These data were collected to evaluate the cover and composition of native and nonnative vascular plant species within the riparian zone of the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam to the historic high-water line of Lake Mead, approximately 240 river miles downstream of Lees Ferry. The overall objective of the ongoing study these data were collected for is to determine how plant cover and composition change over time in response to the operation of Glen Canyon Dam. This includes evaluating how plants respond to climate and other environmental factors, so that the effects of Glen Canyon Dam can be determined. These data represent 36 of the most common plant species observed in sample frames, estimates of how much aerial cover those plants have, and estimates of environmental variables associated with the sample frames. These data were collected from the riparian zone along the Colorado River between Lees Ferry, AZ and the confluence of the Colorado River and Diamond Creek, AZ. Data were collected in August and September for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. These data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center riparian plant program. These data are a combination of field observations and data downloaded from other sources. These data can be used to understand the general distributions of the 36 plant species in the study area at a given time and their change in cover and composition over time. These data are particularly suited to determine the environmental variables that are most related to the cover and occurrence of these 36 plant species.

These data were compiled to assess the status and trends of riparian plant communities along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead, AZ. Three metrics have been proposed to evaluate the "Riparian Vegetation" goal identified in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program's Long Term Experimental and Management Plan (U.S. Department of Interior, 2016). The three metrics are total living plant cover, the proportion of living cover composed of native species, and native species richness. Current policies for Glen Canyon Dam operations result in three longitudinal bands within the riparian area that are flooded at different frequencies. The band, or hydrologic zone, that is most frequently inundated is referred to here as the “active channel” or “AC.” This includes all areas inundated by releases up to 25,000 cubic feet per second (707 m3/s). The “active floodplain” or “AF” is inundated by high flow experiments and includes areas that are inundated by releases between 25,000 cubic feet per second and 45,000 cubic feet per second (1,274 m3/s). The “inactive floodplain” or “IF” is the area along the river that is inundated by releases over 45,000 cubic feet per second, which is not planned under current policies. The metrics are assessed for each of these hydrologic zones. Data from the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center's riparian vegetation monitoring protocol (Palmquist and others, 2018) can be used to evaluate these metrics, which is what is provided here. In short, 80-100 sample sites are randomly selected each year. These sites include debris fans, eddy sandbars, and channel margins. At each randomly selected sample site, ocular cover estimates of each plant species occurring in 1-m2 quadrats spanning the hydrological zones are recorded, along with an estimate of total living plant cover and associated environmental variables. The first metric, total living plant cover, consists of two pieces of data; plant occurrence (a plant is present in the sample frame) and plant cover (proportion of the sample frame covered with living plants). Cover is represented by both an ordinal cover class (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.) and the midpoint of the cover class value (0.01%, 0.5%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, etc). The proportion of native cover is the sum total of native plant cover divided by the sum total of plant cover (native plus nonnative cover) for a sample frame. Native plant richness is the total number of native species rooted inside a sample frame. The total living plant cover data are available for 2016 through 2023. The native cover and richness data are available for 2014 and 2016 through 2023.

These data were collected by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) to support riparian vegetation monitoring along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and the full pool level of Lake Mead. The objectives of the GCMRC riparian vegetation monitoring program are to annually measure and summarize the status (composition and cover) of native and non-native vascular plant species within the riparian zone of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead, assess change in the vegetation composition and cover in the riparian zone, as related to geomorphic setting and dam operations, particularly flow regime, and collect data in a manner that can be used by multiple stakeholders and is compatible with the basin-wide monitoring program overseen by the National Park Service’s Northern Colorado Plateau Network Inventory and Monitoring program. These data represent estimated cover and richness of plants, as well as associated environmental variables at sample sites visited in 2014 and 2016-2019. These data were collected in the field following the Palmquist and others (2018) published protocol in August, September, and October of each year. This protocol uses ocular cover estimates of variables of interest in 1-m2 quadrat frames at both randomly-selected and annually sampled long-term monitoring sites. Within the study area (between Glen Canyon Dam and the full pool level of Lake Mead), these data can be used to evaluate changes in riparian plant cover between 2014 and 2019, evaluate differences in floristic composition, estimate the frequency and cover of recorded plant species, document approximate distributions of plant species, and estimate species richness and diversity. Caution should be used when combining these data with other data sets, particularly those that utilize different plant cover estimation methods (for example, line-point intercept).

