Improving the Design of Amphibian Surveys Using Soil Data: A Case Study in Two Wilderness Areas

Bowen, Kenneth D.; Beever, Erik A.; Gafvert, Ulf B.

doi:10.3375/043.029.0203

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…To map ephemeral wetlands such as playas, previous efforts have successfully located greater numbers of these wetlands by combining data sources such as National Wetlands Inventory (NWI; USFWS 1982) with soils surveys, satellite imagery, and aerial photography (e.g., Guthery and Bryant 1982;Tiner 2005;Dick and McHale 2007;Bowen et al 2009Bowen et al , 2010. To make a dataset of possible playa locations, we worked with the Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to combine several data sources into a GIS dataset (n=15,812).…”

Section: Playa Datasetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Surrounding Land use on Playa Inundation following Intense Rainfall

Cariveau¹,

Pavlacky²,

Bishop

et al. 2011

Wetlands

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Many isolated wetlands that fill by rainfall, such as playas, have been affected by sedimentation in heavily modified agricultural landscapes. Conservation plantings and buffers reduce sedimentation in wetlands but also may reduce the frequency of inundation. We studied the effects of surrounding landcover on the responses of playas in southwestern Nebraska to heavy rain events using aerial photography, ground surveys, and GIS landscape analyses. Using a generalized linear mixed model, we found that playas in rangeland were more likely to become inundated than playas in cropland, and both were more likely to become inundated than playas in fields enrolled in USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), typified by tall, dense grasses. Inundation was also positively related to rainfall amount and playa size. Our results highlight the significance of maintaining playas in native prairie and underscore the importance of planting and managing appropriate mixes of native shortgrass and/or mixed-grass prairie species surrounding playas to mimic the vegetative structure of native prairie. In light of historic wetland losses, a reduction in the probability of flooding for individual playas in CRP must be weighed against the protection from sedimentation that buffers afford wetlands in cropland and other beneficial influences of CRP in the landscape.

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Section: Playa Datasetmentioning

confidence: 99%