* Areas surveyed in May and June 2013 with this protocol:

1. Measured vegetation at the 12 CORE riparian sites (i.e., EE15A, EE6A, EE7C, EN4B, EN7B, PE10B, PE11A, PE13A, PE1D, PN1B, PN2A, PN7A)

2. Measured vegetation at the 7 CORE riparian sites along the Salt River, which are also part of the Salt River Biodiversity Project (SRBP) (i.e., Ave35_dwn_B1, Ave67_dwn_B1, BM_mid_B2, Price_up_B1, Priest_dwn_B1, Rio_mid_B2, Tonto_up_B1)

* Set up:

1. Whole plot = 80mx80m

2. Center of the plot is the bird point

3. Establish 10 stratified random points throughout the whole plot. To select point location, use aerials and distribute the points randomly throughout the plot while being representative of the whole plot (e.g., if 50% of the plot is covered by riparian vegetation, 20% is covered by desert vegetation and 30% is bare ground, 5 points should be located in the riparian vegetation, 2 in desert vegetation and 3 on bare ground)

4. Random points should be at least 10m apart (so the subplots (5m-radius) do not overlap)

5. For safety, no random points should be located in water or on a road

* Record the following categorical data that best represents the whole plot:

1. Site type: Engineered (man-built, dug channel, planted vegetation, etc.) VS natural (not engineered)

2. Water type: lentic (stagnant) VS lotic (flowing); ephemeral (not always present) VS perennial (present year round)

3. Landscape management: active: vegetation is actively trimmed on a regular basis (i.e., understory is regularly trimmed to maintain visibility); semi-active: most vegetation remain in a natural state, however some is trimmed when necessary (i.e., encroachment on trail); unmanaged: vegetation is not maintained

* In the whole plot, record the following:

1. Potential for cavities: Record if, yes or no, within the whole plot, there are large (>6in diameter) dead branches/trees (standing, not on ground) and/or Saguaros that could provide habitat for cavity nesters.

2. General species list: Write a list of the dominant perennial vegetation species present on the whole plot.

3. Rough overall % cover estimate: Estimate the slightly modified Daubenmire cover class (as described below) for the categories listed below based on what you see in the field and with help of recent aerial images. Total cover may exceed 100%.

Categories:

a. Trees (woody vegetation >2m in height or diameter >1in);

b. Shrubs (woody vegetation <2m in height or stem diameter <1in);

c. Bare Ground (area without vegetation; does NOT include man-made impervious surface);

d. Grass/herbaceous/ground cover;

e. Water (present at time of survey);

f. Impervious surface (man-made);

g. Cacti and succulents;

h. Water area (area up to high water mark);

i. Marsh area (as indicated per water-associated plant species present such as cattails);

j. Inaccessible area (area of the plot that we cannot access and, thus, are unable to survey or walk through. Note that vegetation present on inaccessible areas is included in the estimate for the other categories)

* At each random point, record the following:

1. Substrate cover: With the help of a small stick, record the substrate cover at each random point location. To do so, after identifying the random point location, take your stick and without looking, lower the stick and touch the ground. Record what the stick touches on the ground from the substrate type list provided below (record only 1 substrate type per random point).

Substrate Type:

a. Woody debris (vegetative material >1cm diameter);

b. Litter and twigs (vegetative material <1cm diameter);

c. Impervious surface (man-made);

d. Water;

e. Bare ground (pick one of the following to further describe the bare ground)

i. Mud/silt (<0.1mm)

ii. Sand (0.1 – 2mm)

iii. Gravel (2 -32mm)

iv. Cobble (32 – 256mm)

v. Boulder (>256mm)

vi. Bedrock

2. % canopy cover: Position yourself at the random point facing North. Use a concave densiometer to estimate % canopy cover at the point (follow densiometer instruction on how to count the dots and how to convert to percent canopy cover). From the same location, repeat the process while facing the 3 other cardinal directions (East, West, and South).

3. % vegetation cover per height class (PVC): At the random point, place a telescoping pole with the 4 height classes listed below already marked on the pole. Extend pole and keep it straight. Imagine a cylinder of 0.5m radius around the pole and estimate the slightly modified Daubenmire cover class (described below) of the imaginary cylinder filled with vegetation (regardless of what type of vegetation it is) for each height class. This is best estimated with 2 people: 1 person holding the pole and a second person standing at a distance, estimating the slightly modified Daubenmire cover class of the cylinder filled with vegetation.

a. PVC 1: 0 –0.6m;

b. PVC 2: 0.61 – 1.5m;

c. PVC 3: 1.5 – 4.5m;

d. PVC 4: >4.5 (from 4.5m up to the top of the canopy)

4. Foliage height diversity (FHD): At the random point, place a telescoping pole with the 8 height classes listed below already marked on the pole. Extend pole and keep it straight. For each height class, record if, yes or no, green foliage (regardless of what type of vegetation it is) touches an imaginary 10cm disc around the pole.

8 height classes:

a. FHD 1: 0 – 0.013m;

b. FHD 2: 0.013 – 0.60m;

c. FHD 3: 0.6 – 1.5m;

d. FHD 4: 1.5 – 3.0m;

e. FHD 5: 3.0 – 4.5m;

f. FHD 6: 4.5 – 6.0m;

g. FHD 7: 6.0 – 9.0m;

h. FHD 8: >9m

* At each random point, measure a 5 meter radius subplot around the point, and record the following:

1. Species richness: Count the number of perennial woody species present in the subplot.

2. Burrow abundance: Count the number of burrows present in the subplot.

3. Presence/absence of selected species: Record if, yes or no, the selected species listed below are present within the subplot.

Selected species:

a. Brittlebush

b. Triangle bursage

c. Cacti (include cacti and succulent)

4. Percent cover of species and area of interest: Record the slightly modified Daubenmire cover class (as described below) best representing the area of the subplot covered by each of the species (regardless of their height) and areas of interest listed below.

Species of interest:

a. Populus;

b. Salix spp;

c. Tamarix;

d. Prosopis spp;

e. Larrea tridentata;

f. Bebbia juncea;

g. Ornamentals (species that are non-native but used as ornamental plants such as Vitex agnus-castus, Ricinus communis, Rhus lancea, and Eucalyptus trees)

Area of interest:

h. Water (area covered by water at time of survey);

i. Marsh areas (as indicated per water-associated plant species present such as cattails)

* Slightly modified Daubenmire (1959) cover class

a. None;

b. 0 – 1%;

c. 1 – 5%;

d. 5 – 25%;

e. 25 – 50%;

f. 50 – 75%;

g. 75 – 95%;

h. 95 – 100%

Daubenmire, R. 1959. A canopy-coverage method of vegetational analysis. Northwest Science 33: 43-64.