These data were collected by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) to support riparian vegetation monitoring along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and the full pool level of Lake Mead. The objectives of the GCMRC riparian vegetation monitoring program are to annually measure and summarize the status (composition and cover) of native and non-native vascular plant species within the riparian zone of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead, assess change in the vegetation composition and cover in the riparian zone, as related to geomorphic setting and dam operations, particularly flow regime, and collect data in a manner that can be used by multiple stakeholders and is compatible with the basin-wide monitoring program overseen by the National Park Service’s Northern Colorado Plateau Network Inventory and Monitoring program. These data represent estimated cover and richness of plants, as well as associated environmental variables at sample sites visited in 2014 and 2016-2019. These data were collected in the field following the Palmquist and others (2018) published protocol in August, September, and October of each year. This protocol uses ocular cover estimates of variables of interest in 1-m2 quadrat frames at both randomly-selected and annually sampled long-term monitoring sites. Within the study area (between Glen Canyon Dam and the full pool level of Lake Mead), these data can be used to evaluate changes in riparian plant cover between 2014 and 2019, evaluate differences in floristic composition, estimate the frequency and cover of recorded plant species, document approximate distributions of plant species, and estimate species richness and diversity. Caution should be used when combining these data with other data sets, particularly those that utilize different plant cover estimation methods (for example, line-point intercept).

These data are a species-level classification map of riparian vegetation in the Colorado River riparian corridor in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. The classification is derived from 0.2 m pixel resolution multispectral aerial imagery acquired in May 2013. The classification spans the riparian zone of the river corridor between Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona, and Lake Mead at Pearce Ferry, Arizona. The classification is divided into 5 distinct reaches of the river: Glen Canyon, Marble Canyon, Eastern Grand Canyon, Western Grand Canyon upstream of Diamond Creek, and Western Grand Canyon downstream of Diamond Creek. The method used for classification was a combination of supervised Classification And Regression Tree (CART) analysis and unsupervised ISODATA classification. The data release package contains the individual raster data of riparian species vegetation classification data based on USGS 1:24000 quad boundaries, and tabular data of training and validation point locations, confusion matrix counts as accuracy assessment and National Vegetation Classification (NVC) standard and vegetation classification descriptions. Two FGDC metadata files are included; one for the raster classification data and one for the tabular data.

These data are a species-level classification map of riparian vegetation in the Colorado River riparian corridor in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. The classification is derived from 0.2 m pixel resolution multispectral aerial imagery acquired in May 2013. The classification spans the riparian zone of the river corridor between Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona, and Lake Mead at Pearce Ferry, Arizona. The classification is divided into 5 distinct reaches of the river: Glen Canyon, Marble Canyon, Eastern Grand Canyon, Western Grand Canyon upstream of Diamond Creek, and Western Grand Canyon downstream of Diamond Creek. The method used for classification was a combination of supervised Classification And Regression Tree (CART) analysis and unsupervised ISODATA classification. The data release package contains the individual raster data of riparian species vegetation classification data based on USGS 1:24000 quad boundaries, and tabular data of training and validation point locations, confusion matrix counts as accuracy assessment and National Vegetation Classification (NVC) standard and vegetation classification descriptions. Two FGDC metadata files are included; one for the raster classification data and one for the tabular data.

