Top

Hydrogeology Journal

Published in:

01-02-2009 | Paper

Groundwater-wetland ecosystem interaction in the semiarid glaciated plains of North America

Authors: Garth van der Kamp, Masaki Hayashi

Published in: Hydrogeology Journal | Issue 1/2009

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

The prairie wetlands of northern USA and Canada exist in numerous topographical depressions within the glaciated landscape. The wetlands are disconnected from each other most of the time with respect to surface-water drainage. The wetland water balance is controlled by snowmelt runoff and snowdrift from the surrounding uplands, precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater exchange, and occasional “fill-spill” connections to other wetlands. Salinity of water and the seasonal variability of water level in these wetlands have a strong influence on the ecosystem. Clay-rich glacial tills, covering much of the region, have very low (0.001–0.01 m/yr) hydraulic conductivity, except for the top several meters where the factures and macropores increase conductivity up to 1,000 m/yr. Transpiration in the wetland margin induces infiltration and lateral flow of shallow groundwater from wetland ponds through the high-conductivity zone, which strongly affects the water balance of wetlands. In contrast, groundwater flow in the deeper low-conductivity till has minor effects on water balance, but has a strong influence on salinity because the flow direction determines if the salts accumulate in wetlands (upward flow) or are leached out (downward flow) under wetlands. Understanding of the roles of shallow and deep groundwater systems will improve the hydrological conceptual framework for the management of wetland ecosystems.

previous article Groundwater’s significance to changing hydrology, water chemistry, and biological communities of a floodplain ecosystem, Everglades, South Florida, USA

next article Relating groundwater to seasonal wetlands in southeastern Wisconsin, USA

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Arndt JL, Richardson JL (1989) Geochemistry of hydric soil salinity in a recharge-throughflow-discharge prairie-pothole wetland system. Soil Sci Soc Am J 53:848–855

Arndt JL, Richardson JL (1993) Temporal variations in the salinity of shallow groundwater from the periphery of some North Dakota wetlands (USA). J Hydrol 141:75–105CrossRef

Batt BFJ, Anderson MG, Anderson CD, Caswell FD (1989) The use of prairie potholes by North American ducks. In: van der Valk A (ed) Northern prairie wetlands. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, pp 204–227

Berthold S, Bentley LR, Hayashi M (2004) Integrated hydrogeological and geophysical study of depression-focused groundwater recharge in the Canadian prairies. Water Resour Res 40, W06505. doi:10.1029/2003WR002982 CrossRef

Bethke RW, Nudds TD (1995) Effects of climate change and land use on duck abundance in Canadian prairie parklands. Ecol Appl 5:588–600CrossRef

Bodhinayake W, Si BC (2004) Near-saturated surface soil hydraulic properties under different land uses in the St. Denis National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada. Hydrol Process 18:2835–2850CrossRef

Butler JJ, Kluitenberg GJ, Whittemore DO, Loheide SP II, Jin W, Billinger MA, Zhan X (2007) A field investigation of phreatophyte-induced fluctuations in the water table. Water Resour Res 43, W02404. doi:10.1029/2005W004627 CrossRef

Celia MA, Bouloutas ET, Zarba RL (1990) A general mass-conservative numerical solution for the unsaturated flow equation. Water Resour Res 26:1483–1496

Conly FM, Su M, van der Kamp G, Millar JB (2004) A practical approach to monitoring water levels in prairie wetlands. Wetlands 24:219–226CrossRef

de Jong E, Kachanoski RG (1987) The role of grasslands in hydrology. In: Healy MC, Wallace RR (eds) Canadian aquatic resources. Can Bull Fish Aquat Sci 215:213–241

Driver EA, Peden DG (1977) The chemistry of surface water in prairie ponds. Hydrobiologia 53:33–48CrossRef

Dunne T, Leopold LB (1978) Water in environmental planning. Freeman, New York, 818 pp

Eisenlohr WS (1972) Hydrology of prairie potholes in North Dakota. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 585-A, 102 pp

Euliss NHJ, Mushet DM (1996) Water-level fluctuation in wetlands as a function of landscape condition in the prairie pothole region. Wetlands 16:587–593

Euliss NHJ, LaBaugh JW, Fredrickson LH, Mushet DM, Laubhan MK, Swanson GA, Winter TC, Rosenberry DO, Nelson RD (2004) The wetland continuum: a conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies. Wetlands 24:448–458CrossRef

