1、 ERDC/EL TR-06-5 Wetlands Research Program A Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Assessing Wetland Functions of Prairie Potholes Michael C. Gilbert, P. Michael Whited, Ellis J. Clairain, Jr., and R. Daniel Smith May 2006Environmental Laboratory Approved for public release
2、; distribution is unlimited. Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-Wetlands Research Program ERDC/EL TR-06-5May 2006A Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Assessing Wetland Functions of Prairie Potholes Michael C.
3、 Gilbert U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha 106 S. 15th Street Omaha, NE 68102 P. Michael Whited National Resource Conservation Service U.S. Department of Agriculture 52 Boyden Road Holden, MA 01520 Ellis J. Clairain, Jr., and R. Daniel Smith Environmental Laboratory U.S. Army Engineer Research and
4、Development Center 3909 Halls Ferry Road Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199 Final report Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Washington, DC 20314-1000 Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-
5、ABSTRACT: The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach is a method for developing functional indices and the protocols used to apply these indices to the assessment of wetland functions at a site-specific scale. The HGM Approach was initially designed to be used in the context of the Clean Water Act, Section
6、404 Regulatory Program, permit review to analyze project alternatives, minimize impacts, assess unavoidable impacts, determine mitigation requirements, and monitor the success of compensatory mitigation. However, a variety of other potential uses have been identified, including the determination of
7、minimal effects under the Food Security Act, design of wetland restoration projects, and management of wetlands. This report uses the HGM Approach to develop a Regional Guidebook to (a) characterize ponded, herbaceous marshes of the glaciated Prairie Pothole Region, (b) provide the rationale used to
8、 select functions of the ponded, herbaceous depressional marsh subclass, (c) provide the rationale used to select model variables and metrics, (d) provide the rationale used to develop assessment models, (e) provide data from reference wetlands and document its use in calibrating model variables and
9、 assessment models, and (f) outline the necessary protocols for applying the functional indices to the assessment of wetland functions. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an off
10、icial endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized docume
11、nts. Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-Corps of Engineers Research Report Summary, May 2006 Please reproduce this page locally, as needed. Assessing Wetland Functions ISSUE: Section 404 of the Clean Water Act directs the U.S. Army Corps
12、 of Engineers to administer a regulatory program for permitting the discharge of dredged or fill material in “waters of the United States.” As part of the permit review process, the impact of discharging dredged or fill material on wetland functions must be assessed. On 16 August 1996, a National Ac
13、tion Plan to Implement the Hydrogeomorphic Approach (NAP) for developing Regional Guidebooks to assess wetland functions was published. This report is one of a series of Regional Guidebooks that will be published in accordance with the National Action Plan. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The objective of this
14、research was to develop a Regional Guide-book for applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to depressional wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region in a planning and ecosystem res-toration context. SUMMARY: The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach is a collection of concepts and methods for developing function
15、al indices and subse-quently using them to assess the capacity of a wetland to perform functions relative to similar wetlands in a region. The Approach was initially designed to be used in the context of the Clean Water Act Section 404 Regulatory Program per-mit review sequence to consider alternati
16、ves, minimize impacts, assess unavoidable project impacts, determine mitigation requirements, and monitor the success of mitigation projects. How-ever, a variety of other potential applications for the Approach have been identified, including determining minimal effects under the Food Secu-rity Act,
