Flooding to Restore Connectivity of Regulated, Large-River Wetlands

Galat, David L.; Fredrickson, Leigh H.; Humburg, Dale D.; Bataille, Karen J.; Bodie, J. Russell; Dohrenwend, J.C.; Gelwicks, Greg T.; Havel, John E.; Helmers, Douglas L.; Hooker, J. B.; Jones, John R.; Knowlton, Matthew F.; Kubisiak, John; Mazourek, Joyce; McColpin, Amanda C.; Renken, Rochelle B.; Semlitsch, Raymond D.

doi:10.2307/1313335

Cited by 277 publications

(176 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

166

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Sci., University of Missouri), as is exposure of mud flats to germination of annual moist-soil plants (Galat et al, 1998). Additionally, most Missouri River fishes reproduce during the March-October interval (Galat et al, 1998) and shallow-water habitats are important nursery areas for many large-river fishes (Copp, 1991;Poizat & Pont, 1996). It was not necessary to add a new variable to reflect the date of the growing season 1-day discharge maximum, because the maximum for the whole year at all stations always occurred between March and October.…”

Section: Indicators Of Hydrologic Alteration Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If tenets of the flood-pulse concept are applicable to the Missouri River hydrosystem, we hypothesize that modifications in the magnitude, frequency, timing and duration of the annual flood pulse have reduced recruitment and production of native river-floodplain fishes in the inter-reservoir and channelized-river sections. Galat et al (1998) showed that inundation for ≥10 days of the Missouri River floodplain in central Missouri occurred during the optimal spawning temperature ranges of native fishes for only 4 of the 15 post-regulation years between 1983 and 1996.…”

Section: Alterations In Seasonal Flow Patterns and Ecological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This small pulse is regional and due to the onset of autumn rains in the well-watered Central Lowlands and Interior Highlands physiographic provinces (Galat et al, 1998). A fall flow pulse is important to provide fishes access to wintering habitats on the floodplain and in backwaters before cold-water temperatures reduce their swimming ability (Bodensteiner & Lewis, 1992).…”

Section: Alterations In Seasonal Flow Patterns and Ecological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, it inundated annual moist-soil vegetation in floodplain wetlands, providing forage to fall migrating waterfowl. This historically small autumn flow pulse inundated floodplain wetlands to a shallower depth than the subsequent large June pulse, with the result that forage remained available for waterfowl on their return migration the following spring (Sparks, 1992;Galat et al, 1998). Flow releases for navigation and levees that disconnect the lower Missouri River from its floodplain wetlands have largely eliminated this fall river rise and the benefits to fish and wildlife it once provided.…”

Section: Alterations In Seasonal Flow Patterns and Ecological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Restoring ecological integrity of great rivers: historical hydrographs aid in defining reference conditions for the Missouri River

Galat

Lipkin

2000

Assessing the Ecological Integrity of Running Waters

Self Cite

118

169

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Restoring the ecological integrity of regulated large rivers necessitates characterizing the natural flow regime. We applied 'Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration' to assess the natural range of variation of the Missouri River's flow regime at 11 locations before (1929-1948) and after (1967-1996) mainstem impoundment. The 3768 km long Missouri River was divided into three sections: upper basin least-altered from flow regulation, including the lower Yellowstone River; middle basin inter-reservoir, and lower basin channelized. Flow regulation was associated with a reduction in magnitude and duration of the annual flood pulse, an increase in magnitude and duration of annual discharge minima, a reduction in frequency of annual low-flow pulses, earlier timing of March-October low-flow pulses, and a general increase in frequency of flow reversals with a reduction in the rate of change in river flows. Hydrologic alterations were smallest at two least-altered upper-basin sites and most frequent and severe in interreservoir and upper-channelized river sections. The influence of reservoir operations on depressing the annual flood pulse was partially offset by tributary inflow in the lower 600 km of river. Reservoir operations could be modified to more closely approximate the 1929-1948 flow regime to establish a simulated natural riverine ecosystem. For inter-reservoir and upper channelized-river sections, we recommend periodic controlled flooding through managed reservoir releases during June and July; increased magnitude, frequency and duration of annual high-flow pulses; and increased annual rates of hydrograph rises and falls. All of the regulated Missouri River would benefit from reduced reservoir discharges during August-February, modified timing of reservoir releases and a reduced number of annual hydrograph reversals. Assessment of ecological responses to a reregulation of Missouri River flows that more closely approximates the natural flow regime should then be used in an adaptive fashion to further adjust reservoir operations.

