Synthesis of science: findings on Canadian Prairie wetland drainage
Date
2021
Authors
Baulch, Helen
Whitfield, Colin
Wolfe, Jared
Basu, Nandita
Bedard-Haughn, Angela
Belcher, Kenneth
Clark, Robert
Ferguson, Grant
Hayashi, Masaki
Ireson, Andrew
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Online
ORCID
Type
Article
Degree Level
Abstract
Extensive wetland drainage has occurred across the Canadian Prairies, and drainage activities are ongoing in many areas (Prairie Habitat Joint Venture 2014; Dahl 1990; Watmough and Schmoll 2007; Bartzen et al. 2010; Dahl 2014; Dumanski et al. 2015; Waz and Creed 2017). In 2017 the Global Water Futures program funded the Prairie Water project, with the broad goal of helping to foster improved water security in the region (Spence et al. 2018). Throughout the duration of this project, it has been clear that a diverse group of stakeholders (including river basin organizations, government agencies, and landowners) is seeking the same information — a synthesis of what is known and not known about the effects of wetland drainage.
This synthesis of the state of the science on wetland drainage in the Canadian Prairies is aimed at assembling current knowledge based on western scientific methods to articulate what is known about the variability of drainage effects across the region. Traditional knowledge, which represents a different but complementary way of knowing the functioning of prairie watersheds (sometimes also termed catchments, or basins), and the processes driving change within them, is not discussed here. Instead, this synthesis is presented in the spirit of building such collaborations. It summarizes current western scientific knowledge on surface hydrology, groundwater interactions, nutrient export, biodiversity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics, and wetland conservation socioeconomics. The implications to water security now and in the future are also discussed.
Description
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Canadian Water Resources Journal on 13 Oct 2021, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2021.1973911.
Keywords
prairie potholes, wetland complex, drainage, surface water storage, wetland drainage impact
Citation
Helen Baulch, Colin Whitfield, Jared Wolfe, Nandita Basu, Angela Bedard-Haughn, Kenneth Belcher, Robert Clark, Grant Ferguson, Masaki Hayashi, Andrew Ireson, Patrick Lloyd-Smith, Phil Loring, John W. Pomeroy, Kevin Shook & Christopher Spence (2021) Synthesis of science: findings on Canadian Prairie wetland drainage, Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 46:4, 229-241, DOI: 10.1080/07011784.2021.1973911
Degree
Department
Program
Advisor
Committee
Citation
Helen Baulch, Colin Whitfield, Jared Wolfe, Nandita Basu, Angela Bedard-Haughn, Kenneth Belcher, Robert Clark, Grant Ferguson, Masaki Hayashi, Andrew Ireson, Patrick Lloyd-Smith, Phil Loring, John W. Pomeroy, Kevin Shook & Christopher Spence (2021) Synthesis of science: findings on Canadian Prairie wetland drainage, Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 46:4, 229-241, DOI: 10.1080/07011784.2021.1973911
Part Of
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DOI
10.1080/07011784.2021.1973911