These data were compiled for monitoring riparian vegetation change along the Colorado River. This file contains data recorded at 42 sandbars between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek, AZ, which are sampled for both geomorphic and vegetation change annually. Field data contained here were collected from 2012 to 2016 in September and October of each year. Plant species cover values in 5441 1m^2 quadrat frames, locations and elevations of those sampling frames, slope and aspect, sample dates, temperature and precipitation data, and flood frequency parameters were either recorded in the field or calculated. Annual and seasonal climate variables were estimated from eight weather stations distributed along the river corridor from data aquired from Caster et al. 2014. Data collected between 1 February 2008 and 31 January 2011 were used, as the greatest number of weather stations were recording data with the fewest data gaps during this time. Data were linearly interpolated to sandbars lacking weather data based on distance from adjacent weather stations. Available climate variables included minimum and maximum annual temperature; mean annual, winter (November - April) and monsoon (May - October) precipitation; and mean annual humidity. Inundation and depth to water table were estimated for each plot using plot elevation (acquired from Kaplinski et al. 2014), the 15-minute hydrograph from Glen Canyon Dam (https://www.gcmrc.gov/discharge_qw_sediment/?), and the stage calculator developed for sandbars by Hazel et al. (2006). Discharge data from the 365 days preceding the vegetation surveys were used to calculate the proportion of that year, and the maximum number of contiguous days in which a plot was inundated; minimum, mean and maximum inundation depth; and elevation above river stage at 566m3s-1 (average daily peak flow).

These data were compiled for monitoring riparian vegetation change along the Colorado River. This file contains data recorded at 42 sandbars between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek, AZ, which are sampled for both geomorphic and vegetation change annually. Field data contained here were collected from 2012 to 2016 in September and October of each year. Plant species cover values in 5441 1m^2 quadrat frames, locations and elevations of those sampling frames, slope and aspect, sample dates, temperature and precipitation data, and flood frequency parameters were either recorded in the field or calculated. Annual and seasonal climate variables were estimated from eight weather stations distributed along the river corridor from data aquired from Caster et al. 2014. Data collected between 1 February 2008 and 31 January 2011 were used, as the greatest number of weather stations were recording data with the fewest data gaps during this time. Data were linearly interpolated to sandbars lacking weather data based on distance from adjacent weather stations. Available climate variables included minimum and maximum annual temperature; mean annual, winter (November - April) and monsoon (May - October) precipitation; and mean annual humidity. Inundation and depth to water table were estimated for each plot using plot elevation (acquired from Kaplinski et al. 2014), the 15-minute hydrograph from Glen Canyon Dam (https://www.gcmrc.gov/discharge_qw_sediment/?), and the stage calculator developed for sandbars by Hazel et al. (2006). Discharge data from the 365 days preceding the vegetation surveys were used to calculate the proportion of that year, and the maximum number of contiguous days in which a plot was inundated; minimum, mean and maximum inundation depth; and elevation above river stage at 566m3s-1 (average daily peak flow).

In 2004 U.S. Geological Survey biologists recorded vegetation and biological soil crust (BSC) cover by species as well as measured soil stability and compaction data along 85 transects at the Badger Wash study area, approximately 10 miles northwest of Mack in western Colorado. Soil samples were collected and processed for chemistry and texture. Using analysis of variance and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) we assessed the cover of vegetation and BSC both grouped by plant physiognomy and dynamic soil properties (soil chemistry/nutrients and stability and compaction) as influenced by the effects of grazing history and soil group (which varied by slope, topographic wetness index and soil properties). Vegetation and BSC cover data were also compared to plant cover measurements collected in the same experimental watersheds by Lusby et al. in 1953, 1963, and 1972. Data used for all these analyses are contained within this data file. These data were compiled to accompany the publication “Insights from Long-term Ungrazed and Grazed Watersheds in a Salt Desert Colorado Plateau Ecosystem (Larger Work Citation).

In 2004 U.S. Geological Survey biologists recorded vegetation and biological soil crust (BSC) cover by species as well as measured soil stability and compaction data along 85 transects at the Badger Wash study area, approximately 10 miles northwest of Mack in western Colorado. Soil samples were collected and processed for chemistry and texture. Using analysis of variance and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) we assessed the cover of vegetation and BSC both grouped by plant physiognomy and dynamic soil properties (soil chemistry/nutrients and stability and compaction) as influenced by the effects of grazing history and soil group (which varied by slope, topographic wetness index and soil properties). Vegetation and BSC cover data were also compared to plant cover measurements collected in the same experimental watersheds by Lusby et al. in 1953, 1963, and 1972. Data used for all these analyses are contained within this data file. These data were compiled to accompany the publication “Insights from Long-term Ungrazed and Grazed Watersheds in a Salt Desert Colorado Plateau Ecosystem (Larger Work Citation).