Background Globally, vegetation in riparian zones is frequently the target of restoration efforts because of its importance in reducing the input of eroded sediment and agricultural nutrient runoff to surface waters. Here we examine the potential of riparian zone restoration to enhance carbon sequestration. We measured soil and woody biomass carbon stocks, as well as soil carbon properties, in a long-term chronosequence of 42 streambank revegetation projects in northern California rangelands, varying in restoration age from 1 to 45 years old. Results Where revegetation was successful, we found that soil carbon measured to 50 cm depth increased at a rate of 0.87 Mg C ha −1 year −1 on the floodplain and 1.12 Mg C ha −1 year −1 on the upper bank landform. Restored sites also exhibited trends toward increased soil carbon permanence, including an increased C:N ratio and lower fulvic acid: humic acid ratio. Tree and shrub carbon in restored sites was modeled to achieve a 50-year maximum of 187.5 Mg C ha −1 in the channel, 279.3 Mg ha −1 in the floodplain, and 238.66 Mg ha −1 on the upper bank. After 20 years of restoration, the value of this carbon at current per-ton C prices would amount to $US 15,000 per km of restored stream. Conclusion We conclude that revegetating rangeland streambanks for erosion control has a substantial additional benefit of mitigating global climate change, and should be considered in carbon accounting and any associated financial compensation mechanisms.

The following questions are intended to help assess ranch/farm water quality and potential sources of pollution in the watershed.It is important to note that identified pollution sources may not be caused by current livestock grazing activities.This assessment is intended to be used on each pasture/field utilized for agricultural production purposes on the ranch

Agricultural water demands can conflict with habitat needs in many North Coast watersheds. Understanding different water use patterns can help reduce conflict over limited supplies. We measured on-farm crop water use and conducted grower interviews to estimate the agricultural water demand in the upper Russian River and Navarro River watersheds. Annual agricultural water demand was less than 11% in the Russian River, and 2% in Navarro River, of the total annual discharge in each watershed. However, because demands are concentrated in the dry season when instream flows are at a minimum, these relatively small amounts can represent a significant constraint to stream habitat conditions. We have shared our study results in broad basin and community water resource planning efforts, including flow management of the Russian and Navarro rivers and implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in the Ukiah Basin. Findings and recommendations from this study have influenced on-the-ground solutions to meet water demand in these watersheds, including construction of off-stream wintertime storage capacity to replace summertime stream diversions, and use of a municipal recycled water conveyance system as a replacement for summer diversions.

Author(s): Doran, Morgan P.; Lennox, Michael; Lewis, David | Abstract: The Ranch Water Quality Planning Instructor's Guide and Lesson Plan (RWQP Guide) is a multi-part curriculum for extension professionals, watershed organization staff and volunteers, and the ranching community. The goal is to provide an objective, adaptive blueprint for organizing short course-type educational programs to enable ranchers to complete their RWQPs.This updated guide and lesson plan provides a scientific overview of water quality, specifically for livestock operations, with a wealth of new information discovered since the curriculum was first written in 1995. Designed for turn-key operation with a guide, lesson plans, participant worksheets, and video modules.Through the 6 modules and 19 lessons short course participants will learn about key issues presented in advanced management practices that protect water quality and support grazing livestock operation viability.

Annual visual monitoring can be done to capture the general readiness of the ranch for the oncoming wet season, and general ranch water quality conditions during the wet season.Visual monitoring can consist of:

For 50 years, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) has contributed to dairy water quality policy in California and helped, with partner organizations, to implement it in the dairy industry. When conditional waivers for waste discharge requirements expired in 2003, UC ANR shared research and best professional practices as regional water quality control boards developed new orders. UC ANR academics then worked with water quality control boards' staff and dairy industry representatives to develop feasible, staged implementation plans. Collaboratively, more than 50 hours of workshop curriculum were developed and disseminated, helping dairy producers to accept scientifically sound management practices that are more protective of groundwater. Research by UC ANR to better understand system dynamics, nitrogen management and practices to minimize the impact of manure application on groundwater quality continues, as does a program in environmental stewardship.

Coastal areas support multiple important resource uses including recreation, aquaculture, and agriculture. Unmanaged cattle access to stream corridors in grazed coastal watersheds can contaminate surface waters with fecal-derived microbial pollutants, posing risk to human health via activities such as swimming and shellfish consumption. Improved managerial control of cattle access to streams through implementation of grazing best management practices (BMPs) is a critical step in mitigating waterborne microbial pollution in grazed watersheds. This paper reports trend analysis of a 19-year dataset to assess long-term microbial water quality responses resulting from a program to implement 40 grazing BMPs within the Olema Creek Watershed, a primary tributary to Tomales Bay, USA. Stream corridor grazing BMPs implemented included: (1) Stream corridor fencing to eliminate/control cattle access, (2) hardened stream crossings for cattle movements across stream corridors, and (3) off stream drinking water systems for cattle. We found a statistically significant reduction in fecal coliform concentrations following the initial period of BMP implementation, with overall mean reductions exceeding 95% (1.28 log10)—consistent with 1—2 log10 (90–99%) reductions reported in other studies. Our results demonstrate the importance of prioritization of pollutant sources at the watershed scale to target BMP implementation for rapid water quality improvements and return on investment. Our findings support investments in grazing BMP implementation as an important component of policies and strategies to protect public health in grazed coastal watersheds.

