Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Award Date
2025
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department / School
Natural Resource Management
First Advisor
Joshua Stafford
Abstract
The Prairie Pothole Region of eastern South Dakota contains numerous small depressional wetlands, colloquially known as potholes, that provide important ecosystem services, including water storage, water quality improvement, and wildlife habitat. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect and restore wetlands and grasslands on private land through easements such as Wetland Reserve Easements. Although ACEP requires management practices intended to maintain or improve habitat quality, few studies have evaluated their effectiveness at supporting wildlife communities and vegetation integrity. To address this gap, we evaluated wetlands at 30 ACEP sites and 20 publicly owned comparison sites in eastern South Dakota during the summers of 2023 and 2024. Comparison sites included public wetlands that were either heavily influenced by surrounding agriculture or relatively less disturbed. We quantified vegetation and avian communities using quadrats placed along transects and standardized point counts, respectively. Across all sites and years, we documented 169 herbaceous and small woody plant species, 23 tree species, and 176 bird species. We used an information-theoretic modeling framework to evaluate candidate models explaining variation in vegetation species richness, Floristic Quality Index, and bird species richness. In all cases, the bestsupported and competing models included categorical site type as a predictor variable, with ACEP enrollment generally showing a positive association with vegetation and avian metrics. Overall, ACEP easement wetlands supported plant and bird communities that were comparable to or exceeded those observed at minimally disturbed public wetlands and exceeded wetlands embedded in agriculturally intensive landscapes. Several competing models also included landscape composition variables (e.g., surrounding grassland, cropland, or pasture), though these relationships were often weak and warrant further investigation across multiple spatial scales. Our findings suggest that ACEP easements can provide meaningful ecological benefits and that strategic placement of easements within favorable landscape contexts may further enhance conservation outcomes. Additionally, observed variation in plant and bird communities and the prevalence of invasive plant species indicate that active management practices (e.g., mowing, grazing, prescribed fire or herbicide application) may further improve wetland quality and biodiversity.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Wetlands -- South Dakota.
Wetlands -- Prairie Pothole Region.
Conservation easements -- South Dakota.
Conservation easements -- Prairie Pothole Region.
Agricultural conservation -- Prairie Pothole Region.
Agricultural conservation -- South Dakota.
Wetland conservation -- South Dakota.
Wetland conservation -- Prairie Pothole Region.
Bird communities -- South Dakota.
Bird communities -- Prairie Pothole Region.
Plant communities -- South Dakota.
Plant communities -- Prairie Pothole Region.
Conservation of natural resources.
Biotic communities.
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Millman, Katherine, "Quantifying Avian and Vegetation Communities on Agricultural Conservation Easement Wetlands in Eastern South Dakota" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1880.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd2/1880
Included in
Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Rights Statement
