Author(s): Steven W. Carothers; R. Roy Johnson; Deborah M. Finch; Kenneth J. Kingsley; Robert H. Hamre
In the Preface to volume 1, we discuss the development of riparian ecology as one of the newest of ecological fields that gained significant momentum in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the general “riparian movement” in the United States. The field expanded rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1900s. Volume 2 involves more than two dozen authors - most with decades of experience - who expand upon riparian and other topics introduced in volume 1. Two important recent developments are global climate change and impacts of introduced tamarisk leaf beetles (Diorhabda spp.) in the American West. Other chapters in volume 2 that provide current information evaluate the losses of riparian habitat, including “extirpation” of a large number of mesquite bosques (woodlands) in the Southwest; the restoration of riparian ecosystems damaged by anthropogenic activities; the importance of a watershed; and the importance of riparian ecosystems to recreation. The combination of volumes 1 and 2 examines the evolving understanding of scientific implications and anthropogenic threats to those ecosystems from Euro-American settlement of the region to present. >> Volume 1 is also available in Treesearch: https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/57341