1. Monitoring the Ecological Recovery of the University of Portland
River Campus Riparian Zone, Portland, OR
Project establishment and baseline woody plant, herbaceous vegetation, avian, and insect diversity surveys conducted summer 2014
Woody Plant Inventory (May 21-27)
•A full inventory, beginning in sector Null (before transect 1) was conducted in which all
woody plants were counted.
•All woody plants were assessed for relative health: good, fair, or poor.
•Locations of trees were plotted on a map.
Herbaceous Vegetation Survey (June 9-18, July 7-11)
•A 1-m2 quadrat was placed at 5-m intervals along each transect, beginning at the
shoreline for odd-numbered transects or at the ridge line for even-numbered transects.
•The side of the transect (N or S) on which the first quadrat was placed was determined by
coin toss, and the subsequent quadrats of that transect alternated sides.
•Percent cover of each plant species located within the quadrat was recorded.
•Transects were surveyed in pairs in random order.
•An additional walkthrough was conducted in early August to scout for plant species not
observed in quadrats.
Avian Surveys (May 21-July 17)
•Avian point count surveys were conducted at each of three stations weekly between
0800 and 1000 hours.
•Between the 29th of May and the end of June an additional weekly point count was
added at a randomly assigned time.
•Duration of point counts was ten minutes, in which the observer recorded all avian
individuals seen or heard, whether each individual was in the riparian zone or within 50
meters of the observer, and which environmental location (air, water, vegetation, ground)
the individual was utilizing.
Insect Capture Surveys (June 6-11, July 7-17)
•Each insect capture session consisted of three consecutive methods performed by two
technicians simultaneously:
1. Ground collection: capture of all insects in a randomly chosen quadrat for 10 minutes
2. Aerial netting: continuous sweeping of the air with 38-cm nets for 5 minutes
3. Targeted capture: capture of conspicuous flying insects within a designated sector for
10 minutes
•Insects were collected in individual containers, frozen, and identified to taxonomic order.
Methods
Results
 22 woody plant species, though 18 were reportedly planted
 90% in poor health, 9% fair, 1% good
 67.4% survival (18.7% if willow stakes included)
 Total of 139 species from 42 families: 29% native, 60% exotic, other
unresolved
 Average of 13.8 species per quadrat
 Most frequent species were exotic: bentgrass (Agrostis spp. 93% of
quadrats), ryegrass (Lolium spp.; 93%), and white clover (Trifolium repens;
87%)
 Most spatially abundant species were exotic: white sweetclover (Melilotus
albus; 57% average cover), bentgrass (44%), and ryegrass (42%)
 Only 3 of 7 hydroseeded species were observed
 Total of 31 avian species observed utilizing the riparian zone
 Swallows (violet-green, barn, and cliff) most frequent
 Average of 15.6 individuals per point count
 Northernmost station statistically more diverse than Southernmost station
 Total of 3988 invertebrates captured from 11 insect orders, three
arachnid orders, and one other order
 Dipterans were most abundant, followed by Homopterans (on account
of aphids) and Hymenopterans
Araneae (Spiders, ticks)
Hemiptera (True bugs)
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Other
Hymenoptera (Bees,
wasps, ants)
Homoptera (Aphids,
leafhoppers)
Diptera (Flies, gnats)
Abstract
The riparian zone of the University of Portland “River Campus” was
surveyed for ecological health by use of avian, insect, and vegetation
surveys after undergoing restoration as a former Superfund site. Lists of
extant plant and bird species were compiled with reasonable
inclusivity. Thirty-one avian species, 15 invertebrate orders, and at least
139 botanical species (40 native, 84 exotic, 5 unresolved, 10
unidentified) were observed. Vegetation surveys showed high
frequency and abundance of exotics, though some native species were
also well-established. Woody shrubs and trees, which were planted by
the University of Portland, were inventoried, mapped, and their health
assessed (22 species, 90% in poor health). The data obtained through
this study are intended to a) inform the University of the success of
restoration activities to date, serve as a baseline for further monitoring
of ecological recovery on this site, and provide observations which may
be used to advise future work. With subsequent summer surveys, it is
anticipated that ecological recovery will be observed, which will
improve the health of the riparian ecosystem, optimizing conditions for
native aquatic species such as salmon.
