Flow regulation has largely eliminated overbank flooding along the Rio Grande of central New Mexico.
Flooding is critical to riparian ecosystem functioning and native cottonwood establishment.
Addtionally, exotic plants that thrive independent of flooding have invaded the riparian ecosystem. Drought and low river flows precluded flooding in 2000. At the cottonwood sites, ET was lower in the flood-prone forest with a greater cottonwood to saltcedar stem ratio. ET rates in the non-flooding cottonwood forest with a denser understory of exotics were comparable to the flooding saltcedar site.