The landscape of the prairie pothole region contains a multitude of depressional wetlands known as prairie-pothole wetlands. These wetlands produce 50-80% of North America�s waterfowl populations. Waterfowl populations in the region respond to changes in water level caused by a dynamic climate that includes periods of drought and deluge. Prairie-pothole wetland water budgets are largely dependent on atmospheric interactions. The hydroperiod and extent of ponded water in prairie-pothole wetlands decrease during extended drought and increase during deluge conditions. Previous modeling of prairie-pothole wetlands has suggested that climate change may cause significant decreases to hydroperiods and ponded-water area. Thus, waterfowl populations are expected to suffer under a changed climate. Upland range management techniques, such as grazing and burning, may present a tool to ameliorate the effects of a warmer climate on these wetlands. We experimentally investigated the effects of upland vegetation management on the hydrology of prairie-pothole wetlands, specifically winter snow distributions as snowmelt is the major input of water for these wetlands. We also used a wetland simulation model to quantify changes in wetland water levels that would be required to mitigate for increased atmospheric losses resulting from a warmed climate. Results from the wetland simulation model suggest that increased temperatures will have a significant impact on wetland hydrology. On average, a 2 �C temperature increase caused the simulated wetland to dry 16.7 days sooner. Water inputs would need to increase by 33.2% to fully mitigate increased water losses. Applied managements of grazing and fall burning failed to increase water inputs in terms of snowmelt into the studied wetlands. Thus, it is unlikely that changes in upland management will be able to fully mitigate the effects of a warming climate in rangeland areas of the Prairie Pothole Region.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.