Ephemeral saline lakes on the Canadian prairies: their classification and management for emergent macrophyte growth

Lieffers, Victor J.; Shay, Jennifer M.

doi:10.1007/bf00025179

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…These saline areas are characterized by groundwater inflow into a partially closed catchment area. Salinity in these systems is determined by the amount of water inflow and its salt content, the amount of precipitation and evaporation, and the amount of outflow; all these factors vary seasonally and from year to year (Lieffers & Shay 1983; Beyen & Meire 2003). Levels of salinity in shallow soils generally increase with decreasing elevation toward a basin, reflecting the movement of the salts along topographic gradients driving groundwater flow.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand Tailings

Purdy

Macdonald

Lieffers

2005

Restoration Ecology

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Reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining have saline soils; yet, they are required to have similar biodiversity and productivity as the predisturbance nonsaline landscape. Given that many species in the boreal forest are not tolerant of salinity, we studied the effects of soil salinity on plant communities in natural saline landscapes to understand potential plant responses during the reclamation process. Vegetation-soil relationships were measured along transects from flooded wetlands to upland forest vegetation in strongly saline, slightly saline, nonsaline, and reclaimed boreal landscapes. In strongly saline landscapes, surface soil salinity was high (>10 dS/m) in flooded, wet-meadow, and dry-meadow vegetation zones as compared to slightly saline (<5 dS/m) and nonsaline (<2 dS/m) landscapes. Plant communities in these vegetation zones were quite different from nonsaline boreal landscapes and were dominated by halophytes common to saline habitats of the Great Plains. In the shrub and forest vegetation zones, surface soil salinity was similar between saline and nonsaline landscapes, resulting in similar plant communities. In strongly saline landscapes, soils remained saline at depth through the shrub and forest vegetation zones (>10 dS/m), suggesting that forest vegetation can establish over saline soils as long as the salts are below the rooting zone. The reclaimed landscape was intermediate between slightly saline and nonsaline landscapes in terms of soil salinity but more similar to nonsaline habitats with respect to species composition. Results from this study suggest it may be unrealistic to expect that plant communities similar to those found on the predisturbance landscape can be established on all reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand Tailings

Purdy

Macdonald

Lieffers

2005

Restoration Ecology

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“…Many of these lakes are small (< 1 km 2 ); the region also contains several of North America's largest inland saline waters. Because these high salinity lakes are frequently the only surface water present in the region, they have attracted considerable attention (e.g., Rawson & Moore, 1944;Rutherford, 1970;Whiting, 1977;Hammer, 1978a, b;Lieffers & Shay, 1983;Hammer et al, 1983). Due to the presence of thick deposits of evaporitic salts and commercially extractable brines, the mineral resources of the lakes have been actively investigated (Cole, 1926;Grossman, 1949Grossman, , 1968Tomkins, 1953Tomkins, , 1954Carlson, 1956;Carlson & Babey, 1955;Govett, 1958;Rueffel, 1968;Broughton, 1984;Slezak & Last, 1985a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The salt lakes of western Canada: A paleolimnological overview

Last

Slezak

1988

Hydrobiologia

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The northern Great Plains of western Canada contain many saline and hypersaline lakes. Deadmoose and Waldsea Lakes in south-central Saskatchewan are meromictic, with saline Mg-Na-SO4-Cl waters overlying denser brines of similar composition. Mineralogical, chemical, palynological, and stable isotope analyses of the sediments in the Waldsea basin indicate the lake was much shallower about 4000 years ago in response to a warmer and drier climate. Since that time water levels have generally increased in the basin giving rise to higher organic productivity and greater inorganic carbonate precipitation. Within this overall trend there is also evidence of several lower water stages during the last 3 000 years. The stratigraphy preserved in the Deadmoose basin suggests considerably lower water levels about 1000 years ago.Ceylon Lake, located about 350 km south of the Waldsea-Deadmoose area, is presently a shallow, saline playa. The basin originated about 15000 years ago as a glacial meltwater spillway. Stratigraphic variation in evaporite and carbonate mineralogy shows that the basin evolved from a relatively low salinity, riverine lake to one in which initially Na-rich and then Mg-rich hypersaline brines dominated.Lake Manitoba is a large, hyposaline lake located in the eastern Great Plains about 700 km from the Deadmoose-Waldsea area. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of the endogenic carbonates in the basin indicate gradually increasing levels of organic productivity but decreasing temperatures between 9 000 and 5 000 years B.P. Between about 4000 and 2000 years ago the isotope ratios suggest relatively stable temperatures followed by a strong decrease during the most recent 2000 year period.

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“…As a result, these prairie habitats need special conservation. Because they typically demonstrate large seasonal changes in water volume and salinity (Hammer 1978;Lieffers and Shay 1983), many saline lakes may be highly affected by an anticipated drying trend associated with climate change in the next few decades (Williams et al 1988).…”

Section: Prairie Wetland Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic Hemiptera of the prairie grasslands and parkland

Scudder¹,

Alperyn²,

Roughley³

2010

Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and Interactions in Grassland Habitats

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Abstract. Of the 56 species of aquatic Hemiptera in the prairie provinces, 51 occur in the grassland and parkland areas. The majority are represented by lentic species that are ecological generalists, able to adapt to the loss of wetland habitats by utilizing man-made dugouts. Most lentic species are not confined to the Prairies Ecozone, but occur also in forested regions to the north. A few species of aquatic Hemiptera are restricted to lotic or saline habitats. These species seem to have narrower ecological niches and could be affected by loss of these habitat types in the prairies.Résumé. Cinquante et une des 56 espèces d'hémiptères aquatiques des provinces des Prairies se trouvent dans la prairie et dans la forêts-parc. Il s'agit en majorité d'espèces lentiques, généralistes au plan écologique, et capables de s'adapter à la disparition des habitats humides en utilisant des mares artificielles. La plupart des espèces lentiques ne se limitent pas à l'écozone des prairies, mais se trouvent également dans les régions boisées du nord. Quelques espèces d'hémiptères aquatiques sont limitées aux habitats lotiques ou salés. Ces espèces semblent dépendre de niches écologiques plus restreintes et pourraient souffrir de la disparition de ces types d'habitats dans les prairies.

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Ephemeral saline lakes on the Canadian prairies: their classification and management for emergent macrophyte growth

Cited by 17 publications

References 22 publications

Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand Tailings

Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand Tailings

The salt lakes of western Canada: A paleolimnological overview

Aquatic Hemiptera of the prairie grasslands and parkland

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