Hydrology
Prairie wetlands set the pace of annual runoff
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
In 69% of 109 Prairie Pothole catchments, maximum wetland inundation outpredicts climate for annual runoff, often with a storage threshold.
How this study connects
Role on claims
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This library holds 8 empirical papers on hydrology with measured outcomes rather than reviews.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
In 69% of 109 Prairie Pothole catchments, maximum wetland inundation outpredicts climate for annual runoff, often with a storage threshold.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
A Nile flood series or Prairie-Pothole runoff study is not a global water-cycle closure.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
A Nile flood series or Prairie-Pothole runoff study is not a global water-cycle closure.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — 1984–2021 climate/streamflow vs satellite wetland inundation across Prairie Pothole catchments
- N
- N=109 · 109 unregulated Prairie Pothole catchments
- Population
- Prairie Pothole Region catchments with wetland inundation and annual runoff
- Outcome
- Maximum wetland inundation outpredicting climate for annual runoff in most catchments
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Inspect source passages
Prairie wetlands set the pace of annual runoff
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
The study uses 38 years (1984–2021) of data for 109 non-regulated catchments.
we assembled 38 years (1984–2021) of daily temperature, precipitation, and streamflow for 109 non-regulated catchments and derived two annual hydrologic response variables:
The median full correlation between MIWA and high-flow ratio is 0.71.
In fill–spill catchments, the median full correlation between MIWA and high-flow ratio (HFR) is 0.71.
Key findings
69% of catchments are fill–spill dominated: MIWA beats aridity and snow persistence for runoff, and climate mostly acts by changing inundation. Median MIWA–HFR correlation is 0.71. Among those catchments, 64% have threshold-like buffering (power-law b>1.25); more isolated wetlands mean stronger buffering.
Methodology
Authors combined 1984–2021 daily climate and streamflow for 109 unregulated Prairie Pothole catchments with satellite maximum inundated wetland area (MIWA), then used partial correlations and power-law fits to runoff ratio and high-flow ratio.
Limitations
40% of fill–spill catchments have MIWA variability unexplained by the climate indices used. The study is correlative (not a drainage experiment) and does not map nutrient export, only hydrologic connectivity.
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