CEAP National Assessment: Wetlands

The Wetlands Component of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) National Assessment quantifies the effects of conservation practices and resource management systems on ecosystem services provided by wetlands in agricultural landscapes. On-site and off-site conservation effects will be derived from collaborative regional assessments in the conterminous United States. Each assessment will focus on one or more wetland hydrogeomorphic classes dominant on agricultural landscapes in that region (i.e., "reference domain" Smith et al., 1995). The effects of conservation practices and resource management systems will be interpreted by quantifying regional wetlands ecosystem services provided by each wetland class. The following wetland ecosystem services will be quantified, depending on the wetland class(es) of interest:

• Biological conservation and sustainability
• Habitat quality for flora and fauna
• Pollutant reduction (e.g., sediment, nutrient, and pesticide reduction)
• Mitigation of floods (i.e., floodwater storage, reduction, and attenuation)
• Greenhouse gas emissions reduction (e.g., carbon sequestration in soils and vegetation, nitrous oxide reduction)
• Water quantity sustainability and water partitioning (i.e., groundwater recharge, base streamflow augmentation)

Regional assessments

Regional assessments are developed in collaboration with researchers involved in ongoing or previous investigations complementary to the CEAP wetlands effort. Data gaps are identified, and new data are collected or measured at site and landscape scales using sampling designs developed for each regional class. A "reference-based" approach (Brinson and Rheinhardt, 1996; Smith et al., 1995) is used to quantify wetland ecosystem services and interpret conservation practice and resource management effects. USDA program wetlands and non-program wetlands that lie along an 'alteration gradient' are sampled in each region. Measures of wetland ecosystem services (i.e., the type of information to be quantified for a service) and the specific variables to be collected or measured are identified for each regional wetland class. Data is collected or measured through field sampling, and using remote sensing data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The regional assessments will provide the following types of products:

1. Regional quantifiable estimates of wetland ecosystem services before conservation practice/system implementation (i.e., "baseline" conditions) and after practice/system implementation (i.e., "conservation" effect);
2. Regional predictive functional condition indicator models to identify site and landscape factors (i.e., variables) that influence wetland ecosystem service estimates;
3. Estimates of modeled (i.e., simulated or predictive) conservation practice/management systems under varying environmental conditions or program scenarios;
4. Analytical tools/models to improve quantification of selected wetland ecosystem services.

CEAP-Wetland Regional Assessment Areas

Prairie Pothole Region

The first regional assessment was initiated in 2004 in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the United States. NRCS is collaborating with the U. S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center and Farm Service Agency to conduct the assessment. Restored depressional wetlands, commonly known as prairie potholes, enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Conservation Reserve Program are the focus of the regional assessment. Drained and non-drained wetlands on cropland, and native prairie wetlands that have never been tilled or drained have also been sampled.

Preliminary Findings Report

The preliminary findings report from the CEAP Wetlands first collaborative regional investigation is now available online. The report, Ecosystem Services Derived From Wetland Conservation Practices in the United States Prairie Pothole Region with an Emphasis on the U. S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs, has been published as a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper. Preliminary results include information on the onsite effects of conservation practices on ecosystem services provided by prairie depressional wetlands across the agricultural landscapes of the Prairie Pothole Region.

Specifically, the report presents preliminary estimates for several ecosystem service metrics measured in prairie depressional wetlands, including wetlands established through a variety of conservation practices on lands enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Conservation Reserve Program. In keeping with the CEAP-Wetlands conceptual design for regional investigations, the sample population was stratified across a hydrology and land cover alteration gradient. To better account for the considerable variation exhibited by wetlands in the region, the sample population was also stratified by sub-physiographic regions, climate, and age of wetlands established through conservation practices. Data gathered from more than 400 wetlands from two sampling periods (1997 and 2004) across the Prairie Pothole Region was used to produce the preliminary findings.

The USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, the Farm Service Agency, and the NRCS funded the regional study. The study was led by Dr. Robert Gleason and Dr. Ned H. "Chip" Euliss with the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. A limited number of hard copies will be available from the NRCS and USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Please contact Diane Eckles (diane.eckles@wdc.usda.gov) or Robert Gleason (rgleason@usgs.gov) to inquire into their availability.

Amphibians

Intergrated Landscape Model

The ability to routinely capture and interpret effects on and changes in wetland ecosystem services due to land use changes, conservation applications, climate change and other drivers is currently unavailable for wetlands in agricultural landscapes. As a result, the preliminary information produced from the CEAP-Wetlands regional investigations, particularly those conducted early in CEAP-Wetlands, will be point-in-time estimates (i.e., temporally and spatially constrained) for ecosystem services resulting from implementation of conservation practices and programs to establish or manage wetlands in agricultural landscapes. However, collaboratively-supported research to develop simulation modeling and forecasting capability along with exploring the application of remotely sensed data capture technologies is currently underway in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). The U.S. Geological Survey is leading the research in both regions under the auspices of the USGS Integrated Landscape Assessment and Monitoring Initiative (ILM). The goal is to eventually produce modeling, forecasting and data capture capability as part of a nationally-extensive, regionally-specific monitoring process currently being developed by CEAP-Wetlands. The current PPR ILM study plan can be accessed below. The MAV ILM study plan will be forthcoming in the near future.

Mississippi Alluvial Valley

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) Regional Assessment was initiated in 2005. The U. S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture and Ecological Services Field Office, and the Farm Service Agency are collaborating with NRCS on the MAV regional assessment. The regional assessment is focusing on bottomland hardwood wetlands, a type of riverine wetland class. Drained wetlands on cropland will also be sampled. Existing data on mature bottomland hardwood wetlands will be used in the regional assessment analysis in lieu of collecting additional data for most wetland ecosystem services because this data is widely available. This will allow the assessment team to focus on collecting and measuring data for USDA program wetlands and drained wetlands on cropland where little information exists for many wetland ecosystem services.

