Geographically isolated wetlands are part of the hydrological landscape

Rains, Mark C.; Leibowitz, Scott G.; Cohen, Matthew J.; Creed, Irena F.; Golden, Heather E.; Jawitz, James W.; Kalla, Peter; Lane, Charles R.; Lang, Megan W.; McLaughlin, Daniel L.

doi:10.1002/hyp.10610

Cited by 134 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…13 these dimensions and deciphering the roles of hydrologic connectivity and concentration in determining down-network transport is important to the maintenance (or restoration) of aquatic ecosystems (Rains et al, 2015).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrologic connectivity as a framework for understanding biogeochemical flux through watersheds and along fluvial networks

2017

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrologic connectivity as a framework for understanding biogeochemical flux through watersheds and along fluvial networks

2017

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“…6; Appendix S1: Table S6). Agricultural activity can directly modify the freshwater landscape by diverting or extracting water, creating impoundments, and draining wetlands (Smith et al 2002, Wright andWimberly 2013) and may preferentially remove geographically isolated (e.g., Upland-Embedded) systems , Rains et al 2016). However, agriculture may be correlated with other variables such as topography and soil composition that may influence freshwater abundance and connectivity attributes.…”

Section: Geospatial Associations With the Freshwater Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…These systems lack persistent surface water connections producing conditions that support unique biogeochemical and biological functions (Larned et al 2010, Datry et al 2014, Rains et al 2016. But isolated and ephemeral systems are being modified and lost at high rates due to land-use activities and climate change, and thus, there is a clear need to assess what is currently present (Larned et al 2010, Rains et al 2016. Our metrics are based on snapshots of surface water features represented in the NHD and NWI that are based on remotely sensed imagery, and thus lack information on connectivity changes over time.…”

Section: Future Needs For Freshwater Metric Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The freshwater landscape: lake, wetland, and stream abundance and connectivity at macroscales

et al. 2017

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Inland water bodies and their surface hydrologic connections are active components in the landscape, influencing multiple ecological processes that can propagate to broad‐scale phenomena such as regional nutrient and carbon cycles and metapopulation dynamics. However, while lake, wetland, and stream abundance has been estimated at regional and global extents, less attention has been paid to freshwater connectivity attributes among aquatic systems at macroscales. Thus, regional to continental patterns of freshwater abundance and connectivity are poorly understood. We measured lake, wetland, and stream abundance and surface connectivity attributes (i.e., landscape position within stream networks) at a subcontinental extent in the Midwest and Northeast United States to characterize macroscale spatial patterns of the freshwater landscape (i.e., abundance and connectivity attributes of lakes, wetlands, and streams). We found that lake and wetland abundance exhibited opposite spatial patterns from stream density that generally followed glaciation extent boundaries—lake and wetland abundance was high north of the glaciation boundary, whereas stream density was high south of the glaciation boundary. Freshwater connectivity attributes exhibited distinct spatial patterns as defined by our integrated freshwater clusters and revealed a layer of complexity not captured by abundance measures. Patterns of freshwater abundance and connectivity in the study extent were associated primarily with glaciation and secondarily with hydrogeomorphic (e.g., surficial geology and topography), climate (e.g., runoff), and land‐use (e.g., agriculture) variables, providing insight into potential drivers of freshwater composition and distribution. The connectivity spatial patterns observed suggest that relying solely on freshwater abundance measures in macroscale analyses omits unique information on the structural attributes of freshwater systems that can be critical to key ecological processes. Adopting an integrated freshwater landscape framework to study and manage freshwaters is essential as freshwater systems face broad‐scale disturbances that may alter hydrologic connections and subsequently may impact ecosystem processes and services.

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“…Examples of potential mechanistic modeling tools were reviewed [82], which could be applied to advance scientific understanding concerning the extent to which hydrological connections between GIWs and other surface waters exist, and how these connections affect the downstream hydrology at the scale of watersheds. For example, some of the concerns with regulating protections for GIWs in the U.S. typically stem from the confusion on whether a significant nexus with navigable waters exists, and thus, whether such wetland systems should receive jurisdictional oversight by governing bodies [83]. In the U.S., navigable waters are regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [84].…”

Section: Future Research Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal Forests and Groundwater: Using Case Studies to Understand the Effects of Drivers and Stressors for Resource Management

2017

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Abstract:Forests are receiving more attention for the ecosystem goods and services they provide and the potential change agents that may affect forest health and productivity. Highlighting case examples from coastal forests in South Carolina, USA, we describe groundwater processes with respect to stressors and potential responses of a wetland-rich forested landscape, the roles that this area has served, and the need for water resource data to inform forest management decisions. Forested lands in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain provide a rich set of goods and services for the region, and in one case, the Francis Marion National Forest acts as a buffer to urbanization from the surrounding Charleston metropolitan area. Information from two decades of studies in the forested watersheds there may inform scientists and managers in other coastal forested systems. The common hydrological theme in this region, which has a higher average annual rainfall (1370 mm) than the annual potential evapotranspiration (PET = 1135 mm), is a shallow (<3 m) water table condition that supports a large range of natural wetlands and also creates management challenges across the region. Modest changes in the position of the water table can lead to either groundwater flooding and concomitant management challenges for forest services, or ecosystem stresses related to dry conditions in wetlands during times of below-normal precipitation or due to groundwater withdrawal. Development pressures have also stressed forest resources through the extraction of materials such as timber and sand mining, and the conversion to housing construction materials. These areas are also targeted for land development, to meet housing demands. In this paper, we discuss the role of groundwater in coastal forests and highlight opportunities for collaborative studies to better inform forest resource management.

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Geographically isolated wetlands are part of the hydrological landscape

Cited by 134 publications

References 68 publications

Hydrologic connectivity as a framework for understanding biogeochemical flux through watersheds and along fluvial networks

Hydrologic connectivity as a framework for understanding biogeochemical flux through watersheds and along fluvial networks

The freshwater landscape: lake, wetland, and stream abundance and connectivity at macroscales

Coastal Forests and Groundwater: Using Case Studies to Understand the Effects of Drivers and Stressors for Resource Management

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