%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Cottonwood Trees http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Cottonwood Trees</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3517--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3517.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/plains-cottonwood"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Populus_deltoides_monilifera_USDA_0.jpg?itok=eoUdN_BP" width="1090" height="656" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/plains-cottonwood" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"> Plains Cottonwood</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides monolifera), seen here along the <a href="/article/arkansas-river"><strong>Arkansas River</strong></a> in southern Colorado, is among the most important tree species in Colorado. Historically, it provided food, shelter, timber, medicine, and forage for Indigenous people, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado"><strong>Hispanos</strong></a>, and American immigrants alike. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-01-29T17:18:28-07:00" title="Friday, January 29, 2021 - 17:18" class="datetime">Fri, 01/29/2021 - 17:18</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees" data-a2a-title="Cottonwood Trees"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcottonwood-trees&amp;title=Cottonwood%20Trees"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>One of the most ecologically and culturally significant trees in Colorado, the plains cottonwood (<em>Populus deltoides monilifera</em>) thrives near rivers and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas"><strong>riparian</strong></a> areas throughout the state. It is one of the only tree species to grow on Colorado’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>Great Plains</strong></a>, which made it an important source of forage, fuel, timber, and medicine for Indigenous people, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado"><strong>Hispanos</strong></a>, and white immigrants. The cottonwood gets its name from the millions of cotton-like seeds that female trees release each spring.</p> <h2>Description</h2> <p>Cottonwoods are tall, deciduous trees commonly found along riverbanks and other high-moisture areas, with broad leaves and dark gray bark. They thrive at altitudes of 3,500 to 6,500 feet and reach a maximum height of around 190 feet.</p> <p>Seeding and sprouting are the cottonwood’s two major avenues of reproduction. Cottonwoods are dioecious, meaning individual trees are either male or female. Females grow necklace-like strings of seedpods that release millions of white, cottony seeds into the air, typically in June. Males grow purple flowers. Like their mountain-dwelling cousins the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/aspen-trees"><strong>aspen</strong></a>, cottonwoods are members of the poplar family, but unlike the aspen, cottonwoods do not produce clone trees from a single root system. However, like other poplars, cottonwoods will readily resprout if broken or cut down—a trait that has coevolved with breaking and browsing animals such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/beaver"><strong>beaver</strong></a>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bison"><strong>bison</strong></a>, and <strong>horses</strong>.</p> <p>Cottonwoods live just over 100 years—a fairly short lifespan for a tree. Sometimes large branches and the inner core of the tree will die before the rest of it, contributing to its common half-dead appearance. Cottonwoods in this condition represent a hazard, as branches can break and fall at any moment.</p> <h2>Ecology</h2> <p>As the vertical sentinels of the largely horizontal plains, cottonwoods provide habitat and food for many animals, from bison to birds, squirrels, and ponies. Eagles, blue jays, magpies, and woodpeckers are among the avian species that find respite in the cottonwood’s branches. Beaver stimulate cottonwood growth by gnawing down trunks, and bison, horses, and ponies eat the tree’s bark. Smaller trees, including willow and box elder, and shrubs thrive in the shade produced by the cottonwood.</p> <h2>Indigenous Culture</h2> <p>Indigenous people who lived on the plains and in the southwest part of the state—including the <strong>Apache</strong>, <strong>Arapaho</strong>, <strong>Cheyenne</strong>, <strong>Comanche</strong>, and <strong>Navajo</strong>—revered the cottonwood as a source of medicine and for its many practical uses, especially forage and food for horses. Sun Dance artifacts were carved from cottonwood. Perhaps the most famous grove of cottonwoods in the state was the Big Timbers, a thick stand along the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/arkansas-river"><strong>Arkansas River</strong></a> in southeast Colorado. In the early 1800s, the Cheyenne and Arapaho fought the Comanche and Kiowa for control of the sacred grove, with all four nations brokering a peace in 1840. Meanwhile, an old, thick cottonwood along the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cache-la-poudre-river"><strong>Cache la Poudre River</strong></a> near present-day <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> served as a Council Tree, a meeting spot for a local band of Arapaho led by <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/teenokuhu-friday"><strong>Teenokuhu</strong> <strong>(Friday)</strong></a>.</p> <p>In one Arapaho story, a girl named Sapana climbs a tall cottonwood into the sky itself, where she is then put to work skinning bison hides by an old man who takes the form of a porcupine. The girl is helped back to earth by a buzzard and a hawk. In return for their help, the Arapaho always left at least one bison carcass for the buzzards and hawks after their hunts.