Indicators of ecosystem structure and function for the Upper Mississippi River System

Jager, Nathan R. De; Rogala, James T.; Rohweder, Jason J.; Appledorn, Molly Van; Bouska, Kristen L.; Houser, Jeffrey N.; Jankowski, Kathi Jo

doi:10.3133/ofr20181143

Cited by 20 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The UMRS and its floodplain contain a diversity of aquatic areas that vary in depth, aquatic vegetation, water residence time, and hydraulic connectivity to the main river flow (De Jager et al, 2018). We examine six aquatic areas types within the mainstem of the UMRS, including the main channel, side channels, impounded areas, contiguous backwater lakes, riverine lakes (e.g., Lake Pepin), and isolated backwater lakes.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The navigation impoundments in the system are created by low-head, run-of river dams built to maintain sufficient depth in the river for navigation during low flow and were designed to have little impact on discharge or water level during high flow conditions (Sparks et al, 1998). Despite the large-scale shifts in land use and hydrologic character of the system, parts of the UMRS remain a complex floodplain riverscape that contains a diversity of aquatic areas that vary widely in water residence time, biogeochemical processing rates, and freshwater communities (Wilcox, 1993;Richardson et al, 2004;Manier, 2014;De Jager et al, 2018).…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) provides a useful template to evaluate the effects of land use and river landscape complexity on large river Si processing and stoichiometry. The northern reaches of the UMRS contain a diversity of side channels and backwater lakes that vary in their degree of connectivity to main channel flow, whereas the river becomes increasingly disconnected from its floodplain and faster-flowing in its lower reaches (Wilcox, 1993;De Jager et al, 2018). These shifts along the longitudinal continuum result in shifts in processing rates (Richardson et al, 2004) and phytoplankton communities (Manier, 2014) that likely shape the way Si moves through the system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Exploring Silica Stoichiometry on a Large Floodplain Riverscape

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring Silica Stoichiometry on a Large Floodplain Riverscape

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) has one of the largest and most geomorphically complex floodplains in the continental United States and is a high conservation and restoration priority for several stakeholders (De Jager et al, 2018; Guyon, Deutsch, Lundh, & Urich, 2012). Management and restoration actions in this system are currently hampered by a lack of basic information regarding spatial and temporal patterns of inundation, despite a growing recognition of the role inundation plays in vegetation (De Jager, 2012; De Jager et al, 2019; De Jager, Cogger, & Thomsen, 2013; Yin, Wu, Bartell, & Cosgriff, 2009) and soil dynamics (De Jager, Swanson, Strauss, Thomsen, & Yin, 2015; Kreiling, De Jager, Swanson, Strauss, & Thomsen, 2015) at local to landscape scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management and restoration actions in this system are currently hampered by a lack of basic information regarding spatial and temporal patterns of inundation, despite a growing recognition of the role inundation plays in vegetation (De Jager, 2012; De Jager et al, 2019; De Jager, Cogger, & Thomsen, 2013; Yin, Wu, Bartell, & Cosgriff, 2009) and soil dynamics (De Jager, Swanson, Strauss, Thomsen, & Yin, 2015; Kreiling, De Jager, Swanson, Strauss, & Thomsen, 2015) at local to landscape scales. System‐wide characterizations of flooding dynamics across the UMRS, particularly as they may relate to ecological patterns and processes, are lacking (De Jager et al, 2018; Theiling et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying and mapping inundation regimes within a large river‐floodplain ecosystem for ecological and management applications

Appledorn

Jager

Rohweder

2020

River Research & Apps

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial information on the distribution of ecosystem patterns and processes can be a critical component of designing and implementing effective management programs in river‐floodplain ecosystems. For example, translating how flood pulses detected within a stream gauge record are spatially manifested across a river‐valley bottom can be used to evaluate whether the current distribution of physical conditions has the potential to support priority habitats or if intervention is needed to meet desired goals. The size and complexity of large river‐floodplain systems can make mapping inundation dynamics a challenging task. We used a geospatial model to simulate 40 years (1972–2011) of daily surface‐water inundation depths for 11,331 km2 of the Upper Mississippi River System floodplain. We identified discrete inundation events at each 4‐m × 4‐m pixel in the model as sequential days of submergence. We then quantified and mapped four aspects of inundation regime – event frequency, duration, magnitude, and timing – for each pixel. The spatial distribution of inundation regime attributes varied within and among multiple levels of river organization, including navigation pools and geomorphic reaches, but only event timing exhibited a strong down‐river trend. Non‐linear relations among inundation attributes and their geospatial distributions likely reflect complex interactions among topographic, hydrologic, and anthropogenic constraints on flooding dynamics. Together, our results reveal spatial gradients in inundation dynamics not captured by hydrologic data alone. Characterizing such diversity in inundation dynamics is important for testing hypotheses about ecological processes, developing models of ecosystem functions, and informing management actions.

show abstract

Aquatic vegetation types identified during early and late phases of vegetation recovery in the Upper Mississippi River

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Assemblage patterns and processes of aquatic vegetation in most large floodplain rivers are not well understood, particularly after plant recovery. Identifying vegetation types, which are recurring plant groupings based on species composition, diversity, and abundances, can describe plant assembly patterns and environmental drivers that aid conservation planning and management. We used a 22‐year dataset (n = 18,000 sampling plots) to identify aquatic vegetation types during an “early phase” and “late phase” of plant recovery at multiple spatial scales nested within a 500‐km river reach of the Upper Mississippi River, USA. We hypothesized that vegetation types varied according to scale because of the stark environmental differences among riverine habitats and differing regional species pools along the river's latitudinal gradient, and that the late phase of recovery had developed several new vegetation types. We first used cluster analyses at multiple spatiotemporal scales to identify the number of vegetation types and their characteristics, such as indicator species, species compositions and abundances, and diversity index. Then we applied a multivariate regression to pinpoint environmental factors (such as hydrodynamics, system productivity, local habitat, and water quality) that structured those vegetation types. Clustering revealed that ~90% of plots irrespective of recovery phase were not classified into vegetation types, which indicated that most aquatic sampling plots are unique in species composition and unpredictable. However, impounded areas upriver from dams had matured five vegetation types: lotus (Nelumbo lutea Willd.), submersed (a mix of 11 common submersed species), watercelery (Vallisneria americana Michx.), arrowheads (Sagittaria rigida Pursh and Sagittaria latifolia Willd.), and a diverse community (with high diversity indices and multiple life forms). The vegetation types were associated with three environmental gradients related to inundation depth and duration, system productivity, and water clarity. These five vegetation types are known to be of high ecological value to fish and wildlife and thus targets for restoration, for example, the watercelery community is principal forage for migrating canvasback ducks (Aythya valisineria) along the Mississippi River flyway. Our results provide insights on vegetation assembly during recovery and aid habitat conservation by providing quantitative, environmental targets for restoration.

show abstract

Indicators of ecosystem structure and function for the Upper Mississippi River System

Cited by 20 publications

References 1 publication

Exploring Silica Stoichiometry on a Large Floodplain Riverscape

Exploring Silica Stoichiometry on a Large Floodplain Riverscape

Quantifying and mapping inundation regimes within a large river‐floodplain ecosystem for ecological and management applications

Aquatic vegetation types identified during early and late phases of vegetation recovery in the Upper Mississippi River

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About