While our work is not tied to a specific geographic locations, members of the Ecosystem Stoichiometry lab are often drawn to local projects, improving our knowledge of the waterways in Nebraska. Further, some people come to this website as a way to learn more about the lakes and streams in Nebraska. Hence, this page serves to highlight our local work and consolidate some potentially useful resources.
The Niobrara River Project
The Niobrara River, a National Scenic River in northern Nebraska, hosts tens of thousands of tourists each year. It hosts plants and animals representative of Eastern deciduous forests and Rocky Mountain forests, while also being a nearly free-flowing river in the Great Plains. With support from the UNL UCARE program, Cabela's Apprenticeship Program, and the Nature Conservancy, we are studying how this river is effected by floods and human use and how this information might promote sustainable management of all Great Plains streams and rivers.
The first research sampling season took place in the summer of 2019, when water levels in the Niobrara River were almost continuously twice as high as historic averages. Our team collected water, sediment, and periphyton samples monthly to measure variations in water chemistry and biomass composition from above Cornell Dam near Valentine, NE to Brewer Bridge near Sparks, NE. This reach of the river includes areas that experience no, low, and high levels of human recreation guided by accessibility and local restrictions. Our 2019 sampling effort provided important baseline information on the trajectory of flood recovery in the river. In 2020, we returned to the Niobrara River to sample and observe the resilience of the basal systems in the river and what, if any, lasting effects the flood event could have on river health. We will continue our research in 2021 to build on that baseline information as the river continues to recover. Some coverage of our work thus far can be found here and here.
The first research sampling season took place in the summer of 2019, when water levels in the Niobrara River were almost continuously twice as high as historic averages. Our team collected water, sediment, and periphyton samples monthly to measure variations in water chemistry and biomass composition from above Cornell Dam near Valentine, NE to Brewer Bridge near Sparks, NE. This reach of the river includes areas that experience no, low, and high levels of human recreation guided by accessibility and local restrictions. Our 2019 sampling effort provided important baseline information on the trajectory of flood recovery in the river. In 2020, we returned to the Niobrara River to sample and observe the resilience of the basal systems in the river and what, if any, lasting effects the flood event could have on river health. We will continue our research in 2021 to build on that baseline information as the river continues to recover. Some coverage of our work thus far can be found here and here.
StreamNet
Nebraska is an agricultural state rich with water resources. Unfortunately, fertilizer addition to increase crop yield has also increased nutrients in our natural waters. We do not often know how much nitrogen or phosphorus is in the water or, importantly, if management efforts to reduce nutrient loads are working. StreamNet is a novel project that combines aquatic sensors and web-based tools to measure those important aquatic parameters and provide that information to citizens and land managers in real time. By monitoring both stream water volumes and water quality factors, the network of stream sensors provides immediate feedback on processes happening within the watershed, as well as the extent to which the water bodies are meeting the needs of stakeholders that rely on them.
StreamNet sensor network and data platform will provide immediate feedback on how nutrients are moving across the landscape, the effectiveness of ongoing management activities, and where future management resources should be focused to improve the health of Nebraska’s water resources. This project is in collaboration with the North Platte NRD and the cities of Scottsbluff, Gering, and Terrytown and funded in part by the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
Stay tuned for updates on our sensor network design and accessing the StreamNet data in real time.
StreamNet sensor network and data platform will provide immediate feedback on how nutrients are moving across the landscape, the effectiveness of ongoing management activities, and where future management resources should be focused to improve the health of Nebraska’s water resources. This project is in collaboration with the North Platte NRD and the cities of Scottsbluff, Gering, and Terrytown and funded in part by the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
Stay tuned for updates on our sensor network design and accessing the StreamNet data in real time.
Limnology of the Sandhills
The Sandhill region covers much of western Nebraska and hosts 100s of lakes on its poorly drained soils. Many of these lakes are highly mineralized and alkaline, rendering a unique opportunity to study the effects of geochemical constraints on organisms a short drive from UNL's campus. Indeed, we are studying the physicochemistry of these lakes for both a Track-II EPSCoR project and an internal NU collaborative project.
Resources we use
More information about Nebraska's surface waters can be found:
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
- Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (hydrologic data)
- USGS Nebraska Water Science Center
- US Water Quality Portal (this is a national database)
- Nebraska's Natural Resource Districts (mostly groundwater, but some surface water information)