The High Plains

The High Plains Regional Assessment was initiated in June 2006. The region is characterized by intensively-managed cropland, extensive grazing land, and depressional wetlands known as playas. The Assessment will focus on the effects of conservation practices on ecosystem services provided by playas. Data quantifying these effects will be derived from sampling and assessing playas and their associated catchments on agricultural lands, lands enrolled in Farm Bill programs, and on grasslands. The Assessment design is still under development. Current collaborators include the USGS Cooperative Research Units - Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Texas Tech University, the Wildlife and Fisheries Management Institute at Texas Tech University, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The High Plains Regional Assessment Scoping Meeting, June 2006.
This meeting brought together experts studying playa wetlands of The High Plains to identify playa ecosystem conservation challenges and ecosystem services provided by wetlands in The High Plains, as influenced by land use and conservation practices implemented on agricultural lands in the region.

The California Central Valley/Upper Klamath River Basin

A scoping meeting with regional scientists, land and program managers, and restoration practitioners was held March 14 – 15, 2007, to discuss the geographic, ecological and collaborative scope of the CEAP-Wetlands California Central Valley Regional Investigation. The California Natural Resources Conservation Service provided meeting accommodations at the state office in Davis, CA, with more than 30 individuals participating in the one-and-a-half-day meeting. Dr. Walter Duffy, Unit Leader with the U. S. Geological Survey California Cooperative Fish Research Unit at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, coordinated and facilitated the scoping meeting. Dr. Duffy will also serve as the lead Principal Investigator for the regional assessment.

The California Central Valley/Upper Klamath River Basin regional study proposal identifies the study objectives, sampling design, and sampling and analytical methods that will be used to collect data and conduct analyses to produce findings. Changes in design and methods may change once field sampling begins, or due to other factors. The final study protocol will be included in published study findings.

Regional assessments timeline

The table below identifies the CEAP wetlands regions, and the dates the regional assessments are anticipated to begin and end. Preliminary findings and products will be made available prior to the ending date. See reports section below for more information. The order of regions listed and the beginning/ending dates are subject to change depending on available funding and other factors.

Region	Beginning Date	Ending Date
Prairie Pothole Region  Baseline regional assessment  Landscape monitoring1	July 2004 May 2006	October 2006 December 2011
Mississippi Alluvial Valley	December 2005	December 2008
The High Plains	June 2006	October 2009
Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Flats  Northern Extent2  Southern Extent3	October 2006 2009	December 2009 2012
Gulf-Atlantic Rolling Plains  Northern Extent2  Southern Extent3	October 2006 2009	December 2009 2012
Central Valley, CA	March 2007	July 2010
Glaciated Interior Plains3	2009	2012
The Northwest U. S.3	2012	2015
Appalachian Highlands3	2012	2015
Central Plains3	2012	2015
1 Detailed monitoring will be conducted to develop and validate regional landscape-scale temporally-robust wetland catchment ecosystem service models 2 A single assessment will be conducted for the Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Flats and Rolling Plains, Northern extent 3 The month is not shown for assessments initiated after 2006

Work plan

This document requires Acrobat Reader.
Wetlands Peer Review Panel (PDF; 42 KB)
Summary of comments from a scientific panel convened by USDA to: 1) assess the scientific merits of the CEAP-Wetlands approach, and 2) assist USDA in developing a strategy that identifies methodologies to quantify conservation effects over the long-term.

A CEAP wetlands work plan is currently under development.

This document requires Acrobat Reader.
CEAP Wetlands Conceptual Framework, February 2006 (PDF; 2.1 MB)

Reports

Regional Assessments will produce preliminary findings and products prior to the final report. Because the schedule of each regional assessment is determined in concert with all collaborators, the table below lists the preliminary and final reports and timeframe only for those regional assessments currently underway. This table will be routinely updated to provide current regional assessment report information.

CEAP Wetlands Regional Reports	Target Date
Regional Assessment for the Prairie Pothole Region – Preliminary Findings	February 2008
1st Progress Report – Amphibian Use of Farmed and Restored Prairie Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region	January 2006, completed
2nd Progress Report – Amphibian Use of Farmed and Restored Prairie Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region	February 2007, completed
Mississippi Alluvial Valley Regional Assessment – Preliminary Findings	March 2008, completed
Regional Assessment for the Prairie Pothole Region – Final Report	November 2009
Mississippi Alluvial Valley Regional Assessment – Draft Final Report	2010
Mississippi Alluvial Valley Regional Assessment – Final Report	2010
High Plains Regional Assessment – Final Report	January 2010
California Central Valley – Draft Final Report	December 2009
California Central Valley – Final Report	June 2010

Literature cited

Brinson, M.M. and R. Rheinhardt. 1996. The Role of Reference Wetlands in Functional Assessment and Mitigation. Ecological Applications 6(1):69-76.

Bibliography

Wetlands in Agricultural Landscapes, September 2006.
This bibliography, developed by the Water Quality Information Center at the National Agricultural Library, is a guide to recent scientific literature covering environmental aspects of wetlands in agricultural landscapes. The purpose of the bibliography is to highlight research findings in two main areas: (1) the effect of conservation practices (and other agricultural activities) on wetlands and (2) the environmental effects of wetlands as conservation practices (including constructing and restoring wetlands). The bibliography will also facilitate the identification of knowledge gaps regarding effects of conservation practices on ecosystem services provided by wetlands in agricultural landscapes, and help identify where research is needed.

Contact

Diane Eckles

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