</p> <h2>Hispano Culture</h2> <p>Cottonwood trees were also a prominent part of early Hispano culture. In southern Colorado’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/hispano-settlement-purgatoire-valley"><strong>Purgatoire</strong></a> valley, members of the Catholic Penitente Brotherhood carved <em>santos</em>, or holy images, into cottonwood roots and trunks. In the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a>, where permanent Hispano settlements began in the 1850s, cottonwood beams supported adobe buildings, including the many <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/search/google/iglesia"><strong><em>iglesias</em> and <em>capillas</em></strong></a>—churches and chapels—established across the valley. The town and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/alamosa-county"><strong>county</strong></a> of <strong>Alamosa</strong> were named after the Spanish word for cottonwood grove.</p> <h2>American Culture</h2> <p>In 1807 American explorer <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/zebulon-montgomery-pike"><strong>Zebulon Pike</strong></a> built his <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pike%E2%80%99s-stockade"><strong>stockade</strong></a> in the San Luis Valley out of cottonwood logs. Other whites quickly realized the importance of cottonwoods when they began crossing the plains to Colorado during the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Gold Rush of 1858–59</strong></a>. In addition to being the only fuel aside from bison droppings, cottonwoods provided shelter and food for draft animals and acted as guideposts for immigrant parties who needed to stick to the river paths, lest they become lost in the monotonous landscape of the plains. When immigrants reached the area of present-day <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, they found building materials scarce; as such, the first house in what became Denver City, on today’s <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/larimer-square"><strong>Larimer Street</strong></a>, was built of “round cottonwood logs” and “roofed with earth.”</p> <p>One of the first editions of the <strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>, printed on May 14, 1859, reflects white immigrants’ views of the cottonwood as part of the strikingly beautiful scenery of springtime along the eastern slope of the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a>:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The prairies are putting on their robes of green and the bright verdure of the cottonwood and alder contrasts beautifully with the dark sombre [<em>sic</em>] hue of the evergreen forests.</p> <p>White immigrants’ consumption of cottonwood groves only increased as more Americans traveled west over the ensuing decades. The depletion of this important resource, as well as the simultaneous and related decline of the bison, contributed to starving conditions among many Indigenous bands in the mid- to late nineteenth century.</p> <h2>Threats</h2> <p>Since they are water-loving trees, cottonwoods are especially susceptible to drought. Millions died during the 1930s drought that contributed to the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/dust-bowl"><strong>Dust Bowl</strong></a>, and many more could be lost in the twenty-first century as a warming <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-climate"><strong>climate</strong></a> increases drought frequency and length. In addition, dams built since the beginning of the twentieth century have lowered flow rates in the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte</strong></a>, Arkansas, and other rivers, leading to a decline in cottonwood reproduction.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cottonwood" hreflang="en">cottonwood</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cottonwoods" hreflang="en">cottonwoods</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cottonwood-trees" hreflang="en">cottonwood trees</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/alamosa" hreflang="en">alamosa</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/alamosa-county" hreflang="en">alamosa county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hispano" hreflang="en">hispano</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/iglesia" hreflang="en">iglesia</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/capilla" hreflang="en">capilla</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/zebulon-pike" hreflang="en">zebulon pike</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ecology" hreflang="en">ecology</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/riparian" hreflang="en">riparian</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rivers" hreflang="en">rivers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/beaver" hreflang="en">beaver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/horses" hreflang="en">horses</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/comanche" hreflang="en">comanche</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/apache" hreflang="en">apache</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cheyenne" hreflang="en">cheyenne</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arapaho" hreflang="en">arapaho</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/navajo" hreflang="en">navajo</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/san-luis-valley" hreflang="en">San Luis Valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arkansas-river" hreflang="en">Arkansas River</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/south-platte-river" hreflang="en">south platte river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cache-la-poudre-river" hreflang="en">cache la poudre river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/council-tree" hreflang="en">council tree</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-collins" hreflang="en">fort collins</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chief-friday" hreflang="en">chief friday</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Michael Burman and Larry Larson, “<a href="https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/em-8800-cottonwood-establishment-survival-stand-characteristics">Cottonwood: Establishment, Survival and Stand Characteristics</a>,” Oregon State University Extension, March 2002.