Background
The study site, commonly known as "River Campus," is a 35 acre plot
at 5828 N Van Houten Place in Portland, OR. The property is part of
the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, and had heavily contaminated
surface water, ground water, and soil after serving a myriad of
industrial uses.1 After purchasing the site, the University of Portland
worked with the EPA to remove and cap the soil hot spots before re-
grading and re-vegetating the riparian zone (approximately 25 meters
from shore), which is the area under current study.2 The University’s
Physical Plant planted native woody species and hydroseeding was
used to distribute a seed mixture of nine native species. Due to its
location and lack of older vegetation, the site experiences high sun and
wind exposure. For the purposes of this study, the riparian zone was
divided into sectors by transects spaced 50 meters apart with relation
to the top ridge line.
Project Goals
The long-term goal of this project is to monitor the ecological recovery
of the riparian zone from past contamination and disturbance. To
accomplish this, species diversity of distinct taxonomic groups will be
surveyed every summer for several years. The purpose of the summer
2014 work, presented here, was to 1) develop a series of reproducible
methods with which to assess the ecological health of the ecosystem,
2) conduct the developed methods—vegetation, avian, and insect
diversity surveys—to provide baseline measurements with which
future surveys can be compared, and 3) inventory the surviving woody
vegetation planted by the University to evaluate to-date restoration
success in preparation for future work on the area. Monitoring
diversity and thus ecological recovery of the riparian zone is expected
to produce data pertinent to the health of salmon, our focal species,
given the successes of similarly designed studies. If the system
develops into a healthy, riparian ecosystem as anticipated, the area
may provide shade and food for salmonid populations.
Hanna Bauer and Katelin D. Stanley
1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. April 2009. Statement of Work for the Agreement and
2. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. April, 2014. Site Summary Report - Details for Site
Administrative Order on the Consent for Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser, University of Portland,
for the Triangle Park Property within the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. (Upland Removal and
Source Action Control, Attachment One). Portland, Oregon. Accessed online: August 2014.
ID 277, Triangle Park - North Portland Yard. (Environmental Cleanup Site Information Database).
Portland, Oregon. Accessed online: August 2014.
<http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/ECSI/ecsidetail.asp?seqnbr=277>
References
Figure 2 (left): Woody plant
individuals reportedly planted
compared to woody plant
individuals inventoried during
survey
Figure 3 (right): Yellow currant
exhibiting poor condition as
evidenced by discoloration and
limited growth
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Individuals
Planted total
Observed total
Figure 4: Depictions of representative vegetation as observed in south sectors (left), central sectors (center), and
north sectors (right)
Species Frequency (%)
Violet-green swallow 62
Barn swallow 60
Swallow spp. 40
American crow 38
Canada goose 33
Cliff swallow 33
Killdeer 33
European starling 31
American goldfinch 24
Table 1 (left): Nine most
frequently observed avian
species. All other species were
observed at less than 15%
frequency.
Figure 1: Representation of
river campus riparian area
division into designated
transects, for vegetation
and insect ground
collection, and sectors, for
woody plant inventory and
insect aerial collection. Blue
arrows indicate avian point
count stations.
North
Figure 6 (left): Bumblebee (Bombus
spp.) pollinating exotic white
sweetclover (Melilotus albus) in mid-
July. Bumblebees and honeybees
were abundant in warmer months of
late summer.
Figure 7 (above): Distribution of collected insects.
Figure 5 (right): Tree swallow
utilizing the sandy shoreline of
the riparian zone.
Discussion and Reexamination of Goals
The future for the riparian zone of River Campus appears promising. Though the
majority of plant species were exotic, several native species were observed
colonizing the area. Some of these species, as well as several abundant exotics, are
nitrogen-fixing and may thus be improving the nutrient quality of the soil. Avian
activity in the area was somewhat low, but many additional species were heard in
neighboring areas that have the potential to emigrate once the habitat of River
Campus improves. Insect activity was promising due to the abundance of
pollinating species—vital for plant success and reproduction—and Dipterans, which
are important as a food source for birds and fish.
While these qualitative observations were made, our results do not quantitatively
indicate trends of ecological recovery due to the lack of comparative data. Rather,
the data collected during this season will be used as a foundation to which future
surveys will be compared. This will be possible due to the reproducibility of the
methods we developed, as vegetation, avian, and insect surveys were standardized
and proved easy to repeat. In addition, we were able to complete a comprehensive
inventory and map of woody plants in the riparian zone, which can be used for
future comparison as well as immediate analysis of restoration success. Because
each of our goals was met, we consider this summer 2014 season a success.