Presentation description

Riparian zones play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health and biodiversity, but they are threatened by changing climate conditions. This project explores how vegetation surrounding streams responds to variations in discharge, using two contrasting alpine watersheds in Utah: Red Butte Canyon and Albion Basin. Red Butte, a protected research area with minimal human disturbance, provides a natural low elevation environment. In contrast, Albion Basin located at a higher elevation within the Alta Ski Area, experiences heavier snowpack and greater recreational impact.

Throughout the summer I used satellite-derived NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) from Sentinel-2 imagery to assess vegetation greenness across both sites between the years of 2000 and 2025. Monthly stream discharge data were obtained from USGS stream gauges. NDVI rasters were clipped to buffers (100-meter for red butte and 50 meter for Albion) around streams to isolate riparian vegetation, and average NDVI values were extracted and compared with corresponding discharge records using correlation analysis.

Preliminary results show seasonal and annual trends in NDVI that reflect differing hydrologic patterns between the two sites. Red Butte's vegetation appears more stable, while Albion Basin shows more pronounced fluctuations, likely due to snowpack timing and elevation-driven climate differences. This study highlights how remote sensing and streamflow data can be combined to monitor ecosystem responses to climate-driven hydrologic variability.

By comparing two ecologically distinct watersheds, this research provides insight into the resilience of riparian vegetation under changing environmental conditions. While this research has only made me ask more questions through continued work Im hopeful these findings can inform long-term watershed monitoring and management strategies in similar alpine environments across the Intermountain West.