Linking surface- and ground-water levels to riparian grassland species along the Platte River in central Nebraska, USA

Henszey, Robert J.; Pfeiffer, Kent; Keough, Janet R.

doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0665:lsaglt]2.0.co;2

Cited by 45 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…), and dominant plant species in the upland grasslands were big bluestem, blue grama (Bouteloa gracilis), buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides), and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1981). The distribution of lowland grassland species was determined by depth to ground water, which was determined by topography and local land-management practices (Henszey et al 2004). Dominant trees of the riparian forests included eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virgianiana), red mulberry (Morus rubra), rough-leaved dogwood (Cornus drummondii), and sandbar willow (Salix exigua).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Spring migration ecology of the mid‐continent sandhill crane population with an emphasis on use of the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska

Krapu

Brandt

Kinzel

et al. 2014

Wildlife Monographs

109

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We conducted a 10-year study (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) of the Mid-Continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) to identify spring-migration corridors, locations of major stopovers, and migration chronology by crane breeding affiliation (western Alaska-Siberia [WA-S], northern Canada-Nunavut [NC-N], west-central Canada-Alaska [WC-A], and east-central Canada-Minnesota [EC-M]). In the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska, we evaluated factors influencing staging chronology, food habits, fat storage, and habitat use of sandhill cranes. We compared our findings to results from the Platte River Ecology Study conducted during [1978][1979][1980]. We determined spring migration corridors used by the breeding affiliations (designated subpopulations for management purposes) by monitoring 169 cranes marked with platform transmitter terminals (PTTs). We also marked and monitored 456 cranes in the CPRV with very high frequency (VHF) transmitters to evaluate length and pattern of stay, habitat use, and movements. An estimated 42% and 58% of cranes staging in the CPRV were greater sandhill cranes (G. c. tabida) and lesser sandhill cranes (G. c. canadensis), and they stayed for an average of 20 and 25 days (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007), respectively. Cranes from the WA-S, NC-N, WC-A, and EC-M affiliations spent an average of 72, 77, 52, and 53 days, respectively, in spring migration of which 28, 23, 24, and 18 days occurred in the CPRV. The majority of the WA-S subpopulation settled in the CPRV apparently because of inadequate habitat to support more birds upstream, although WA-S cranes accounted for >90% of birds staging in the North Platte River Valley. Crane staging duration in the CPRV was negatively correlated with arrival dates; 92% of cranes stayed >7 days. A program of annual mechanical removal of mature stands of woody growth and seedlings that began in the early 1980s primarily in the main channel of the Platte River has allowed distribution of crane roosts to remain relatively stable over the past 2 decades. Most cranes returned to nocturnal roost sites used in previous years. Corn residues dominated the diet of sandhill cranes in the CPRV, as in the 1970s, despite a marked decline in standing crop of corn residues. Only 14% (10 of 74) of PTT-marked migrant cranes stayed at stopovers for !5 days before arriving in the CPRV, which limited the contribution of sites south of the CPRV for fat accumulation needed for migration and reproduction. Body masses of cranes (after adjusting for body size [an index of fat]) at arrival in the CPRV varied widely among years (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006), indicating the importance of maintaining productive habitats on the wintering grounds to condition cranes for migration and reproduction. Average rates of fat gain by adult females while in the CPRV remained similar from 1978-1979 to 1998-1999 but declined among males. Distances cranes flew to feeding grounds in the C...

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Spring migration ecology of the mid‐continent sandhill crane population with an emphasis on use of the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska

Krapu

Brandt

Kinzel

et al. 2014

Wildlife Monographs

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This suggests root-zone residence time approach may have to be generalized to include other distributions or summary statistics in drier wetlands. -The 7-and 10-day high water level average statistics of Henszey et al (2004) were a less labor-intensive approach to processing water-level data, but were not as effective at discriminating between the sedge meadow and wet prairie communities studied in this work. This type of high-water level approach may be superior to the root zone residence time for wetland delineation because it is more straightforward and easy to calculate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Continuous lognormal distributions were fit to the residence time data. The 7-and 10-day high water level average statistics of Henszey et al (2004) were calculated for each water-table well and each growing season to provide another comparison between sites. A simple moving average was used, of the individual water levels for the previous number (n-1) of days rather than averaging the mean daily water level.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As an alternative to the relatively labor intensive rootzone residence curves, the water level data were also evaluated using two summary statistics that Henszey et al (2004) identified as having utility for discriminating between plant communities in Nebraska: the 7-and 10-day moving average high water level. In addition to general information about the magnitude of high-water levels, Henszey et al (2004) noted that the n-day moving averages can be associated with a specific date.…”