17、 designing mitigation projects, and man-aging wetlands. AVAILABILITY OF REPORT: The report is available at the following Web sites: http:/www.wes.army.mil/el/wetlands/wlpubs.html or http:/libweb.wes.army.mil/index.htm. The report is also available on Interlibrary Loan Ser-vice from the U.S. Army Eng
18、ineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) http:/libweb.wes. army.mil/lib/library.htmA Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Assessing Wetland Functions of Prairie Potholes (ERDC/EL TR-06-5) About the Authors: Michael C. Gilbert is a Wetland Ecologist in the Omaha Distric
19、t; P. Michael Whited is a Soil Scientist in the Natural Resources Conservation Service; Dr. Ellis J. Clairain, Jr., is a Research Biologist, and R. Daniel Smith is a Research Ecologist in the Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). Points of Contact are M
20、r. Gilbert at (402) 221-3057, email Michael.C.Gilbertus.army.mil, and Mr. Glenn G. Rhett, Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Program Manager, ERDC, (601) 634-3717, e-mail Glenn.G.Rhetterdc.usace.army.mil. Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license
21、 from IHS-,-,-iii Contents Preface viii 1Introduction and Background.1 2Overview of the Hydrogeomorphic Approach .4 Development and Application Phases .4 Hydrogeomorphic Classification .8 Reference Wetlands .11 Assessment Models and Functional Indices 12 Assessment Protocol 13 3Characterization of t
22、he Temporary and Seasonally Ponded Prairie Pothole Wetland Ecosystems.14 Regional Wetland Subclass and Reference Domain14 Description of the Regional Subclass 15 Landscape setting: physiographic divisions15 Geology .17 Glacial landforms included in the regional subclass .18 Parent Materials.20 Clima
23、te.20 Cyclic Processes and the Reference Standard Cycle .22 Hydrology 22 Water Sources .22 Hydrodynamics: Water Movement .24 Soils .25 Vegetation25 Fauna28 Anthropogenic Impacts30 4Wetland Functions and Assessment Models 32 Overview32 Reference Data.32 Model Variables.36 Vegetation variables36 Soil
24、variables.39 Hydrogeomorphic variables 47 Land use and landscape variables .52 Prairie Pothole Wetland Functions 58 Function 1: Water Storage.58 Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-iv Function 2: Groundwater Recharge 61 Function 3: Retain
25、 Particulates63 Function 4: Remove, Convert, and Sequester Dissolved Substances66 Function 5: Plant Community Resilience and Carbon Cycling.69 Function 6: Provide Faunal Habitat.73 5Assessment Protocol.77 Overview77 Define Assessment Objectives.78 Characterize the Project Area 78 Screen for Red Flag
26、s78 Define the Wetland Assessment Area80 Collect Field Data 82 Data Analysis.83 Data entry 83 Data analysis .83 Manual determination of FCI84 Spreadsheet determination of FCI.84 Apply the Results of the Assessment.84 References 86 Appendix AGlossary .A1 Appendix BSummary of Functions, Variables and
27、Spreadsheets .B1 Appendix B-1: Summary of Functions for Prairie Pothole Depressional Wetlands .B1 Function 1: Water StorageB1 Function 2: Groundwater Recharge .B2 Function 3: Retain Particulates.B3 Function 4: Remove, Convert, and Sequester Dissolved Substances.B3 Function 5: Plant Community Resilie
28、nce and Carbon CyclingB4 Function 6: Provide Faunal HabitatB5 Appendix B-2: Summary of Model Variables B7 Vegetation variables.B7 Soil variablesB9 Hydrogeomorphic variables .B14 Land use and landscape variables B18 Appendix B-3: Functional Capacity Index Spreadsheets and Calculator (Sample)B22 Appen
29、dix CReference Data and Supporting DocumentationC1 Appendix C-1: Reference Site Locations .C1 Appendix C-2: Plant Species Records from Reference Data Collection C5 Appendix C-3: Alternate Methods for Calculation of VVEGCOMP.C14 1. Dominance method.C14 2. Abundance method.C16 Appendix C-4: Recharge R
30、atings for Soil Mapping Units .C17 Appendix C-5. Reference Data.C18 a. Vegetation and soil variablesC18 b. Hydrogeomorphic, land use and landscape variables.C22 Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-v List of Figures Figure 1. Schematic of
31、development and application phases of the HGM approach.5 Figure 2. The Prairie Pothole Region of North America.16 Figure 3. Aerial oblique of the Missouri Coteau, North Dakota illustrating non-integrated surface drainage .18 Figure 4. Aerial oblique of prairie pothole wetlands in an agricultural lan
32、dscape matrix, Glaciated Plains, North Dakota 19 Figure 5. Water level changes during the ice-free season over a 6-year period in a seasonal basin wetland in North Dakota 24 Figure 6. Generalized Stewart and Kantrud (1971) wetland classes and vegetation zones discussed in this Guidebook 26 Figure 7.
