Prairie Basin Wetlands of the Dakotas: A Community Profile,

Abstract : The shallow basin wetlands of the Dakotas form the bulk of the portion of the Prairie Pothole Region lying within the United States. This region produces a large proportion of North America's waterfowl and other prairie dwelling marsh and aquatic birds. The Prairie Pothole Region is also a major world supplier of cereal grains. Consequently, wetlands in the region are often drained for crop production or are otherwise cropped when water conditions permit. Prairie basin wetlands vary greatly in their ability to maintain surface water and in their water chemistry, which varies from fresh to polysaline. In addition, these wetlands are affected by a variety of agricultural land uses and practices, including pasture, cultivation, technical forage removal, idle conditions, and burning. It is important to understand how these factors operate in prairie basin wetlands, since they greatly affect the plant and animal communities in these basins.