Section: Root Zone Residence Time and High Water Level Characterizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to general information about the magnitude of high-water levels, Henszey et al (2004) noted that the n-day moving averages can be associated with a specific date. Thus, Table 4 provides a summary of the 7-and 10-day moving average high water levels calculated using the 30-min water level data, and the associated date.…”

Section: Root Zone Residence Time and High Water Level Characterizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relating groundwater to seasonal wetlands in southeastern Wisconsin, USA

et al. 2008

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Historically, drier types of wetlands have been difficult to characterize and are not well researched. Nonetheless, they are considered to reflect the precipitation history with little, if any, regard for possible relation to groundwater. Two seasonal coastal wetland types (wet prairie, sedge meadow) were investigated during three growing seasons at three sites in the Lake Michigan Basin, Wisconsin, USA. The six seasonal wetlands were characterized using standard soil and vegetation techniques and groundwater measurements from the shallow and deep systems. They all met wetland hydrology criteria (e.g., water within 30 cm of land surface for 5% of the growing season) during the early portion of the growing season despite the lack of appreciable regional groundwater discharge into the wetland root zones. Although root-zone duration analyses did not fit a lognormal distribution previously noted in groundwater-dominated wetlands, they were able to discriminate between the plant communities and showed that wet prairie communities had shorter durations of continuous soil saturation than sedge meadow communities. These results demonstrate that the relative rates of groundwater outflows can be important for wetland hydrology and resulting wetland type. Thus, regional stresses to the shallow groundwater system such as pumping or low Great Lake levels can be expected to affect even drier wetland types.

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Untangling the effects of shallow groundwater and soil texture as drivers of subfield‐scale yield variability

Zipper

Soylu

Booth

et al. 2015

Water Resources Research

110

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Water table depth (WTD), soil texture, and growing season weather conditions all play critical roles in determining agricultural yield; however, the interactions among these three variables have never been explored in a systematic way. Using a combination of field observations and biophysical modeling, we answer two questions: (1) under what conditions can a shallow water table provide a groundwater yield subsidy and/or penalty to corn production?; and (2) how do soil texture and growing season weather conditions influence the relationship between WTD and corn yield?. Subfield-scale yield patterns during a dry (2012) and wet (2013) growing season are used to identify sensitivity to weather. Areas of the field that are negatively impacted by wet growing seasons have the shallowest observed WTD (<1 m), while areas with consistently strong yield have intermediate WTD (1-3 m). Parts of the field that perform consistently poorly are characterized by deep WTD (>3 m) and coarse soil textures. Modeling results find that beneficial impacts of shallow groundwater are more common than negative impacts under the conditions studied, and that the optimum WTD is shallower in coarser soils. While groundwater yield subsidies have a higher frequency and magnitude in coarse-grained soils, the optimum WTD responds to growing season weather at a relatively constant rate across soil types. We conclude that soil texture defines a baseline upon which WTD and weather interact to determine overall yield. Our work has implications for water resource management, climate/land use change impacts on agricultural production, and precision agriculture.

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Linking surface- and ground-water levels to riparian grassland species along the Platte River in central Nebraska, USA

Cited by 45 publications

References 46 publications

Spring migration ecology of the mid‐continent sandhill crane population with an emphasis on use of the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska

Spring migration ecology of the mid‐continent sandhill crane population with an emphasis on use of the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska

Relating groundwater to seasonal wetlands in southeastern Wisconsin, USA

Untangling the effects of shallow groundwater and soil texture as drivers of subfield‐scale yield variability

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