</p> <p>Colorado State Forest Service, “<a href="https://csfs.colostate.edu/colorado-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/#1466529004857-b98c0fa7-79c5">Plains Cottonwood</a>,” Colorado State University, n.d.</p> <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=RMW18600215.2.18&amp;srpos=11&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cottonwood-------0-----">First House</a>,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, February 15, 1860.</p> <p>Pekka Hämäläinen, <em>The Comanche Empire </em>(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009).</p> <p>Indigenouspeople.net, “<a href="http://www.indigenouspeople.net/heron.htm">The Girl Who Climbed to the Sky</a>,” n.d.</p> <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=RMW18590514.2.51&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cottonwood-------0-----">Local Items</a>,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, May 14, 1859.</p> <p>Native Languages, “<a href="http://www.native-languages.org/legends-cottonwood.htm#:~:text=The%20cottonwood%20tree%20was%20sacred,cottonwood%20boughs%20in%20funeral%20rituals.">Native American Cottonwood Tree Mythology</a>,” n.d.</p> <p>Joe H. Offer, “<a href="https://wou.edu/geography/files/2015/05/Offer2014CapstoneFinal.pdf">Relating Upriver Dam Creation to the Regeneration of Cottonwoods (<em>Populus deltoids </em>Subsp. <em>monilifera</em>) Within the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument</a>,” Capstone, Western Oregon University, 2014.</p> <p>S. K. Wier, “<a href="http://www.westernexplorers.us/PlainsCottonwood.pdf">Plains Cottonwood</a>,” Western Explorers, 2014.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Colorado State Forest Service, “<a href="https://csfs.colostate.edu/colorado-forests/">Colorado Forests</a>,” Colorado State University.</p> <p>Colorado State Forest Service, “<a href="https://csfs.colostate.edu/media/sites/22/2015/06/Cottonwood_Management_QuickGuide_26June2015.pdf">Cottonwood Management</a>,” Colorado State University, 2015.</p> <p>George L. Trager, “<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/463823?journalCode=ijal">’Cottonwood Tree,’ A South-Western Linguistic Trait</a>,” <em>International Journal of American Linguistics</em> 9, no. 2, 1938.</p> <p>William A. Weber and Ronald C. Whitman, <em>Colorado Flora: Eastern Slope</em>, 4th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p> <p>William A. Weber and Ronald C. Whitman, <em>Colorado Flora: Western Slope</em>, 4th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Sat, 30 Jan 2021 00:18:28 +0000 yongli 3515 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Wetlands and Riparian Areas http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Wetlands and Riparian Areas</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1664--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1664.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/photographs-different-wetland-types-around-colorado"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Wetlands-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=op8eHXDQ" width="1090" height="1025" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/photographs-different-wetland-types-around-colorado" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Photographs of different wetland types around Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Photographs of different wetland types around Colorado: (1) riparian area, Moffat County; (2) riparian area along stream in Larimer County;&nbsp; (3) riparian area, Hinsdale County; Fen, Grand County; (4) salt flat, Alamosa County; (5) marsh and wet meadow, Washington County;&nbsp; (6) fen, Park County; (7) wet meadow, Boulder County; (8) sloping fen (foreground) and riparian area, Grand County (photo credits: All photos by D. Cooper, except photos 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 by E. Gage).</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1668--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1668.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/wetland-area-colorado-county"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Wetlands-Media-2_0.jpg?itok=m63aXrBh" width="1000" height="857" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/wetland-area-colorado-county" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Wetland area by Colorado county</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Proportion of total county area mapped as wetlands by the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). Emergent wetlands are dominated by herbaceous plant species, shrub/scrub wetlands are dominated by shrubs, often willow (Salix spp.) species, while forested wetlands support trees.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1669--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1669.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/wetland-area-elevation-class"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Wetlands-Media-3_0.jpg?itok=V-HRuNcr" width="1000" height="667" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/wetland-area-elevation-class" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Wetland area by elevation class</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Wetland areas in Colorado across different elevation ranges, as mapped by the NWI program .