposes. To illustrate the landscapes’ ability to facilitate the dispersal of butterflies, connectivity analyses of varying meadow construction scenarios were executed. Results indicate higher species richness on average per patch and more indicator species in class 1, suggesting a better starting point and making quality assessments more credible in comparison to class 2. Underlaying soil type seems to some extent to influence the meadow potential by affecting vegetation composition and hence butterfly occurrence in terms of host plant distribution. I could however not draw any conclusions from the effect of historical land use on current patch classifications, and consequently meadow potential. To facilitate for E. aurinia to widen its distribution in the study area, and to avoid local extinction, further conservational efforts should focus on mimicking the conditions and current management of the powerline corridor, that currently yields high diversity of butterflies and abundance of E. aurinia, to other powerline corridors in the study area. To facilitate dispersal of butterflies and other pollinators, target meadow areas of both class 1 and class 2 patches should be constructed to avoid patch isolation, as illustrated in the connectivity analyses. Further research is needed to investigate other factors possibly affecting suitability of grasslands for meadow construction.