Gerla PJ (1992) The relationship of water-table changes to the capillary fringe, evapotranspiration, and precipitation in intermittent wetlands. Wetlands 12:91–98

Gray DM, Toth B, Zhao L, Pomeroy JW, Granger RJ (2001) Estimating areal snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils. Hydrol Process 15:3095–3111CrossRef

Haitjema HM, Mitchell-Bruker S (2005) Are water tables a subdued replica of the topography? Ground Water 43:781–786

Hayashi M (1996) Surface-subsurface transport cycle of chloride induced by wetland-focused groundwater recharge. PhD Thesis, University of Waterloo, Canada, 140 pp

Hayashi M, van der Kamp G (2000) Simple equations to represent the volume-area-depth relations of shallow wetlands in small topographic depressions. J Hydrol 237:74–85CrossRef

Hayashi M, van der Kamp G (2007) Water level changes in ponds and lakes: the hydrological processes. In: Johnson EA, Miyanishi K (eds) Plant disturbance ecology. Academic, San Diego, pp 311–339

Hayashi M, van der Kamp G, Rudolph DL (1997) Use of tensiometer response time to determine the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil. Soil Sci 162:566–575CrossRef

Hayashi M, van der Kamp G, Rudolph DL (1998a) Mass transfer processes between a prairie pothole and adjacent uplands, 1: water balance. J Hydrol 207:42–55CrossRef

Hayashi M, van der Kamp G, Rudolph DL (1998b) Mass transfer processes between a prairie pothole and adjacent uplands, 2: chloride cycle. J Hydrol 207:56–67CrossRef

Heagle D, Hayashi M, van der Kamp G (2005) Use of sulfur mass and distribution to investigate long-term hydrology in a prairie wetland. Sixth Joint Groundwater Specialty Conference of the International Association of Hydrogeologists - Canadian National Chapter and the Canadian Geotechnical Society, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, 8 pp

Heagle DJ, Hayashi M, van der Kamp G (2007) Use of solute mass balance to quantify geochemical processes in a prairie recharge wetland. Wetlands 27:806–818CrossRef

Heliotis FD, DeWitt CB (1987) Rapid water table responses to rainfall in a northern peatland ecosystem. Water Resour Bull 23:1011–1016

Helmke MF, Simpkins WW, Horton R (2005) Fracture-controlled nitrate and atrazine transport in four Iowa till units. J Environ Qual 34:227–236CrossRef

Hendry MJ, Wassenaar LI (1999) Implications of the distribution of δD in pore waters for groundwater flow and the timing of geologic events in a thick aquitard system. Water Resour Res 35:1751–1760CrossRef

Hendry MJ, Cherry JA, Wallick E (1986) Origin and distribution of sulfate in a fractured till in southern Alberta, Canada. Water Resour Res 22:45–61CrossRef

Johnson WC, Boettcher SE, Poiani KA, Guntenspergen G (2004) Influence of weather extremes on the water levels of glaciated prairie wetlands. Wetlands 24:385–398CrossRef

Keller CK, van der Kamp G, Cherry JA (1991) Hydrogeochemistry of a clayey till: 1. spatial variability. Water Resour Res 27:2543–2554CrossRef

LaBaugh JW (1989) Chemical characteristics of water in northern prairie wetlands in northern prairie wetlands. In: van der Valk A (ed) Northern prairie wetlands. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, pp 57–90

LaBaugh JW, Winter TC, Swanson GA, Rosenberry DO, Nelson RD, Euliss NH (1996) Changes in atmospheric circulation patterns affect midcontinent wetlands sensitive to climate. Limnol Oceanogr 41:864–870

Lissey A (1971) Depression-focused transient groundwater flow patterns in Manitoba. Geol Assoc Can Spec Pap 9:333–341

McKay LD, Cherry JA, Gillham RW (1993) Field experiments in a fractured clay till, 1: hydraulic conductivity and fracture aperture. Water Resour Res 29:1149–1162CrossRef

Meyboom P (1966) Unsteady groundwater flow near a willow ring in hummocky moraine. J Hydrol 4:38–62CrossRef