</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-08-12T16:25:04-06:00" title="Friday, August 12, 2016 - 16:25" class="datetime">Fri, 08/12/2016 - 16:25</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas" data-a2a-title="Wetlands and Riparian Areas"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fwetlands-and-riparian-areas&amp;title=Wetlands%20and%20Riparian%20Areas"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Wetlands are ecosystems that are at least periodically saturated or inundated by <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/water-colorado"><strong>water</strong></a>, creating unique habitats that support a wide variety of plant and animal species. Colorado wetlands include a diverse range of ecosystem types, each with distinctive plants and animals, hydrologic regimes, and ecological functions. In addition to providing habitat for wildlife and supporting biodiversity in other ecosystems, wetlands help filter water by trapping pollutants and offer a buffer zone for extreme events such as<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/flooding-colorado"><strong> flooding</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Types of Wetlands</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Wetlands in Colorado can be divided into five types: fens, marshes, wet meadows, riparian wetlands, and salt flats.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Fens have peat (undecomposed organic matter) soils and stable, groundwater-driven hydrologic regimes that limit the decomposition of organic matter. Vegetation is dominated by herbaceous plants such as sedges (<em>Carex </em>spp.), but mosses, shrubs, and trees can also grow. Fens commonly occur as part of wetland complexes that include riparian wetlands or wet meadows. Fens occur throughout Colorado in mountain valleys with higher precipitation and perennial inflow of groundwater from local aquifers. An especially significant site is High Creek Fen in South Park, now protected by the Nature Conservancy. The well-studied Big Meadows in <a href="/article/rocky-mountain-national-park"><strong>Rocky Mountain National Park</strong></a> is also a good example.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wet meadows have mineral soils and are typically dominated by herbaceous plants. They are the most widespread wetland type in Colorado, occurring from the <a href="/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>plains</strong></a> to the alpine. Wet meadows have seasonally saturated soils but lack the perennial high water tables of fens or the large water-level fluctuations of marshes. Some wet meadows are managed for hay production and frequently develop downslope of unlined <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/irrigation-colorado"><strong>irrigation</strong></a> canals in agricultural areas. They may also form as marshes or beaver ponds fill with sediment. Wet meadows commonly occur in intermediate landscape positions between fens or marshes and uplands. Wet meadows can be found throughout Colorado, but a good example is Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Marshes have mineral soils and highly variable hydrological regimes with deep standing water occurring for extended periods. This limits plants to species tolerant of inundation, and vegetation often exhibits distinct patterns related to differences in individual species’ tolerance of flooding. Water depth and salinity are key factors determining the species composition, both within and among marshes and from wet to dry years. Water chemistry is highly variable, and marshes formed in basins where water is lost primarily through evapotranspiration can be highly saline. Marshes are critical habitat for a variety of wildlife, and waterfowl groups have actively promoted their conservation and creation. Marshes occur from the plains to the alpine and include such diverse wetland types as the playa wetlands in southeast Colorado and the numerous marshes that fringe lakes and form in abandoned <a href="/article/beaver"><strong>beaver</strong></a> ponds in the mountains.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Salt flats are common at low elevations in intermountain basins, valleys, and on the plains. They can form in closed basins where water evaporates, leaving salts behind, often in sites with clay-rich soils. Plant cover and productivity is low, and communities are dominated by salt-tolerant species (halophytes). Notable salt flats occur in the southern part of South Park near Antero Reservoir—originally called “Valle Salado,” the salty bayou—as well as in the Blanca Wetlands of <a href="/article/alamosa-county"><strong>Alamosa County</strong></a>, but examples occur throughout the state.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Riparian ecosystems range from narrow communities along headwater streams in the mountains to broad alluvial rivers on the plains and western valleys. Riparian areas are influenced by unidirectional, flowing water capable of eroding and transporting sediment and are strongly shaped by the frequency, magnitude, and energy of floods. Differences in watershed size, topography, and climatic regime create varying flood regimes. Dominant riparian species include trees such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees"><strong>cottonwood</strong></a> (<em>Populus</em> spp.) and <strong>willows</strong> (<em>Salix</em> spp.). Major riparian areas in Colorado include the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cache-la-poudre-river"><strong>Cache la Poudre</strong></a>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte</strong></a>, <a href="/article/colorado-river"><strong>Colorado</strong></a>, and <strong>Arkansas Rivers</strong>, but riparian communities occur along the state’s innumerable smaller streams as well.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ecosystem Services</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Wetlands occupy about 2 percent of Colorado’s land area, but they are key landscape elements because they provide critical ecosystem services. Wetlands filter water and trap pollutants, and because of their importance to water quality, most wetlands are regulated by the federal government under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In agricultural and urban settings, wetlands can remove excess fertilizers that degrade water quality. Riparian areas may act to buffer hydrologic extremes such as floods and drought, provide habitat for wildlife, and contribute to local biodiversity by supporting the health of adjacent aquatic and upland ecosystems.