show abstract

Section: Indicators Of Hydrologic Alteration Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Alterations In Seasonal Flow Patterns and Ecological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Alterations In Seasonal Flow Patterns and Ecological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Alterations In Seasonal Flow Patterns and Ecological Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Restoring ecological integrity of great rivers: historical hydrographs aid in defining reference conditions for the Missouri River

Galat

Lipkin

2000

Assessing the Ecological Integrity of Running Waters

Self Cite

118

169

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Under wet conditions, however, many of these wetlands cyclically or episodically exchange or contribute water to other wetlands, open waters, and/or streams through temporary overland or shallow groundwater flows, unmapped ditches or channels, and/or the merging of wetland waters in low relief areas (Rains et al 2006(Rains et al , 2008Cook and Hauer 2007;Sass and Creed 2008;Kahara et al 2009;Wilcox et al 2011;McCauley et al 2015). During flood events or wet periods, depressional wetlands that become connected to streams or subsumed by lakes exchange water and materials, but may experience the temporary loss of wetland function until water levels recede (Junk et al 1989;Galat et al 1998;Mortsch 1998). Understanding landscape drivers for the abundance of wetlands that cyclically or variably contribute water to streams is important for accurately predicting stream flow, particularly during high flow events (Vining 2002;Yang et al 2010), as well as informing the process to determine the jurisdictional status of wetlands in compliance with the U.S. Clean Water Act.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and drivers for wetland connections in the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Vanderhoof

Christensen

Alexander

2016

Wetlands Ecol Manage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ecosystem function in rivers, lakes and coastal waters depends on the functioning of upstream aquatic ecosystems, necessitating an improved understanding of watershed-scale interactions including variable surface-water flows between wetlands and streams. As surface water in the Prairie Pothole Region expands in wet years, surface-water connections occur between many depressional wetlands and streams. Minimal research has explored the spatial patterns and drivers for the abundance of these connections, despite their potential to inform resource management and regulatory programs including the U.S. Clean Water Act. In this study, wetlands were identified that did not intersect the stream network, but were shown with Landsat images to become merged with the stream network as surface water expanded. Wetlands were found to spill into or consolidate with other wetlands within both small (2-10 wetlands) and large ([100 wetlands) wetland clusters, eventually intersecting a stream channel, most often via a riparian wetland. These surface-water connections occurred over a wide range of wetland distances from streams (averaging 90-1400 m in different ecoregions). Differences in the spatial abundance of wetlands that show a variable surface-water connection to a stream were best explained by smaller wetland-to-wetland distances, greater wetland abundance, and maximum surface-water extent. This analysis demonstrated that wetland arrangement and surface water expansion are important mechanisms for depressional wetlands to connect to streams and provides a first step to understanding the frequency and abundance of these surface-water connections across the Prairie Pothole Region.

show abstract

Imaging Applied to the Geologic Sciences

Arvidson

Guinness

Stein

et al. 2002

Encyclopedia of Imaging Science and Technology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geology can be defined as the study of the nature and dynamics of planetary surfaces and interiors. This field of endeavor has expanded greatly over the past few decades to include study not only of the Earth, but also of other objects in the solar system, focusing heavily on Earth's Moon, Venus, and Mars. Acquisition and analysis of imaging data have been central to increased understanding of planetary surfaces. In the case of the planets and satellites, imaging data have been of fundamental importance because of the very limited opportunities for human exploration, return of samples, or even detailed in‐situ analyses. For Earth, analyses of image data have been central to several emerging fields of interest. In this article, the focus is on key scientific objectives associated with the geology of the Earth and how appropriate imaging data sets will help meet those objectives. This focus is not meant to downgrade the importance of imaging in robotic or human exploration of the solar system. Rather it is meant to provide a coherent theme for the article and to delineate how imaging will help address a suite of fundamentally important objectives and challenges that face us over the next few decades. The article begins with an overview of remote sensing as applied to geology, focusing on imaging applications. Summaries of objectives and tasks based in part on plans put together by the United States Geological Survey for the next decade follow. These plans both focus the key scientific areas of research within geology that have significant societal benefits and provide a coherent pathway for discussing uses of imaging in geology. Specific examples are given for the major objectives to illustrate the use of imaging techniques to address particular applications.

show abstract

Flooding to Restore Connectivity of Regulated, Large-River Wetlands

Cited by 277 publications

References 13 publications

Restoring ecological integrity of great rivers: historical hydrographs aid in defining reference conditions for the Missouri River

Restoring ecological integrity of great rivers: historical hydrographs aid in defining reference conditions for the Missouri River

Patterns and drivers for wetland connections in the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Imaging Applied to the Geologic Sciences

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About