Meyboom P (1967) Groundwater studies in the Assiniboine River drainage basin. Part II: Hydrologic characteristics of phreatophytic vegetation in south-central Saskatchewan. Geol Surv Can Spec Bull 139

Millar JB (1971) Shoreline-area ratio as a factor in rate of water loss from small sloughs. J Hydrol 14:259–284CrossRef

Mills JG, Zwarich MA (1986) Transient groundwater flow surrounding a recharge slough in a till plain. Can J Soil Sci 66:121–134

Millar JB (1976) Wetland classification in western Canada: a guide to marshes and shallow open water wetlands in the grasslands and parklands of the prairie provinces. Report Series No. 37, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Canada

Miller JJ, Acton DF, St Arnaud RJ (1985) The effect of groundwater on soil formation in a morainal landscape in Saskatchewan. Can J Soil Sci 65:293–307

Morton FI (1983) Operational estimates of lake evaporation. J Hydrol 66:77–100CrossRef

Naugle DE, Higgins KF, Nusser SM, Johnson WC (1999) Scale-dependent habitat use in three species of prairie wetland birds. Landsc Ecol 14:267–276CrossRef

Parkhurst RS, Winter TC, Rosenberry DO, Sturrock AM (1998) Evaporation from a small prairie wetland in the Cottonwood Lake area, North Dakota: an energy-budget study. Wetlands 18:272–287

Parsons DF, Hayashi M, van der Kamp G (2004) Infiltration and solute transport under a seasonal wetland: bromide tracer experiments in Saskatoon, Canada. Hydrol Process 18:2011–2027CrossRef

Pechmann JHK, Scott DE, Gibbons JW, Semlitsch RD (1989) Influence of wetland hydroperiod on diversity and abundance of metamorphosing juvenile amphibians. Wetlands Ecol Manage 1:3–11CrossRef

Remenda VH, van der Kamp G, Cherry JA (1996) Use of vertical profiles of δ¹⁸O to constrain estimates of hydraulic conductivity in a thick, unfractured aquitard. Water Resour Res 32:2979–2987CrossRef

Rosenberry DO, Winter TC (1997) Dynamics of water-table fluctuations in an upland between two prairie-pothole wetlands in North Dakota. J Hydrol 191:266–289CrossRef

Rozkowski A (1967) The origin of hydrochemical patterns in hummocky moraine. Can J Earth Sci 4:1065–1092

Semlitsch RD, Bodie JR (1998) Are small, isolated wetlands expendable? Conserv Biol 12:1129–1133CrossRef

Shaw RJ, Hendry MJ (1998) Hydrogeology of a thick clay till and Cretaceous clay sequence, Saskatchewan, Canada. Can Geotech J 35:1041–1052CrossRef

Shjeflo JB (1968) Evapotranspiration and the water budget of prairie potholes in North Dakota. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 585-B:49

Simpkins WW, Bradbury KR (1992) Groundwater flow, velocity, and age in a thick, fine-grained till unit in southeastern Wisconsin. J Hydrol 132:283–319CrossRef

Sloan CE (1972) Ground-water hydrology of prairie potholes in North Dakota. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 585-C:28

Steinwand AL, Richardson JL (1989) Gypsum occurrence in soils on the margin of semipermanent prairie pothole wetlands. Soil Sci Soc Am J 53:836–842

Stewart RE, Kantrud HA (1972) Vegetation of prairie potholes, North Dakota, in relation to quality of water and other environmental factors. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 585-D:36

Stolte WJ, Barbour SL, Eilers RG (1992) A study of the mechanisms influencing salinity development around prairie sloughs. Trans Am Soc Agri Eng 35:795–800

Stewart RE, Kantrud HA (1971) Classification of natural ponds and lakes in the glaciated prairie region, Resource Publication 92, United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlifee, Washington, DC, 57 pp

Su M, Stolte WJ, van der Kamp G (2000) Modeling Canadian prairie wetland hydrology using a semi-distributed streamflow model. Hydrol Process 14:2405–2422CrossRef

Swanson KD (1990) Chemical evaluation of ground-water in clay till in a prairie wetland setting in the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, MS Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 229 pp

Swanson GA, Duebbert HF (1989) Wetland habitats of waterfowl in the prairie pothole region. In: van der Valk A (ed) Northern prairie wetlands. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, pp 228–267

