Chemical and biotic characteristics of prairie lakes and large wetlands in south-central North Dakota—Effects of a changing climate

Mushet, David; Goldhaber, Martin B.; Mills, Christopher T.; McLean, Kyle I.; Aparicio, Vanessa M.; McCleskey, R. Blaine; Holloway, JoAnn M.; Stockwell, Craig A.

doi:10.3133/sir20155126

Cited by 38 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…This region in the Northern Great Plains is characterized by mid‐tall grass prairies and numerous permanent and semipermanent potholes and the associated wetlands (Euliss et al, ). The climate of this region is characterized by dry/wet cycles of drought and deluge, which consequently affect the volume and depths of the potholes and wetlands on the landscape (Mushet, Goldhaber, et al, ). Average yearly precipitation for the most recent wet cycle from 1993 to 2014 was 505.4 mm, and evapotranspiration accounts for the largest water loss (Mushet, Goldhaber, et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The climate of this region is characterized by dry/wet cycles of drought and deluge, which consequently affect the volume and depths of the potholes and wetlands on the landscape (Mushet, Goldhaber, et al, ). Average yearly precipitation for the most recent wet cycle from 1993 to 2014 was 505.4 mm, and evapotranspiration accounts for the largest water loss (Mushet, Goldhaber, et al, ). For the study surfaces, 10‐m DEM data were downloaded from the USGS Map Viewer (https://viewer.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this reason, traditional delineation approaches may not be appropriate to use when investigating dynamic hydrologic connectivity for depression‐dominated surfaces. The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in North America, featuring numerous pothole depressions across scales, is of interest for many hydrologic and ecological studies (Euliss et al, , ; Euliss & Mushet, ; Goldhaber et al, ; Mushet et al, ; Mushet et al, ; Rover, Wright, Euliss, Mushet, & Wylie, ). Over the last century, the associated ecosystems have been degraded due to the conversion of wetlands/grasslands to cultivated croplands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling of spatiotemporal variations in runoff contribution areas and analysis of hydrologic connectivity

Grimm

Chu

2018

Land Degrad Dev

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Traditional delineation and modeling methods do not consider the spatial arrangement and dynamic threshold control of surface depressions. Instead, full structural hydrologic connectivity, uniform well‐connected drainage networks, and an invariant contributing area are often assumed. In reality, depressions play an important role in quantifying functional connected areas (ACs) and contributing area. This study is aimed to develop a new procedure to analyze functional hydrologic connectivity related to topography at a mesoscale, specifically in depression‐dominated areas by (a) characterizing surface topography, (b) quantifying and locating dynamic hydrologic connectivity, and (c) analyzing hydrologic connectivity and threshold‐controlled dynamics of contributing area using a set of dimensionless indicators and a new normalized connected area function. Thorough analyses for different topographic surfaces provided improved understanding of the intrinsic relationship and interaction between structural and functional hydrologic connectivity patterns. In addition, the new procedure was compared against a traditional delineation method, terrain analysis using digital elevation models (TauDEM), to determine structural and functional connectivity. It was found that spatial arrangement and scale of depressions had a direct effect on hydrologic connectivity. A stepwise trend, unique to depression‐dominated areas, highlighted the effect of threshold behaviors on contributing area and ACs. Conversely, dendritic surfaces showed an expedited surface connectivity due to the assumption of depressionless topography. Thus, precisely locating and quantifying ACs and contributing area via the new analysis procedure improve our understanding of the mechanisms of topography‐controlled overland flow and sediment transport dynamics, and hence, the findings are valuable in making informed decisions about water quantity and quality across varying topographic surfaces.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling of spatiotemporal variations in runoff contribution areas and analysis of hydrologic connectivity

Grimm

Chu

2018

Land Degrad Dev

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“…Furthermore, a paired t-test, fractal analysis, and scale analysis are performed to evaluate the DEM scale effects and identify appropriate DEM resolution. Particularly, fractal and scale analyses allow one to relate features at different scales and link processes across scales because measures of these features have dependencies on resolution (a power law relationship for a wide class of geometrical fractals) that are scale invariant (Pachepsky et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does DEM resolution affect microtopographic characteristics, hydrologic connectivity, and modelling of hydrologic processes?

