Soil indicators of agricultural impacts on northern prairie wetlands: Cottonwood lake research area, north Dakota, USA

Abstract

Potential damage to wetlands by lmld-use practices has prompted a need for relatively inexpensive, reliable indicators in monitoring ecological conditions. In this study, soil classification and the following soil tests, sodium bicarbonate-extractable P, nitrate (NO~-), organic matter fOM), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and '-'TCs distribution, were used to compare four wetlands surrounded by cultivated land or grassland.Cumulic A horizons greater than 60-cm thick were found covering the wet meadow zone of the wedand surrounded by cultivated land. No cumulic A horizons were observed in wet meadow zones adjacent to grassland. Laboratory analyses of surface (0-15 cm) soil showed that the wetland surrounded by cultivated land had P concentrations 2.5 to 6 times higher in the wet meadow and shallow marsh zones than did the other wetlands. In the wetland surrounded by cultivated land, the dominant soil separate in the wet meadow was silt, while sand was the dominant soil separate in the wet meadow zone in the other three wetlands. Phosphorus, OM, and NO3-concentrations in wet meadow subsoils (15-60 cm) were higher in the wetland surrounded by cultivated land than in the wetlands surrounded by grasslands. Cesium-137 activities were about 3 to 6 times greater in surface (0-15 cm) softs collected from upland grassy slopes compared to cultivated slopes. Soil morphology, ~3rCs, P, and OM data indicate higher sedimentation and fertilization rates in wetlands next to cultivated fields.

Salinity effects on perennial, warm-season (C4) grass germination adapted to the northern Great Plains

“…Prairie cordgrass habitat is typically wet lowland areas with moderate salinity (Freeland et al 1999;Redmann 1972). Prairie cordgrass habitat is frequently a monoculture but can overlap with switchgrass and big bluestem (Tatina 1994;Weaver and Darland 1944).…”

Impacts of sedimentation and nitrogen enrichment on wetland plant community development

“…Human disturbances to wetlands are frequently the result of agricultural practices and urban development ͑Adamus and Brandt 1990; Cole et al 1997;Freeland et al 1999;Galatowitsch et al 2000͒, and their impacts can be divided into individual stressors that may have physical, chemical, and/or biological effects on wetlands. Sedimentation is an important stressor in wetlands because it affects the ability of seeds to germinate and establish ͑Jurik et al 1994;Wardrop and Brooks 1998͒ by altering light availability, temperature, and oxygen levels in the soil.…”

Human Land-Use and Soil Change

“…Craft and Casey (2000) found that deposition in Georgia wetlands was dependent on past and current anthropogenic disturbance within the surrounding watershed. Freeland et al (1999) found that there were higher rates of deposition in wetlands adjacent to cultivated fields in North Dakota. Sediments and nutrients deposited in wetlands impact the vegetation and hydrology of the systems (Mahaney et al 2005;Preston et al 2013).…”