Montane Wetlands

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Montane Wetlands

• By
• Jacob Wigginton

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What is a montane wetland?

• Montane means of mountains
• High altitude pulustrine wetlands with emergent
  vegetation

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How do montane wetlands compare to prairie
potholes?
Similar yet contrasting wetlands
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Similarities

• Pulustrine
• Similar in appreance
• Some are created by a similar glacial process
• provide important habitat for water fowl

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Differences

• Montane wetlands are typically less disturbed
• Montane wetlands are still dominated by native
  vegetation
• Montane wetlands almost always have enough
  rainfall to acommidate ducks and geese
• They also differ in soil types making the
  vegetation very different
• Succession happens much slower in montane
  wetlands
• Montane wetlands do not have as many high
  concentrations of waterfowl

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What different types on montane wetlands are
there?

• Intermountain Basin Wetlands
• Beaver ponds
• Glacial Ponds
• Montane Depression Wetlands
• Montane woodland seeps

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Intermountain Basin Wetland

• Flat or rolling areas created by tectonic and
  volcanic action
• Thick underlying layers of alluvial material
  eroded from the mountains
• High water tables are recharged in the spring by
  impoundments and artesian flow

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Plants of intermountain basin wetlands
Monument Plant
Mint
Arrow Grass
Additional Species Black greesewood, saltgrasses,
wheatgrass, bluegrass, sedges, rushes, sage
brush, rabbit brush
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Waterfowl of intermountain basins
Canada Goose
Cinnamon teal

• Additional species
• Gadwall, Northern Pintails, American Wigeon,
  Northern Shoveler, Redhead, and Lesser Scaulp

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Invertebrates of Intermountain basins
Odonate larvae
Freshwater Shrimp
Midges
Diptera
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Beaver Ponds

• mid-elevation on gradients less than 15
• Water levels maintained by percipitation and run
  off
• Nutrients sinks trapping organic matter and
  sediments
• Ideal waterfowl breeding area

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Waterfowl of beaver ponds
Barrows Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Additional species Gadwalls, ring-necked ducks
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Plants of Beaver ponds
Wild Licorice
Alder
Additional Species Flooded willows, sedges,
burreeds
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Invertebrates of Beaver Ponds
Gastropods
Caddisflies
Dragonflies
Freshwater shrimp
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Glacial Ponds

• Formed either behind moraines or by a glacial
  process similar to the prairie potholes
• Only occur in mountains and prairies
• Only water sources are summer percipitation and
  spring runoff
• Very old wetlands, peat accumulations in some are
  7,000 years old
• Although absence of fish competition allows an
  abundant invertebrate population landscape makes
  it a difficult habitat for some birds

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Waterfowl of glacial ponds
Ring-necked Duck
Gadwall
Additional Species Bufflehead, Barrows Goldeneye
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Plants of glacial ponds
Southern Maidenhair fern
scouring rush
Additional species Pondweeds, watermilfoils,
cowlilies
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Invertebrates of Glacial Ponds
Dragonfly
Caddisfly larvae
Misquitos
Coleoptera
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Montane Depression Wetlands

• Saturated, seasonally and semipermanently flooded
  vegetation
• Occur in the eastern U.S.
• Prononced seasonal water fluctuations
• Important breeding habitat for amphibians and
  odonates

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Plants of montane depression wetlands
3-way sedge
Winter berry
common green brier
High-bush Blueberry
Additional Species Virginia sneezwart, Virginia
quillwort, St. Johns Wart, Robbins Spikerush,
Black-fruited Spikerush
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Trees of montane depression wetlands
Red Maple
Black Gum
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Amphibians of montane depression wetlands
Salamander Eggs
Tiger Salamander
Spotted Salamander
Additional species
Jeffersons salamander, four-toed salamander,
marbled salamander, wood frogs, Upland Chorus frog
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Invertebrates of montane depression wetlands
Crayfish
Odonate Larvae
Freshwater shrimp
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Montane woodland seeps

• Saturated herbacous wetlands
• Occur in sinkholes or on steep, bouldered slopes
  at the site of water discharge
• Western Virginia mountains
• Above 2500 ft.

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Plants of montane woodland seeps
watercarpet
Oswego-tea
marsh blue violet
Additional Species Cut-leaved coneflower, spotted
jewelweed, Rough golden rod, golden rag wart,
American false-hellbore, marsh marigold,
bluejoint reedgrass
white turtle head
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Threats to montane wetlands

• Proposed changes to the Clean Water Act
• Overgrazing of Elk
• Invasive Species

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Clean Water Act Changes

• Before the Clean water act only a third of the
  nations waters were safe and clean
• Now half are clean and safe
• Redefining wetlands to exclude montane wetlands
  would be a step in the wrong direction
• Changes would leave Colorado with only fifteen
  miles of protected water

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Overgrazing by Elk
This increase in has caused the problem of
overgrazing of riparian vegetation in the Rocky
Mountain region
In the 1960s a policy of natural regulation
which has led to an upsurge in the Elk population.
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Invasive plant species of montane wetlands
lepidium latifolium
pittosporum_undulatum
Russian olive
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Introduce trout
Brook trout
Brown Trout
tadpoles
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Threatened, Endangered, or Endemic Species
montane wetlands.
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Criteria for selecting wetlands of importance

• Area that provides habitat for rare or endemic
  species
• Area of rich biota
• Area which provides habitat for considerable
  numbers of a specific species
• Area that is indespensible in the life history of
  an organism