After the deluge: Establishing rates of geographically isolated wetland loss within the prairie pothole region

Abstract:

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) from the prairie pothole region of North America are particularly vulnerable to loss and increasing urban, agricultural, and natural resource development pressures continue to place these wetlands at risk. Although small in area and low in surface hydrologic connectivity, GIWs provide important functions such as flood control and water purification and their loss has been recognized as a contributing factor to the eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg. Within Canada, GIW loss can be attributed to the lack of high-resolution wetland inventories and the lack of information about historic wetland loss rates. In this study, we tested an approach to estimate GIW loss by improving their detection and delineation. To initialize our work, a high-resolution wetland inventory was created using a novel approach that fuses LiDAR data (probability of wetland) with aerial photographs (to distinguish open water and wet meadow) for the Beaverhill watershed, a major tributary of the North Saskatchewan watershed. Our wetland mapping results validated our ability to detect wetlands on the landscape. Secondly, we applied a power law area-frequency function to an aerial photograph time series spanning the watershed’s natural climate variation range (1960 to present) to estimate historic wetland loss, with historic wetland loss determined via a break in slope in the power law function. Our analysis revealed ongoing loss of small GIWs in the watershed, despite the implementation of wetland policy measures to mitigate this loss. This ongoing GIW loss is particularly detrimental as it is concomitant with a loss in the important associated ecosystem functions of these GIWs, which has serious repercussions for downstream waters. Overall, our findings support a shift in wetland policies from area to function assessments that provide governments with tools to manage the potential consequences of wetland loss in terms of increased flooding and pollution of downstream waters.