STATISTICAL COMPARISONS OF GEOMORPHIC AND SPECIES DIVERSITY INDICES FOR SPRINGS ECOSYSTEMS

Springs are often vital water resources that support ecosystems that are both diverse and species rich. Species extinctions and declining water quality and quantity are of such urgent concern that springs ecosystems conservation and restoration efforts are now a major international focus. Ecological diversity found at springs orifices is inextricably linked to flow, sediment transport, and current landforms and their relations to underlying structures. Springs ecosystems are among the most structurally complicated, ecologically and biologically diverse, productive, evolutionarily provocative, and threatened ecosystems on earth (Stevens and Meretsky 2008). Springs commonly support a wide array of microhabitats, including native, non-native, and rare species. As yet, there are 12 defined springs types and 13 classified microhabitats. This research addresses patterns between spring type and microhabitat abundance and occurrence, springs plant biodiversity, and the mechanisms that contribute to the array of factors driving springs ecosystems. In this study, a database of comprehensive inventories of over 300 springs was interpreted to integrate major hydrogeomorphic properties and controls with ecologically relevant variables. Implementing a multivariate technique to quantitatively analyze the data helps account for colinearity among physical variables. Bridging the two disciplines of geomorphology and ecology permits: (1) detailed analyses of fundamental properties about the structure and composition of springs vegetation in relation to variation among physical variables and processes; (2) quantitative description of geomorphic diversity of different springs types; and (3) characterization of ecological habitats and their relation to geomorphic properties. Understanding these attributes and their role in springs ecosystems is imperative to assessing habitat development, sustainability, and conservation efforts. The insufficient amount of research and knowledge on springs ecosystems have hindered appropriate scientific attention. Increased microhabitat area and diversity at a spring increases plant species richness, but varies in relation to springs type and physical factors. Understanding these basic geological-ecological relationships is needed to clarify sustainability and improve stewardship.