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Physical Geography</h2>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/article/colorado-climate"><strong>Climate</strong></a>, geology, and hydrologic regime are key factors influencing the formation of wetlands and riparian ecosystems. The abundance and geographic distribution of wetlands varies among Colorado’s physiographic regions and along the state’s broad elevation gradients. Because mountains receive more precipitation and are cooler than basins and lowlands, there is more water to support wetland development. Wetlands increase in abundance with elevation up to the subalpine zone but are less abundant in the alpine zone. The distribution of individual wetland types is variable. For example, fens are rare at low elevations but relatively abundant at higher elevations, while the reverse is true for salt flats.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ecological Drivers</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Hydrologic processes control many wetland and riparian functions. For example, the establishment of many riparian plants is linked to the frequency and magnitude of flooding. In marshes, the depth and duration of inundation is a key control on species composition, while seasonal water table dynamics control carbon accumulation rates in fens.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>A wetland’s hydrologic regime affects nutrient cycling, plant productivity, decomposition, and the composition of <strong>plant communities</strong>. On a small scale the hydrologic regime operates as a driver of ecological structure and function, while on a broader scale it shapes patterns of wetland abundance and distribution. Wetlands can occur in basins or on slopes where there are seeps or springs capable of saturating soils, and different types of wetlands commonly co-occur as wetland complexes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The distribution and ecology of wetlands differs between the tectonically active mountains and the inactive plains. For instance, many mountain wetlands occur in landforms produced by retreating Pleistocene <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/glaciers"><strong>glaciers</strong></a>. Floodplain ecosystems are dynamic, as demonstrated by the September 2013 <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/september-2013-floods"><strong>Front Range</strong></a><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/september-2013-floods"> </a><strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/september-2013-floods">floods</a>,</strong> which both destroyed riparian vegetation and created conditions for new riparian plant establishment.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wetlands and riparian areas support a variety of plant species and community types found nowhere else in Colorado. They can be dominated by only a few clonal species or be species-rich. The critical role of wetlands for biodiversity stems in part from the functional diversity of wetlands. Colorado wetlands support numerous animal species, from obligate species such as beaver (<em>Castor canadensis</em>) to the numerous seasonal or occasional visitors such as migratory birds and amphibians that rely on wetlands for some portion of their life cycle.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Past, Present, and Future</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Since the arrival of Euro-American settlers, nearly half of Colorado wetlands have been lost due to factors such as drainage for agriculture, construction of dams, removal of beaver, the introduction of non-native species, and extensive livestock grazing. Altered <a href="/article/wildfire-colorado"><strong>fire</strong></a> regimes resulting from land use changes and fire suppression have also indirectly impacted wetlands.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Water storage, water diversion from streams, and riparian forest clearing have affected many riparian areas, especially along large rivers, and groundwater pumping for irrigation purposes has also affected wetlands. Other impacts stem from the alteration of stream channels and fluctuations in sediment production or transport. In addition, altered flood regimes, such as those produced by dams, can reduce opportunities for the establishment of native species and favor the spread of non-natives.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Early Euro-Americans grazed sheep in many <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>high mountain ranges</strong></a>, impacts from which are still evident in some areas. Overgrazing by livestock or native ungulates such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountain-elk"><strong>elk</strong></a> or <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/moose"><strong>moose</strong></a> can negatively impact wetlands and riparian areas, wildlife and fish habitat, and the regeneration of native plants.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Non-native species</strong> are a significant threat to many areas. For example, woody species like salt cedar (<em>Tamarix</em> <em>spp.</em>) and Russian-olive (<em>Elaeagnus angustifolia</em>) were introduced to North America from Europe and Asia and are highly invasive in riparian areas at lower elevations. Many non-native species respond positively to disturbance and are associated with roads and other disturbed environments.