INVENTORY AND MONITORING OF GROUNDWATER-DEPENDENT ECOSYSTEMS: PROTOCOL DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING FOR NATIONAL FORESTS AND GRASSLANDS

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) include numerous regionally and nationally siginificant ecosystems such as springs and seeps, many wetlands (all fens), caves, and most riparian areas. In water-limited areas or in thermally-stressed aquatic systems, these locations of focused groundwater discharge concentrate biodiversity. On National Forests and Grasslands, an approach for consistently identifying, characterizing, and monitoring GDEs is needed to effectively manage these resources. A US Forest Sevice national Technical Guide is being developed to meet this need. The Guide will present protocol options for different levels of data collection, depending on objectives and priorities, available resources, and spatial and temporal scales of interest. Level I primarily describes the GDE type, location, extent, current uses, physiographic and geologic setting, and general ecological conditions. Level II captures all Level I information and also includes field methods to inventory and monitor springs, fens and other wetlands, with focus on the measurement of hydrology, soil, geology, and vegetation-related parameters. Results and lessons learned from field testing of the draft protocol in several locations throughout the US will be presented. With new demands on water resources and predicted scarcity of water due to current uses, energy development, and climate change, GDE resources are increasingly threatened. Although GDEs comprise a small percentage of the land area managed by the Forest Service, they provide valued ecosystem services, including habitat and refugia for numerous threatened and endangered species and clean water, making their conservation and sustainable management high priorities. This Technical Guide seeks to provide the agency with a consistent, scientifically sound, and realistic approach to characterizing and monitoring groundwater-dependent resources.