Koontz, J., D.G. Huggins, C.C. Freeman, D.S. Baker - Central Plains ...

Executive Summary
This project sought to identify a number of Missouri River floodplain wetlands for monitoring
and assessment of wetland condition using several assessment tools developed in this and a
previous project entitled “Assessment of Floodplain Wetlands of the Lower Missouri River
Using an EMAP Study Approach”(www.cpcb.ku.edu/research/html/ReferenceWetlands.htm).
A number of randomly selected wetlands were identified using the probability-based sampling
design of the EMAP program (www.epa.gov/bioiweb1/statprimer/probability_based.html) and
monitored for four groups of attributes; water quality (e.g. dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus,
herbicides), floristic (native plant richness, percent adventives species), macroinvertebrate
community (taxa richness, sensitive species), and landscape (e.g. buffer condition, disturbance
assessment). A snapshot of the ecological condition of these wetlands were determined using
measures of various factors in the above groupings and these factors used to characterize the
random wetland population (see CDFs, descriptive statistics tables (Tables 3-7), and box plot
figures as examples). In addition a floodplain wetland database and series of GIS shape files of
various wetland and related attributes is available at the CPCB‟s website
(http://www.cpcb.ku.edu/research/html/wetland2.htm) that allow other wetland planners and
managers to access these data to assist in identify wetland condition and relationship that can
affect their management efforts.
In order to accomplish the first objective, the applicability and responses of both previously
determined assessment metrics (such as reference buffer condition, FQA metrics, field
disturbance assessments) and new metrics (this study‟s MMI and macroinvertebrate metrics)
were determined as part of this project. This effort produced a new macroinvertebrate
multimetric index (MMI) and series of metrics that can be used to quantify wetland disturbance
based on reference wetland scores. The disturbance assessment approach (DA) developed as par
to this and the prior floodplain wetland project was found to be useful as a Level II wetland
assessment tool and can be used by others in Region 7 to examine the possible level of
disturbance of individual wetlands occurring in large river floodplains. Lastly, comparisons of
reference and random population wetland conditions using project water quality, floristic and
macroinvertebrate metrics proved useful in identifying a continuum of conditions for these
wetlands from “least disturbed” to disturbed. The development of these tools and their
demonstrated value in determining possible wetland disturbances, quantifying biological and
water quality conditions related to disturbances, and the determination of “reference” conditions
(and wetlands) provides management organizations a new set of tools in developing wetland
plans for floodplain wetlands in EPA Region 7.
Background
In 2007 the Central Plains Center for BioAssessment (CPCB) at the Kansas Biological Survey
(KBS), University of Kansas, studied a set of 22 reference wetland sites located in the Missouri
River floodplain (Kriz et al. 2007). During that Phase I study, wetland assessment tools were
developed that could be useful for Level 1 (landscape assessment using a geographic information
system (GIS) and remote sensing) studies and could be applicable to Level 2 and Level 3 studies
(see Fennessy et al. 2004). This report describes a Phase II study in which we continued
development of the assessment tools by sampling and analyzing a series of abiotic and biotic
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