Meadow-stream processes and aquatic invertebrate community structure [chapter 6]

Riparian areas make up less than 1 percent of the total area of the Great Basin, yet they provide many critical ecosystem services, and they support a disproportionately large percentage of the regional biodiversity (Hubbard 1977; Saab and Groves 1992). Jenson and Platts (1990) estimate that over 50 percent of the riparian areas in the Great Basin are in poor ecological condition due to various forms of disturbance and climate change (Chambers and Miller 2004). Ongoing stream incision in the region and progressive degradation of riparian meadow complexes make meadow systems a management priority (Chambers and Miller 2004). Understanding the connections between benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) communities and meadow-stream environmental characteristics provides managers with important information about the effects of this degradation.