Agricultural Land Drainage

Wetland drainage has been a chronic problem affecting ecosystems in the Prairie Pothole Region since agriculture entered the region and a perception of wetlands and wastelands developed. However, much of the region is hydrologically closed and therefore water drained from wetlands occurring at higher topographic positions on a landscape often accumulate in down-gradient wetlands. Thus, water from many wetland basins becomes "consolidated" into a smaller number of wetlands at lower elevations, increasing the quantity and affecting the quality of water in these down-gradient wetlands. Additionally, the rapid expansion of agricultural subsurface tile drainage in the Prairie Pothole Region has potential to also alter wetland ecosystem [...]