Use of Landsat imagery to estimate ground-water pumpage for irrigation on the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington, 1985

Populations at the periphery of a species range are thought to be less viable than those in the center because they are at the limit of their ecological tolerances. Plant population viability is determined primarily by mortality and recruitment, thus knowing differences in vital rates between central and peripheral populations is key to understanding range limits. Silene spaldingii S. Watson is a long-lived iteroparous plant that occurs throughout the eastern Columbia Plateau region of eastern Washington and adjacent Idaho and Oregon and is disjunct in northwest Montana. I recorded the fate of mapped S. spaldingii plants annually for 10 years in four populations, two from eastern Washington and two from Montana. Recruitment averaged three times higher and relatively constant at two central populations in Washington compared with two peripheral sites in Montana. Mortality was three times higher at one of the central populations compared with the remaining three sites due to vole predation. Vole activity was observed at the second central population but came too late in the study to be certain that it resulted in mortality. Vole predation was not observed in the peripheral populations. My results suggest that peripheral populations of S. spaldingii may only be able to persist as long as predation or other sources of mortality remain low and that intrinsic low and variable recruitment rates coupled with predation may help define the eastern range margin of this species.

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Computed solid phases limiting the concentration of dissolved constituents in basalt aquifers of the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. Geochemical modeling and nuclide/rock/groundwater interaction studies

10.2172/5057161 ◽

1982 ◽

Author(s):

W.J. Deutsch ◽

E.A. Jenne ◽

K.M. Krupka

Keyword(s):

Geochemical Modeling ◽

Columbia Plateau ◽

Interaction Studies ◽

Solid Phases ◽

Eastern Washington

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Pesticides and volatile organic compounds in surface and ground water of the Palouse subunit, central Columbia Plateau, Washington and Idaho, 1993-95

10.3133/wri974285 ◽

1998 ◽

Keyword(s):

Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Ground Water ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Columbia Plateau ◽

Volatile Organic

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Solubility equilibria in basalt aquifers: The Columbia Plateau, eastern Washington, U.S.A.

Chemical Geology ◽

10.1016/0009-2541(82)90037-7 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 36 (1-2) ◽

pp. 15-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

William J. Deutsch ◽

Everett A. Jenne ◽

Kenneth M. Krupka

Keyword(s):

Columbia Plateau ◽

Eastern Washington

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Oxygen-isotope composition of ground water and secondary minerals in Columbia Plateau basalts: Implications for the paleohydrology of the Pasco Basin

Geology ◽

10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0606:oicogw>2.3.co;2 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. 606 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Paul P. Hearn, Jr. ◽

William C. Steinkampf ◽

Duane G. Horton ◽

G. Cleve Solomon ◽

L. Doug White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ground Water ◽

Oxygen Isotope ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Oxygen Isotope Composition ◽

Secondary Minerals ◽

Columbia Plateau

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Material Culture of an Upper Coulee Rockshelter

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/276523 ◽

1952 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 352-359 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

John E. Mills ◽

Carolyn Osborne

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

Ground Water ◽

Mule Deer ◽

Early Summer ◽

Columbia Plateau ◽

Game Animal ◽

Standing Water ◽

Bird Populations ◽

Bunch Grass ◽

Life Zone

Though the number of recovered cultural remains are few, the authors believe that the brief description and analysis of these artifacts are important, as site 45GR2 is the first dry shelter to be excavated in the Columbia Plateau.The area itself falls into the Upper Sonoran life zone. The plateau above the coulee is generally treeless and is more or less well covered with bunch grass. Lupines and sunflowers are important parts of the flora. In the coulee, ground water is more available, and better stands and more species of grasses are present. Successful wheat farms and a few orchards indicate that the area must, at least during certain seasons, have had an extensive floral cover. Aspen, willow, alder, and cottonwoods are found near the springs. The draws support heavy stands of brushy growth, with sage being outstanding. Juniper (cedar) trees are found both on the plateau and in the coulee. The bottom of the coulee, at least during and after the spring and early summer rains, is swampy, and standing water was probably present in earliest times in some places throughout most of the year. Rodents, small carnivore, and bird populations are large. The mule deer was no doubt the largest game animal of importance.

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