Title: Wetland Hydrology of Minelands in West Central North Dakota

Focus Categories: Wetlands, Hydrology

Project No. ND93-04

Principal Investigator: Padam P. Sharma - Land Reclamation Research Center , NDSU

Completion Report

Sharma, P.P. and J.L. Richardson, 1996, Wetland Hydrology of Minelands in West Central North Dakota, Rept. No. ND-93-04, North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute, North Dakota State University, Fargo, 87 pages.

Publications

Sharma, P. P., F. S. Carter, B. J. Baker, and J. L. Richardson. 1995. Hydrology of prairie wet­lands in surface coal minelands of North Dakota. Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, 59, 6 pages.

Baker, Barbara J., 1996. Soil Formation of Wetlands in Abandoned Mine Lands of North Dakota. “M.S. Thesis”, Department of Soil Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, 91 pages.

Sharma, P.P. 1995. Hydrologic characterization of wetlands in surface coal minelands of North Dakota. Proceedings of the annual Meeting of the American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation, Gillette, Wyoming, June 5-8. pp. 839.

Sharma, P. P., F. S. Carter and J. Solc. 1996. Hydrologic characteristics of natural and recon­struct­ed prairie wetlands, in Proceedings of the Fifth Biennial North Dakota Water Quality Symposium, B.D. Seelig, ed. NDSU Extension Service, pp. 22-23.

Sharma, P.P. and J.L. Richardson, 1993, Wetland hydrology of minelands: A research initiative, in 1993 Proceedings of Mineland Reclamation Research Review, Land Reclamation Research Center and Northern Great Plains Research Center, March 15, Mandan, ND, pp. 59-65.

Significant Findings

The study led to an improved understanding of wetland functions in natural and constructed wetlands in the minelands in Central North Dakota. The wetland ponds used in the study were recharge wetlands, exclusively, with very low dissolved salt content. The fact that one of the wetlands is a permanent pond suggested that in the saline and sodic orphan spoil landscapes, runoff occurs rapidly with little infiltration. These wetlands do not appear to receive ground water from any sources. In nearby rangeland, runoff water is not common. The soil development represents the recharge conditions. The edges have more development than the wetland centers.