Parks in this Network Ephemeral and intermittent drainages serve
as critical habitat and travel corridors for resident and
migratory species in the Sonoran Desert and Apache Highlands
ecoregions, and provide important ecosystem services such as
flood dissipation, sediment transport, and habitat connectivity.
Ephemeral and intermittent drainages also provide insights into
the processes and conditions of the watersheds they drain. For
major intermittent and ephemeral washes, we will determine the
status of and detect trends in: - Stream channel morphology
(over 10-year intervals or following a 100-year flooding event).
- Common (>25% absolute plant cover) native and non-native plant
species and all perennial plant lifeforms within floodprone
areas of major washes (over 5-year intervals or following a
50-year flooding event). - Channel morphology: Channel width x
depth ratio; cross-sectional area, sinuosity, channel slope, and
sediment composition. - Riparian plant communities: Plant
alliance type and distributi