Swanson GA, Winter TC, Adomaitis VA, Labaugh JW (1988) Chemical characteristics of prairie lakes in south-central North Dakota: their potential for influencing use by fish and wildlife. US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service Technical Report 18:44

Swanson GA, Euliss NHJ, Hanson BA, Mushet DM (2003) Dynamics of a prairie pothole wetland complex: implication for wetland management. In: Winter TC (ed) Hydrological, chemical, biological characteristics of a prairie pothole wetland complex under highly variable climate conditions: the Cottonwood Lake Area, east-central North Dakota. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 1675:55–94

Toth J (1963) A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. J Geophys Res 68:4795–4812CrossRef

Troxell HC (1936) The diurnal fluctuation in the ground-water and flow of the Santa Ana River and its meaning. Trans Am Geophys Union Part II:496–504

van der Kamp G (2001) Methods for determining the in situ hydraulic conductivity of shallow aquitards-an overview. Hydrogeol J 9:5–16CrossRef

van der Kamp G, Hayashi M (1998) The groundwater recharge function of small wetlands in the semi-arid northern prairies. Great Plains Res 8:39–56

van der Kamp G, Stolte WJ, Clark RG (1999) Drying out of small prairie wetlands after conversion of their catchments from cultivation to permanent brome grass. Hydrol Sci J 44:387–397CrossRef

van der Kamp G, Hayashi M, Gallén D (2003) Comparing the hydrology of grassed and cultivated catchments in the semi-arid Canadian prairies. Hydrol Process 17:559–575CrossRef

Van Stempvoort DR, Hendry MJ, Schoenau JJ, Krouse HR (1994) Sources and dynamics of sulphur in weathered till, western glaciated plains of North America. Chem Geol 111:35–56CrossRef

Winter TC (1978) Numerical simulation of steady state three-dimensional groundwater flow near lakes. Water Resour Res 14:245–254CrossRef

Winter TC (1989) Hydrologic studies of potholes in the northern prairies. In: van der Valk A (ed) Northern prairie wetlands. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, pp 17–54

Winter TC (2003) Geohydrologic setting of the Cottonwood Lake Area. In: Winter TC (ed) Hydrological, chemical, biological characteristics of a prairie pothole wetland complex under highly variable climate conditions: the Cottonwood Lake Area, east-central North Dakota. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 1675:1–24

Winter TC, Rosenberry DO (1995) The interaction of groundwater with prairie potholes in the Cottonwood lake area, east-central North Dakota, 1979–1990. J Hydrol 15:193–221

Winter TC, Rosenberry DO (1998) Hydrology of prairie pothole wetlands during drought and deluge: a 17-year study of the Cottonwood Lake wetland complex in North Dakota in the perspective of longer term measured and proxy hydrological records. Clim Change 40:189–209CrossRef

Winter TC, LaBaugh JW (2003) Hydrologic consideration in defining isolated wetlands. Wetlands 23:532–540CrossRef

Woo MK, Rowsell RD (1993) Hydrology of a prairie slough. J Hydrol 146:175–207CrossRef

Zebarth BJ, De Jong E Henry JL (1989) Water flow in a hummocky landscape in Central Saskatchewan, Canada, II. Saturated flow and groundwater recharge. J Hydrol 110:181–198CrossRef

Title: Groundwater-wetland ecosystem interaction in the semiarid glaciated plains of North America
Authors: Garth van der Kamp
Masaki Hayashi
Publication date: 01-02-2009
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Hydrogeology Journal / Issue 1/2009
Print ISSN: 1431-2174
Electronic ISSN: 1435-0157
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-008-0367-1

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Technik"

Other articles of this Issue 1/2009

Groundwater’s significance to changing hydrology, water chemistry, and biological communities of a floodplain ecosystem, Everglades, South Florida, USA

First attempts towards an integrative concept for the ecological assessment of groundwater ecosystems

Integrating hydraulic conductivity with biogeochemical gradients and microbial activity along river–groundwater exchange zones in a subtropical stream

Using subsurface metazoan fauna to indicate groundwater–surface water interactions in the Nakdong River floodplain, South Korea

The use of wetland water balances to link hydrogeological processes to ecological effects

Using tracer tests and hydrological observations to evaluate effects of tunnel drainage on groundwater and surface waters in the Northern Apennines (Italy)