33、 Generalized plan view of vegetation zones in relation to the catchment35 Figure 8. Landscape assessment area associated with a reference site in Stutsman County, North Dakota35 Figure 9. Relationship between the continuity of grassland adjacent to the wetland and the variable subindex .37 Figure 10
34、. Relationship between the grassland width perpendicular to the assessment wetland and the variable subindex.38 Figure 11. Relationship between the FQI and the variable subindex 40 Figure 12. Relationship between the B horizon depth and the variable sub-index for Western and Eastern Prairie Potholes
35、 42 Figure 13. Relationship between the Soil Quality Index and the variable subindex44 Figure 14. Relationship of the Soil Quality Index to soil organic carbon.44 Figure 15. Relationship of the Soil Quality Index to Soil Bulk Density .45 Figure 16. Relationship between the mean percent organic carbo
36、n and the variable subindex.46 Figure 17. Relationship between the ratio of the constructed outlet elevation to the natural outlet elevation and the variable subindex .49 Figure 18. Relationship between the shoreline irregularity index and the variable sub-index52 Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo rep
37、roduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-vi Figure 19. Relationship between the ratio of catchment area to wetland area and the variable subindex53 Figure 20. Relationship between the curve number and the variable subindex .54 Figure 21. Example of inter-wetland distance measur
38、ements for VWETPROX.55 Figure 22. Relationship between the mean inter-wetland distance and the variable subindex.55 Figure 23. Relationship between wetland area in the LAA and the variable subindex56 Figure 24. Relationship between the number of basins in the LAA and the variable subindex.57 Figure
39、25. Relationship between the length of linear features in the LAA and the variable subindex58 Figure 26. A single WAA within a project area 80 Figure 27. Spatially separated WAA from the same regional wetland project area .81 Figure 28. Spatially separated WAAs from different regional wetland subcla
40、sses within a project area81 Figure 29. WAA defined based on differences in site specific characteristics .82 Figure 30. Sample spreadsheet for data entry and FCI calculations85 Figure C-3-1. Vegetation dominance.C16 Figure C-3-2. Vegetation composition.C17 List of Tables Table 1. Contributors to th
41、e Regional Guidebook .7 Table 2. Hydrogeomorphic Wetland Classes .9 Table 3. Potential Regional Wetland Subclasses in Relation to Classification Criteria.11 Table 4. Reference Wetland Terms and Definitions 12 Table 5. Prairie Pothole Region Climatic Data 21 Table 6. Stewart and Kantrud (1971) Classi
42、fication Corresponding to the Prairie Pothole HGM Depressional Subclass Described in This Regional Guidebook 27 Table 7. Estimated Wetland Losses for States Within the Prairie Pothole Region .31 Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-vii Tab
43、le 8. Information Collected at Reference Sites by Scale and Themes .34 Table 9. Qualitative Method to Determine Soil Recharge Potential41 Table 10. Soil Characteristics Evaluated in Determination of the Physical Soil Quality Index43 Table 11. VSUBOUTCategorical Variable .50 Table 12. VSOURCECategori
44、cal Variable .51 Table 13. Runoff Curve Numbers for VUPUSE.53 Table 14. Red Flag Features and Respective Program/Agency Authority 79 Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-viii Preface This report was prepared by Michael C. Gilbert, Regulato
45、ry Program, U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha; P. Michael Whited, Wetland Science Institute, National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS); Dr. Ellis J. Clairain, Jr., and R. Daniel Smith, Environmental Laboratory (EL), U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. Funding was
46、provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha. This report further develops the HGM procedure for prairie potholes origi-nally articulated in the initial draft 1997
47、 “Guidebook for the Hydrogeomorphic Assessment of Temporary and Seasonal Prairie Pothole Wetlands.” The signifi-cant involvement of Dr. Lyndon Lee, Dr. Mark Brinson, Dr. Wade Nutter, and Dr. Dennis Whigham is appreciated. The authors wish to acknowledge the efforts of the following people for assist
48、ance with developing the classification, characterizing the regional sub-classes, conducting field sampling, and reviewing drafts of the Regional Guide-book: Dave Dewald, (NRCS), Bismarck, ND, Paul Rodrigue, (NRCS), Starkville, MS, Mark Anderson, Roy Boschee, Rod OClair, Norm Prochnow, and Hal Weise
49、r, (NRCS), Jamestown, ND, Bill Bicknell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bismarck, ND, and Dr. Robert Gleason, Dr. Ned Euliss, and Deb Buhl of the U.S. Geological Survey-Northern Prairie Science Center (USGS-NPSC), Jamestown, ND. Catherine Juhas, Laura Banker, Karen Lawrence, and Brad Quayle, U.S. Army Engineer Di