Habtezion

Nasab

Chu

2016

Hydrological Processes

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The resolution of a digital elevation model (DEM) is a crucial factor in watershed hydrologic and environmental modelling. DEM resolution can cause significant variability in the representation of surface topography, which further affects quantification of hydrologic connectivity and simulation of hydrologic processes. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of DEM resolution on (1) surface microtopographic characteristics, (2) hydrologic connectivity, and (3) the spatial and temporal variations of hydrologic processes. A puddle‐to‐puddle modelling system was utilized for surface delineation and modelling of the puddle‐to‐puddle overland flow dynamics, surface runoff, infiltration, and unsaturated flow for nine DEM resolution scenarios of a field plot surface. Comparisons of the nine modelling scenarios demonstrated that coarser DEM resolutions tended to eliminate topographic features, reduce surface depression storage, and strengthen hydrologic connectivity and surface runoff. We found that reduction in maximum depression storage and maximum ponding area was as high as 97.56% and 76.36%, respectively, as the DEM grid size increased from 2 to 80 cm. The paired t‐test and fractal analysis demonstrated the existence of a threshold DEM resolution (10 cm for the field plot), within which the DEM‐based hydrologic modelling was effective and acceptable. The effects of DEM resolution were further evaluated for a larger surface in the Prairie Pothole Region subjected to observed rainfall events. It was found that simulations based on coarser resolution DEMs (>10 m) tended to overestimate ponded areas and underestimate runoff discharge peaks. The simulated peak discharge from the Prairie Pothole Region surface reduced by approximately 50% as the DEM resolution changed from 2 to 90 m. Fractal analysis results elucidated scale dependency of hydrologic and topographic processes. In particular, scale analysis highlighted a unique constant–threshold–power relationship between DEM scale and topographic and hydrologic parameters/variables. Not only does this finding allow one to identify threshold DEM but also further develop functional relationships for scaling to achieve valid topographic characterization as well as effective and efficient hydrologic modelling. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Lakes were defined as NWI polygons classified as lacustrine (Cowardin et al 1979). We note that as conditions such as water depth and vegetation dynamics change over time, the corresponding nomenclature (e.g., wetland, lake) can also change (Bj rk 2010), especially during recent years (e.g., 1994-2011) which represent a particularly wet phase in the climate of the PPR (Mushet et al 2015). Stream occurrence was defined by the high resolution NHD (1:24,000) (USGS 2013b).…”

Section: Dditional Datasetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Lake Expansion in Altering the Wetland Landscape of the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Vanderhoof

Alexander

2015

Wetlands

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Interannual variation in lake extent is well documented in the Prairie Pothole Region, but the role of surfacewater expansion, including lake expansion, in merging with and subsuming wetlands across the landscape has been minimally considered. We examined how the expansion of surface-water extent, in particular, the expansion of lakes across parts of the Prairie Pothole Region can alter landscape-level hydrologic connectivity among substantial numbers of previously surficially disconnected wetlands. Temporally static wetland, lake, and stream datasets were fused with temporally varying Landsat-derived surface-water extent maps to quantify changes in surface-water connectivity. Under deluge conditions, lakes were found to create significantly larger complexes of surficially-connected wetlands relative to non-lake surface-water connections (e.g., only wetlands or wetlands and streams). Analysis of three specific lakes showed that lakes can merge with and subsume wetlands located kilometers to tens of kilometers from the National Wetland Inventory defined lake perimeter. As climate across the Prairie Pothole Region is highly variable, understanding historic patterns of surface-water expansion and contraction under drought-to-deluge conditions will be integral to predicting future effects of climate change on wetland function, loss and influence on other aquatic systems, including downstream waters.

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Chemical and biotic characteristics of prairie lakes and large wetlands in south-central North Dakota—Effects of a changing climate

Cited by 38 publications

References 1 publication

Modeling of spatiotemporal variations in runoff contribution areas and analysis of hydrologic connectivity

Modeling of spatiotemporal variations in runoff contribution areas and analysis of hydrologic connectivity

How does DEM resolution affect microtopographic characteristics, hydrologic connectivity, and modelling of hydrologic processes?

The Role of Lake Expansion in Altering the Wetland Landscape of the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

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