SOUTHWESTERN RIPARIAN-STREAM ECOSYSTEMS - RESEARCH DESIGN, COMPLEXITY, AND OPPORTUNITY

Two basic approaches to research design in riparian areas - intrastream and interstream - and their merits are evaluated based on physical, chemical and biological data from streams in central Arizona and northern New Mexico. Interaction between research and management personnel must be constant and close to identify research opportunity. Such a partnership operating within the framework of daily forest land management activity will be effective in generating valid, defendable, and applicable information for future management of forest lands. Conducting viable research on the effects of the combination of natural- and land management-induced factors on stream environments and biota in southwestern National Forests is complex. Factors contributing to complexity are: (1) interactions of multiple land uses, (2) spatial-temporal relationships, (3) inability to establish a frame of reference, (4) inability to replicate study areas, (5) jurisdiction in habitat and species management, and (6) frequent changes in land management objectives and direction. Combined, these factors render it difficult to effectively study land management impacts on riparian ecosystems.