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Placer mining affected many mountain streams, such as those near <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/breckenridge-historic-district"><strong>Breckenridge</strong></a> and <a href="/article/fairplay"><strong>Fairplay</strong></a>, while wetlands along rivers at lower elevations have been impacted by sand and gravel mining. Hard rock mining has produced runoff contaminated with metals. Oil, natural gas, and coal extraction can alter wetlands through hydrological changes associated with roads and well pads.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Roads are commonly built along valley bottoms, and many streams have been channeled and the wetlands filled. Hydrologic function can also be impaired by culverts and ditches, which alter drainage patterns.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wetlands and riparian areas are likely to experience significant changes in the future from climate change and human population growth. Shifts in the timing of precipitation, the proportion of precipitation occurring as rain versus <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow"><strong>snow</strong></a>, and changes in broad-scale weather phenomena like the Southwest monsoon will be especially important. Scientists continue to advance our understanding of how Colorado wetlands function and the factors influencing their condition. While federal regulations provide some protection for wetlands, wetlands remain vulnerable to human impacts. Efforts by wetland scientists and conservationists are underway to identify and preserve ecologically important wetlands and to develop improved techniques for restoring degraded ecosystems and the critical ecosystem services they provide.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/gage-edward" hreflang="und">Gage, Edward</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/cooper-david" hreflang="und">Cooper, David</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wetlands" hreflang="en">wetlands</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-wetlands" hreflang="en">colorado wetlands</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/water" hreflang="en">water</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ecosystems" hreflang="en">ecosystems</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/beaver" hreflang="en">beaver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fens" hreflang="en">fens</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/marshes" hreflang="en">marshes</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wet-meadows" hreflang="en">wet meadows</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/riparian" hreflang="en">riparian</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/salt-flats" hreflang="en">salt flats</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/floods" hreflang="en">floods</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/blanca-wetlands" hreflang="en">blanca wetlands</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/south-park" hreflang="en">South Park</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>R. A. Chimner, J. M. Lemly, and David J. Cooper, “Mountain Fen Distribution, Types and Restoration Priorities, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA,” <em>Wetlands </em>30, no. 4 (2010).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David J. Cooper, “Ecology of Wetlands in Big Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado” (Washington, DC: US Fish and Wildlife Service, 1990).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David J. Cooper, “Water and Soil Chemistry, Floristics, and Phytosociology of the Extreme Rich High Creek Fen, in South Park, Colorado, USA,” <em>Canadian Journal of Botany</em> 74, no. 11 (1996).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David J. Cooper, D. C. Andersen, and R. A. Chimner, “Multiple Pathways for Woody Plant Establishment on Floodplains at Local to Regional Scales,” <em>Journal of Ecology </em>91 (2003).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David J. Cooper, R. A. Chimner, and D. M. Merritt, “Western Mountain Wetlands," in <em>Wetland Habitats of North America Ecology and Conservation Concerns</em>, eds. Darold P. Batzer and Andrew H. Baldwin (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas E. Dahl, “Wetlands Losses in the United States, 1780s to 1980s” (Washington, DC: US Fish and Wildlife Service, 1990).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>E. A. Gage and David J. Cooper, “Historical Range of Variation Assessment for Wetland and Riparian Ecosystems, US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region” (Fort Collins, CO: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>G. L. Katz, J. M. Friedman, and S. W. Beatty, “Delayed Effects of Flood Control on a Flood-Dependent Riparian Forest,” <em>Ecological Applications</em> 15, no. 3 (2005).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>W. J. Mitsch and J. G. Gosselink, <em>Wetlands</em> (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, “<a href="https://www.cozine.com:8443/2006-september/the-source-of-bayou-salado">The Source of Bayou Salado</a>,” letter, <em>Colorado Central Magazine</em>, September 1, 2006.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeremy P. Sueltenfuss, David J. Cooper, Richard L. Knight, and Reagan M. Waskom, “The Creation and Maintenance of Wetland Ecosystems from Irrigation Canal and Reservoir Seepage in a Semi-Arid Landscape,” <em>Wetlands</em> 33, no. 5 (2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>T. C. Winter, “The Concept of Hydrologic Landscapes,” <em>Journal of the American Water Resources Association</em> 37 (2001).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://cnhp.colostate.edu/cwic/">Colorado Wetland Information Center</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Fish and Wildlife Service, <a href="http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/NWI/Index.html">National Wetlands Inventory</a></p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 12 Aug 2016 22:25:04 +0000 yongli 1661 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org