Prairie pothole wetlands play a significant role in providing important freshwater resources and vital ecosystem services in North Dakota, including habitat for waterfowl and other biodiversity, carbon sequestration and flood abatement. The climate in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is highly variable, with multiyear periods of drought and periods of excess precipitation occurring over the past century, which have markedly influenced the wetland ecosystems. This study aims to evaluate the past climate change effects on biological assemblages (i.e., diatoms) in the prairie pothole wetland ecosystem by combining long-term historical meteorological datasets with sediment records from a prairie pothole lake. Initial results suggest that nutrient availability is the main factor that drives diatom assemblage changes over the past century. Diatoms in the sediment record show a shift from primarily benthic species to more planktonic taxa since 1966, which corresponds to the increased water levels in 1967-1972 (i.e., a relatively wetter period). These results imply that water level changes result in habitat changes due to climate change and can have important implications for biological community structure and wetland functioning. This research helps to test how the PPR’s primary producer communities have responded to changes in the frequency and duration of the wet and dry cycles. A clear understanding about the dynamics of the PPR wetland ecosystem in response to climate variability helps policy and decision makers propose appropriate management strategies to cope with the changing climate of the future.

Conference/Seminar Presentations:

     Hu, K. 2018. A long term investigation of salinity change under a highly variable climate in North Dakota. 1st NDWRRI Special Water Resources Seminar. North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND (Oral Presentation).