We used the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to evaluate how different residual forage dry matter (RDM) levels affect erosion potential in rangelands across California. The model was adapted to operate in a geographic information system (GIS) to model 14.8 million acres (6.0 million hectares) of land. Average erosion potential was low among all RDM scenarios and increased from an estimated 0.05 ton per acre per year (0.11 megagram per hectare per year) with the high RDM scenario to 0.12 ton per acre per year (0.27 megagram per hectare per year) with the low RDM scenario. Considering all RDM scenarios, fewer than 174,733 acres (70,710 hectares, or 1.2% of land) had erosion potential that exceeded soil loss tolerance values. Although achieving a uniform RDM target across a landscape may be an oversimplification of reality, simulations suggest that erosion potential on average is low in California's annual rangelands across high, moderate and low RDM recommendations. Moreover, our findings indicate that grazing management (maintaining moderate or high RDM) to mitigate erosion can be effective when targeted at areas of high vulnerability.

Woolly distaff thistle is a long-lived winter annual that threatens the ranching and dairy industries within the North Coast counties of California, particularly the organic producers. No peer-reviewed publications have documented effective control options or integrated management approaches for this species. We conducted two experiments, each replicated, in Marin County, California. The first compared several conventional herbicides at two timings and rates, while the second compared a conventional herbicide treatment with organic and integrated organic control methods, including an organic herbicide (mixture of capric and caprylic acids). Results of the conventional herbicide treatments showed most spring applications (March or April) of aminopyralid, aminocyclopyrachlor, clopyralid, and combinations of aminopyralid + triclopyr, or aminocyclopyrachlor + chlorsulfuron had greater than 99% control of woolly distaff thistle with fewer than 1.5 seedlings per 27-m2 plot by the end of the growing season. Higher rates were generally necessary to achieve the same level of control with winter (January) applications. In the organic herbicide treatments, the most consistent treatment was a combination of mowing followed by 9% (v/v) or the organic herbicide. This treatment was slightly less effective compared with aminopyralid but did have better than 95% control of woolly distaff thistle. The results of this study provide control options for both conventional and organic ranching practices where woolly distaff thistle is a problem.

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is the first comprehensive legislative effort to reform groundwater management in the state of California after years of uncoordinated and voluntary governance of this resource. The objective of this study is to a) describe the SGMA in California, b) describe a method for estimating a water budget, and c) present the implementation of this method for the Ukiah Valley Groundwater Basin (UVGB). An estimated water budget, done on a monthly time step from 1991 to 2015, was developed in order to characterize the UVGB. Results suggest that the groundwater basin is not in overdraft, and that a portion of the Russian River is a gaining river (approximately 18,952 AF/y) from November to June, and a losing river (approximately 393 AF/y) from July to October. Furthermore, lateral groundwater movement is identified through the groundwater mass balance. Based on previous work and the results of this study, the observed later groundwater losses signify connectivity between the UVGB and the Sanel Valley Groundwater Basin (SVGB). Local groundwater managers and users can use this information to inform proposed action plans and monitoring protocols that will allow them to achieve and maintain groundwater sustainability in the UVGB by the year 2040.

Understanding the efficacy of passive (reduction or cessation of environmental stress) and active (typically involving planting or seeding) restoration strategies is important for the design of successful revegetation of degraded riparian habitat, but studies explicitly comparing restoration outcomes are uncommon. We sampled the understory herbaceous plant community of 103 riparian sites varying in age since restoration (0 to 39 years) and revegetation technique (active, passive, or none) to compare the utility of different approaches on restoration success across sites. We found that landform type, percent shade, and summer flow helped explain differences in the understory functional community across all sites. In passively restored sites, grass and forb cover and richness were inversely related to site age, but in actively restored sites forb cover and richness were inversely related to site age. Native cover and richness were lower with passive restoration compared to active restoration. Invasive species cover and richness were not significantly different across sites. Although some of our results suggest that active restoration would best enhance native species in degraded riparian areas, this work also highlights some of the context-dependency that has been found to mediate restoration outcomes. For example, since the effects of passive restoration can be quite rapid, this approach might be more useful than active restoration in situations where rapid dominance of pioneer species is required to arrest major soil loss through erosion. As a result, we caution against labeling one restoration technique as better than another. Managers should identify ideal restoration outcomes in the context of historic and current site characteristics (as well as a range of acceptable alternative states) and choose restoration approaches that best facilitate the achievement of revegetation goals.

•Rangeland livestock producers were among the first agricultural communities affected by California's multiyear drought.•Rancher surveys and in-person interviews have identified key strategies for coping with and adapting to drought.•Increasing flexibility, resource valuation, and information sharing are important components of building adaptive capacity.•Web-based communication systems have provided new tools for peer-to-peer learning, public education, and extending knowledge to larger audiences.•Insights from managers’ experiences are important for adaptation planning to enhance resilience of rangeland social-ecological systems to climate stresses.