Sharing Hydrological Data and Integrating Multidisciplinary Research --

1. Sharing Hydrological Data and Integrating Multidisciplinary Research -- Early Results and Future Plans for Large Prairie Restoration Projects Phil Gerla – University of North Dakota, Meredith Cornett – The Nature Conservancy, and Josh Eash – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Objectives Example Applications Example Applications Watershed Grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service EC (Environmental Contaminants) and LCC (Landscape Conservation Cooperative) programs have funded on-going monitoring and research into the transport and fate of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) at Glacial Ridge. Having the water quality data on-line in WaterOneFlow provides a convenient way to share and archive data. Interdisciplinary hydrological studies enable researchers and students to expand their knowledge and professional capability. WaterOneFlow web service provides a convenient way to share data among groups of researchers in different disciplines, agencies, and institutions who may be interested in comparing hydrological and water quality data. Perhaps most importantly, the spatial and time-series capability of applications such as HydroDesktop and HydroExcel can reveal progress in environmental restoration and protection. These tools allow for the benefits, advantages, and failures in environmental work to be assessed and shared with land managers, decision makers, researchers, and others. The figure above shows the soil phosphorus sorption index (PSI, map insert) and the % P fractionation at sample locations within restorable wetlands (Whittaker 2009). High PSI and small Fe-bound P fraction predicted that P would not be flushed from ditch and wetland restoration. Only a small P increase has been recorded (figure to the left). Results such as these can be used to better predict changes in water quality as a consequence of prairie restoration. Site Description We present a case example where these concepts are beginning to be applied. The Glacial Ridge prairie restoration began about ten years ago and extensive data have been collected. To date, nearly 22,000 acres of prairie reconstruction have been completed since The Nature Conservancy purchased Tilden Farms in 2000 (Brown et al. 2005). The site lies along the margin of glacial Lake Agassiz, where sandy, former beach uplands trend parallel to bands of wetland and mesic prairie, forming an important stop over and breeding area along the central North American flyway. Monitoring provides data necessary to calibrate rainfall-runoff models. For example, actual peak runoff for a 5-year recurrence storm (2.94 in) was 66 cfs, much less than the USGS StreamStats estimate of 152-460 cfs (90% prediction interval from regression equations).TR-55 (NRCS 2009) modeling shows better correspondence (see figure below). Some areas are non-contributing and additional storage capacity exists in the watershed. Future Directions Managing past and future data becomes increasingly challenging because of diverse agencies and cooperators and the large volume of data. Although many data collected by federal agencies such as the USGS and NRCS can be accessed directly from the web, WaterOneFlow provides standardized access to time-series and spatially based data collected by different institutions that do not have established web-based, data-sharing protocol. In the Judicial Ditch 66 watershed, for example, researchers, students, and agencies can readily access and share critical hydrological data, which provides a focus on this small, highly studied area, in contrast to the broader, more generally available datasets. On a regional basis, these more complex, smaller-scale data can be accessed and used to compare to conditions elsewhere, thereby helping other land managers, decision makers, and researchers determine where similar large restoration projects can make significant improvement to the environment. Results to-date have shown that only a comparatively small nutrient mass is transported into streams draining the project area, which lies on a regional surface water divide. Results suggest that soil and sediment disturbance in the watershed has a major effect on water quality and nutrient transport, indicating that restoration will stabilize and improve water quality. Nitrogen and oxygen isotope data from the feedlot and former cropped areas of the watershed (figure on the left) indicate the sources of nitrogen and the effect of denitrification on isotope fraction-ation. Boxes show the isotopic signature of nitrate sources. Patterns reveal temporal and spatial differences in denitrification. Restoration More than 3.000 acres of wetland have been restored and 70 miles of ditches filled. Within this larger restored area, the Judicial Ditch 66 watershed covers 9,400 acres with richly diverse land cover, including cropland, an abandoned feedlot, natural and restored wetlands and prairie, aggregate mining operations, a 2,000 acre research plot for patch burning / grazing, and ditches that have been filled or reconfigured. The watershed also hosts an NRCS SCAN weather station, numerous groundwater wells, a ten-year capture zone for a municipal groundwater supply, and a USGS stream gage at the watershed outlet. • GIS-based cost-distance modeling was used to delineate non-contributing areas of the watershed. Storm-water retention occurs in areas that are isolated from channels and have very low slope. Only the lightly shaded area shown on the map above, 40% of the JD 66 watershed, contributes to 5-year storm runoff that reaches the outlet. References • Brown, J., M. Cornett, J. Ekstein, P. Gerla, and S. Wahl. 2005. Master plan for restoration, management, and monitoring at Glacial Ridge. The Nature Conservancy. 74pp + appendices. • NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2009. Small Watershed Hydrology WinTR-55 Users Guide. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C. 47 pages. • Whittaker, R. 2009. Predicting the effect of wetland restoration on phosphorus retention, northwest Minnesota. M.S. Thesis, University of North Dakota, 46 pages. Sources of Support, Acknowledgments, and Web Data Link The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of North Dakota, CUAHSI (WaterOneFlow database), the Red Lake Watershed District (grant administration), USGS (stream flow data) . Photos by N. Roehrdanz WaterOneFlow Web Data Link …… http://hydroportal.cuahsi.org/glacialridge/cuahsi_1_1.asmx?WSDL