Ducks, ditches and dykes : landscape change in the prairie and flooding in the Mississippi River Valley / Mark W. Miller and Thomas D. Nudds.
Material type: TextPublication details: Guelph, ON : 1994. University of Guelph,Description: 14 (2) p. ; 28 cmOnline resources: Abstract: Extensive landscape alteration as a result of agricultural expansion on the U.S. prairie has both reduced waterfowl populations and increased precipitation runoff into regional river basins. Satellite imagery reveals that landscapes have been less altered on Canadian prairies.Long-term, broad-scale data about precipitation and flow rates of 12 unregulated rivers in both countries indicate that while precipitation has varied widely, it has not increased, yet flow rates of U.S. rivers have increased. But, flow rates have not increased in any Canadian river. Neither of 2 competing hypotheses advanced to account for trends in flood magnitudes, climate change and channel confinement, can account for these results. Thus, increased flood magnitudes in the Mississippi River Valley over the last several decades can be at least partially related to extensive agricultural land use that has resulted in reduction of natural upland vegetation and wetland drainage in the upper reaches of the MissisItem type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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Electronic Report | Electronic Library | Non-fiction | MIL (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 2608 |
Includes bibliographical references ( 9-13).
Extensive landscape alteration as a result of agricultural expansion on the U.S. prairie has both reduced waterfowl populations and increased precipitation runoff into regional river basins. Satellite imagery reveals that landscapes have been less altered on Canadian prairies.Long-term, broad-scale data about precipitation and flow rates of 12 unregulated rivers in both countries indicate that while precipitation has varied widely, it has not increased, yet flow rates of U.S. rivers have increased. But, flow rates have not increased in any Canadian river. Neither of 2 competing hypotheses advanced to account for trends in flood magnitudes, climate change and channel confinement, can account for these results. Thus, increased flood magnitudes in the Mississippi River Valley over the last several decades can be at least partially related to extensive agricultural land use that has resulted in reduction of natural upland vegetation and wetland drainage in the upper reaches of the Missis