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The wetland continuum: A conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies

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Abstract

We describe a conceptual model, the wetland continuum, which allows wetland managers, scientists, and ecologists to consider simultaneously the influence of climate and hydrologic setting on wetland biological communities. Although multidimensional, the wetland continuum is most easily represented as a two-dimensional gradient, with ground water and atmospheric water constituting the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively. By locating the position of a wetland on both axes of the continuum, the potential biological expression of the wetland can be predicted at any point in time. The model provides a framework useful in the organization and interpretation of biological data from wetlands by incorporating the dynamic changes these systems undergo as a result of normal climatic variation rather than placing them into static categories common to many wetland classification systems. While we developed this model from the literature available for depressional wetlands in the prairie pothole region of North America, we believe the concept has application to wetlands in many other geographic locations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 8711 37th Street SE, 58401-7317, Jamestown, North Dakota, USA

    Ned H. Euliss, David M. Mushet & Murray K. Laubhan

  2. Mail Stop 411 National Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, 20192, Reston, Virginia, USA

    James W. LaBaugh

  3. Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, University of Missouri, Route 1, Box 185, 63960, Puxico, Missouri, USA

    Leigh H. Fredrickson

  4. 122 18th Avenue NE, 58401, Jamestown, North Dakota, USA

    George A. Swanson

  5. Mailstop 413 Denver Federal Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 80225, Lakewood, Colorado, USA

    Thomas C. Winter & Donald O. Rosenberry

  6. Dakotas Area Office, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 1017, 58502, Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

    Richard D. Nelson

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  1. Ned H. Euliss
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  2. James W. LaBaugh
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  3. Leigh H. Fredrickson
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  4. David M. Mushet
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  6. George A. Swanson
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  7. Thomas C. Winter
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  8. Donald O. Rosenberry
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  9. Richard D. Nelson
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Euliss, N.H., LaBaugh, J.W., Fredrickson, L.H. et al. The wetland continuum: A conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies. Wetlands 24, 448–458 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0448:TWCACF]2.0.CO;2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0448:TWCACF]2.0.CO;2

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