Slate River

Part of: Colorado

Scale: local

Elevation: 2800m

Elevation range: 2800m – 4000m

Habitat: mountainous gravelbed floodplain, montane to alpine zones, subalpine watershed, aspen forest, mountain drainage, subalpine meadows, subalpine meadow, high-elevation valley, river, meadow habitats, mountain stream, montane stream, invaded with Linaria vulgaris

Also known as: Slate River Road

Papers: 26 | Mentions: 91

Child Places (6)

Publications (26)

article

Metagenome-assembled genomes for oligotrophic nitrifiers From a mountainous gravelbed floodplain

2025Environmental Microbiologyprimary study site

article

Model and remote-sensing-guided experimental design and hypothesis generation for monitoring snow-soil–plant interactions

2024Frontiers in Waterprimary study site

article

Watershed zonation through hillslope clustering for tractably quantifying above-and below-ground watershed heterogeneity and functions

2022Hydrology and Earth System Sciencesprimary study site

article

Cytotype and genotype predict mortality and recruitment in Colorado quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

2021Ecological Applicationsprimary study site

article

The Colorado East River Community Observatory Data Collection

2021Hydrologic Processesprimary study site

article

The East River Community Observatory Data Collection: Diverse, multiscale data from a mountainous watershed in the East River, Colorado

2020Authoreaprimary study site

article

Satellite-derived foresummer drought sensitivity of plant productivity in Rocky Mountain headwater catchments: spatial heterogeneity and geological-geomorphological control

2020Environmental Research Lettersprimary study site

article

Plant Identity Influences Foliar Fungal Symbionts More Than Elevation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

2019Microbial Ecologyprimary study site

article

Progressive sensitivity of trophic levels to warming underlies an elevational gradient in ant–aphid mutualism strength

2019Oikosprimary study site

article

Elevational cline in herbivore abundance driven by a monotonic increase in trophic level sensitivity to aridity

2019Journal of Animal Ecologyprimary study site

article

Distinct Source Water Chemistry Shapes Contrasting Concentration-Discharge Patterns

2019Water Resources Researchmentioned

student_paper

Volatile organic compounds as signals for pollinators and their consistency across years

2019mentioned

student_paper

Seasonal Progression of Algal Development and Quality in Streams that Vary in Timing of Springtime Peak Flow

2019primary study site

article

Efficient hydrogeological characterization of remote stream corridors using drones

2018Hydrological Processes. doi 10.1002/hyp.13332mentioned

article

The East River, Colorado, Watershed: A mountainous community testbed for improving predictive understanding of multiscale hydrological-biogeochemical dynamics

2018Vadose Zone Journalsecondary site

student_paper

Effects of Light Availability on Aspen Understory Species

2018primary study site

article

The effect of repeated, lethal sampling on wild bee abundance and diversity

2015Methods in Ecology and Evolutionprimary study site

student_paper

Nectar and pollen rewards of invasive plants and their native congeners

2010primary study site

article

Genetic and morphological patterns show variation in frequency of hybrids between Ipomopsis (Polemoneaceae) zones of sympatry

2009Hereditysecondary site

student_paper

Rocky Mountain Bombus pathogen survey: Are invasive plants affecting pathogen prevalence and intensity?

2008primary study site

student_paper

Effect of Soil Metals on Pollination of Subalpine Wildflowers

2008secondary site

student_paper

The effect of sampling effort on species richness estimates of flower visitors

2007primary study site

student_paper

Are native bees picky enough? The effect of an invasive plant, Linaria vulgaris, on the foraging of native bee pollinators

2006primary study site

student_paper

Pollinator selection by floral traits and color in a hybrid zone of Ipomopsis aggregata and I. tenuituba (Polemoniaceae)

2004mentioned

article

Altitudinal variation in body size and population density of Nicrophorus investigator (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

2000Environmental Entomologysecondary site

Slate River

Child Places (6)

Gunsight Bridge

Lower Slate River

Oh Be Joyful Creek

Station 6

Station 7a

Station 8

Publications (26)

Metagenome-assembled genomes for oligotrophic nitrifiers From a mountainous gravelbed floodplain

Model and remote-sensing-guided experimental design and hypothesis generation for monitoring snow-soil–plant interactions

Watershed zonation through hillslope clustering for tractably quantifying above-and below-ground watershed heterogeneity and functions

Cytotype and genotype predict mortality and recruitment in Colorado quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

The Colorado East River Community Observatory Data Collection

The East River Community Observatory Data Collection: Diverse, multiscale data from a mountainous watershed in the East River, Colorado

Satellite-derived foresummer drought sensitivity of plant productivity in Rocky Mountain headwater catchments: spatial heterogeneity and geological-geomorphological control

