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AN ECOLOGICAL AND HABITAT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF ARKANSAS WHITE RIVER BASIN
Citation:
Lopez, R D. AND D T. Heggem. AN ECOLOGICAL AND HABITAT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF ARKANSAS WHITE RIVER BASIN. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/J-03/002, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
The objectives of this task are to:
Assess new remote sensing technology for applicability to landscape characterization; Integrate multiple sensor systems data for improved landscape characterization;
Coordinate future technological needs with other agencies' sensor development programs;
Apply existing remote sensing systems to varied landscape characterization needs; and
Conduct remote sensing applications research for habitat suitability, water resources, and terrestrial condition indicators.
Description:
This study is an important first step toward a determination of how such landscape alterations are correlated with changes in the hydrologic, chemical, and biological characteristics of the White River Basin and how the influences of potential alterations may affect change in the future water quality and the biological integrity of the ecosystem. Quantifying these relationships could improve the decision-making processes for future land use planning in the White River and the Mississippi River watershed. Recent detailed studies of the landscape in and around the remnant bottomland hardwood wetlands of the Cache River (Figure 1) show that the relationships between landscape change and wetland function in the region are complex and require a thorough understanding of impact history (Kress et al. 1996), water quality (DeLaune et al. 1996, Dortch 1996, Kleiss 1996), hydrology (Long and Nestler 1996, Walton et al. 1996a, Walton et al. 1996b, Wilber et al. 1996), and habitat characteristics (Kilgor and Baker 1996, Smith 1996, Wakeley and Roberts 1996).
The White River, a major tributary to the Mississippi River, has not undergone a comprehensive assessment of this kind. A fundamental assessment of the landscape historic resource rarity, and ecological functions of the White River Basin is necessary to continue the efforts to better understand how the remaining bottornland hardwood wetlands, and other inter-linked ecosystems, of the Mississippi River Valley are impacted by future development. This need is urgent because approximately 70% of Arkansas' wetlands have been converted to other land cover types since the late nineteenth century (Dahl 1990), a loss of approximately 2.8 million hectares (Figure 3), and over 400 thousand acres of this loss occurred in the mid-twentieth century (Shaw and Fredine, 1956).
One of the land cover changes that predominates in this region of the United States is the conversion of forest to agricultural areas (Heggem et al., 1999). Conversely, in recent years some human-use areas (e.g., agricultural land) have been restored to their former 'natural' cover types (e.g., forest) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Information about the WRP can be found at the Internet web site: http://www.wl.fb- net.org/. Both types of land cover change will be assessed in this study. The observed relationships between land cover change and the status of ecosystems of the region will then be used to determine how: (a) future change in vegetation cover may impact habitat suitability of the basin; (b) future change in vegetation cover may impact water quality of rivers, lakes, and wetlands; and (c) river and wetland hydrology and vegetation change are related. These relationships will be used to predict potential habitat and water quality/quantity conditions of the future. Thus, the potential future scenarios can be used to assess the vulnerability of the ecosystems to future land cover change and land use change in the region.