Description:
This is an ambitious project to identify and map the flood basins in the Columbia Wetlands that are vulnerable to drought and climate change and to determine if and where the loss of water can be mitigated by local conservation actions. The three subprojects include (1) A remote sensing observation-based assessment of floodplain hydroperiod and wetland vulnerability analysis of 2600 ha of wetlands to determine if remote sensing can determine if the area of permanent open water has changed in the last 20 year compared to earlier years; (2) Upper Columbia Wetland Vulnerability Assessment Project is an analysis to hydrologically characterize the different types of wetlands and determine which wetlands are most vulnerable to drought and loss of water overwinter and (3) Importance of Ground Water to the Hydrologic Mass Balance of Columbia Wetlands provides an assessment of the importance of ground water to the wetlands during spring, summer and fall seasons. Together these projects will enable the hydrologic team to develop hydrologic budgets of the different types of wetlands and determine those wetlands most vulnerable to drought.

Keywords: wetlands; hydrology

Authors:

Organization: Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners

Category: Hydrologically Vulnerable Wetlands

Focal Area: Columbia Wetlands

Resource Type: Report

Year: 2021