Plant Identity Influences Foliar Fungal Symbionts More Than Elevation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Progressive sensitivity of trophic levels to warming underlies an elevational gradient in ant–aphid mutualism strength

Elevational cline in herbivore abundance driven by a monotonic increase in trophic level sensitivity to aridity

Distinct Source Water Chemistry Shapes Contrasting Concentration-Discharge Patterns

Volatile organic compounds as signals for pollinators and their consistency across years

Seasonal Progression of Algal Development and Quality in Streams that Vary in Timing of Springtime Peak Flow

Efficient hydrogeological characterization of remote stream corridors using drones

The East River, Colorado, Watershed: A mountainous community testbed for improving predictive understanding of multiscale hydrological-biogeochemical dynamics

Effects of Light Availability on Aspen Understory Species

The effect of repeated, lethal sampling on wild bee abundance and diversity

Nectar and pollen rewards of invasive plants and their native congeners

Genetic and morphological patterns show variation in frequency of hybrids between Ipomopsis (Polemoneaceae) zones of sympatry

Rocky Mountain Bombus pathogen survey: Are invasive plants affecting pathogen prevalence and intensity?

Effect of Soil Metals on Pollination of Subalpine Wildflowers

The effect of sampling effort on species richness estimates of flower visitors

Are native bees picky enough? The effect of an invasive plant, Linaria vulgaris, on the foraging of native bee pollinators

Pollinator selection by floral traits and color in a hybrid zone of Ipomopsis aggregata and I. tenuituba (Polemoniaceae)

Altitudinal variation in body size and population density of Nicrophorus investigator (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

Bottom sediment chemistry and water quality near Mount Emmons, Colorado

Datasets (55)

Geophysical survey associated with NEON AOP survey, East River, CO 2018

Mountain Basin Controls on the Snow-to-Streamflow Signal: An AIC-Weighted Multiple Linear Regression Framework

Data from Stewart et al. 2026 "Organic Colloid Composition in Variable-Redox Porewaters within a Mountainous Floodplain"

CHESS 2025: Field-collected vegetation attributes and site photos

CHESS 2025: Leaf Area Index (LAI) for meadow, shrub, tree, and understory vegetation

CHESS 2025: Location data for field observations and sampling

Depth-resolved sagebrush root metabolomics, rhizosphere microbial communities, and geochemistry at the East River Watershed

Data From: "Warming and snow loss increase reliance on old groundwater in a Colorado River headwater"

Documents (10)

Gunnison River Basin Facts

Letter to Gunnison County Commissioners: Concerns for Rice Application Land Use Change- impacts to Slate River

Letter to Gunnison County Commissioners: Concerns for Rice Application Land Use Change- impacts to Slate River

Gunnison County Stockgrowers 1894-1994

Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District (Volume 2)- Part 3

Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District (Volume 3)- Part 5

Letters from RMBL about Mt. Emmons

Mount Emmons Aquatic Ecology Baseline Studies

Mount Emmons Environmental Impact Statement

Species Studied Here

Picea engelmannii

Beetles

Fisher

Bombus terrestris

Bombus

Bombus bifarius

Bombus flavifrons

Bombus balteatus

Hymenoptera

Bombus impatiens

Data for "Depth of nutrient uptake by deep-rooted plants is regulated by water availability"

Metagenome-assembled genomes from Slate River floodplain sediments near Crested Butte, CO, USA (September 2019)

Metagenome-assembled genomes measured at 3 depths during snowmelt period in East River, CO (March, May, and June, September 2017)

Time-lapse imagery in 2017 and 2018 at the Lower Montane site in the East River Watershed, Colorado

Soil moisture and temperature from 2019 to 2024 along northeast- and southwest-facing hillslopes at the Lower Montane site in the East River Watershed, Colorado

Stream bed topography in 2016 at the Lower Montane site in the East River Watershed, Colorado

Groundwater elevation data for monitoring wells within the East and Taylor River basins, Colorado (USA)

Montane Conifer, Aspen, Meadow, and Sagebrush Metagenome Resolved Genomes and Traits in East River Watershed, Colorado, USA

Groundwater and river water elevations and temperature from 2017 to 2022 across Meander Z in the East River Watershed, Colorado

Foliar element determination from field survey in association with an Analytical Spectral Device Fieldspec3 survey, East River, CO 2023

Metagenome-assembled genomes from Slate River floodplain sediments near Crested Butte, CO, USA (June 2018)

Metagenome-assembled genomes from Slate River floodplain sediments near Crested Butte, CO, USA (June to October 2020)

Site and endmember spectra of terrestrial vegetation and soils for the Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study, June-July 2025

2D reactive transport model of shale chemical weathering and biogeochemical fluxes along a mountainous hillslope, East River Watershed, Colorado: Input files and simulation results

Data from: 'Abiotic influences on continuous conifer forest structure across a subalpine watershed'