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Prairie Pothole

Prairie Pothole . Michelle Wheeler Keystone College Oct. 9, 2008. What is a Prairie Pothole?. Prairie Potholes. Shallow wetlands that can be permanent, saturated for 6 months to arid most of the year Direct precipitation, runoff from surrounding flats & groundwater.

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Prairie Pothole

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  1. Prairie Pothole Michelle Wheeler Keystone College Oct. 9, 2008

  2. What is a Prairie Pothole?

  3. Prairie Potholes Shallow wetlands that can be permanent, saturated for 6 months to arid most of the year Direct precipitation, runoff from surrounding flats & groundwater

  4. Where can you find them?

  5. Diverse Flora • Floating and submerged plants – • Includes: water lilies, pondweeds, southern naiad and duckweed in the open water zone • Emergent zone – • Includes: cattails, bulrushes, bur heads, arrowheads and common reed • Woody zone – • Includes: trees and shrubs like black willow, buttonbush, rattle bush and coffee bean, baccharis and Chinese tallow-tree

  6. Diverse Fauna Provides great variety of habitats. • Reptiles and Amphibians – • Including: alligators, snakes, moccasins, sliders, frogs… • Birds – • Including: rails, cranes, wading birds, ducks, coots, common moorhens, snipe, blackbirds and grackles, shorebirds like killdeer, marsh and sedge wrens, swamp sparrows, and many migrating songbirds • Almost all resident animals use the ponds to drink. • During drought, wildlife concentrate near the more permanent pothole

  7. Threats • Historically: Agriculture • Today: Urban Sprawl • Federal wetland regulatory protections has not prevented the loss of these wetlands. • 40 to 50 percent remain un-drained

  8. Eco Tourism – Bird Watching Songbirds, Shorebirds, Waterfowl Resident Wildlife Water and Forage for Livestock Human Values

  9. Any Questions?

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