Morphology of Drained Upland Depressions on the Des Moines Lobe of Iowa
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GENERAL WETLAND SCIENCE
Morphology of Drained Upland Depressions on the Des Moines Lobe of Iowa Samuel M. McDeid 1 & David I. S. Green 1
&
William G. Crumpton 1
Received: 21 May 2018 / Accepted: 5 November 2018 / Published online: 12 November 2018 # Society of Wetland Scientists 2018
Abstract An algorithm developed to derive the morphology of depressional landscape features was applied to the Iowa portion of the Des Moines Lobe using high-resolution hydrologically corrected digital elevation models. In total, 173,171 topographically intact, drained upland depressions were identified, and their individual morphologies determined. The frequency distributions of maximum area of inundation, maximum depth, and maximum storage volume of depressions were described by a power-law function. Maximum storage volume was strongly related to maximum inundation area through a power-law model, the parameters of which differ from those reported for other areas of the North American Prairie Pothole Region. The spatial distributions, densities, and bulk morphological attributes of upland depressions within the DML-IA tend to be coincident with the region's distinctive glaciated sub-regions. Keywords Digital elevation models . Prairie Pothole Region . Wetlands
Introduction The Des Moines Lobe of Iowa (DML-IA) represents the southeastern-most extent of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America. Prior to European settlement, this landscape was characterized by wet sedge meadows and swales connecting depressional wetlands (prairie potholes) of a variety of types and sizes (Miller et al. 2009). Since settlement, wide-scale drainage and conversion of wetlands to row-crop agriculture has resulted in a nearly 95% loss of wetlands within the DML-IA (Miller et al. 2009; Crumpton et al. 2012). As a result, the DML-IA presents extensive opportunities for wetland restoration.
* David I. S. Green [email protected] Samuel M. McDeid [email protected] William G. Crumpton [email protected] 1
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, 251 Bessey Hall 2200 Osborn Dr., Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
Growing recognition of the impacts of the region-wide loss of depressional wetland ecological and hydrological functions within the DML-IA has spurred an interest in implementing wetland restorations throughout the region and in understanding the roles that drained wetland depressions have on regional and sub-regional stream flows (Crumpton et al. 2012). In order for these efforts to be successful, critical information is needed regarding the morphology and spatial distribution of depressions within the DML-IA at regional and sub-regional scales (Hey and Philippi 1995; Acreman and Holden 2013). Information about the morphometry (i.e. depth-areavolume relationships) of individual drained depressions throughout the DML-IA is available only for a handful of small sub-sections (e.g. Haan and Johnson 1967; Galatowitsch and van der Valk 1996). This is in contrast to other areas of the PPR, which have recei
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