Hydrology Report Poster

              ● Tile Lines: Lines (Fig.4) were identified using Google Earth
and the knowledge of the farmers, Jeb Barzen gave us use
of his map of the tile lines..
● Soil Types: The USDA Web Soil Survey(Fig. 6) was used to
identify the soil types across the Engeseth - Rinde property.
● Digital Elevation Model: LiDar data for Rice county was
taken from the Minnesota GIS database. Using Google Earth
we created a polygon of Engeseth - Rinde(Fig. 1) and then
added it over the LiDar data.
● Flow Direction: To create a flow direction map(Fig.3), we
used our DEM and a hydrology package on ArcMap to run a
flow direction analysis.
● Flow Accumulation: To create a flow accumulation map (Fig.
2), we utilized the flow direction map and then ran a flow
accumulation analysis in ArcMap.
● Sink - The sink map (Fig. 5) was made using the hydrology
package on ArcMap using the flow accumulation and
direction maps.
● Buffer Strips: We researched the effects of buffer strips on
agricultural lands and the positive benefits vegetated areas
have with regards to quelling erosion
We would like to acknowledge the assistance of several people in the
development of our analysis and conclusions, including the guidance of
Professor Kathleen Shea, Don Nelson and the DNR for their resources and
expertise, and the assistance of the Schrader family whose knowledge of
the land and openness to visits and questions allowed for us to develop
more consise conclusions.
Acknowledgements
Methods
Hydrology & Buffer Strips Analysis at the Engeseth Rinde Restoration Site
Tom Knee, Toby Martin, Gabriel Coleman, and David Mayhall, ES 399, Spring 2017, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
Hydrological processes are incredibly important to consider
while restoring a given area. The way in which water interacts
with land heavily influences both abiotic and biotic factors. Our
study focuses on four main factors that tie in to hydrology: tile
lines, vegetated buffer strips, soil types, and GIS analyses of
the plot. Tile lines alter the way in which water flows on the
land as do vegetated buffers. The GIS analysis will allow us to
make recommendations that would otherwise be unobtainable
through remote sensing data manipulation. Finally, soil types
are known to vary and this variation can be drastic across a
plot of this size. The objectives of our project are as follows:
● Create hydrology maps for DNR use as they continue the
restoration project
● Study literature to make recommendations with regards to
the tiling in the field, the potential for buffer strips, and the
differentiation of soil across the property
Bibliography
1. Duley, F. L., and L. L. Kelly. 1939. Effect of Soil Type, Slope, and Surface Conditions on
Intake of Water. University Of Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin
2. Helmers, M. J., T. Isenhart, M. Dosskey, S. Dabney, and J. Strock. 2006. Buffers and Filter
Strips. Upper Mississippi River Sub-basin Hypoxia Nutrient Committee:1–17.
3. Jones, K. L., G. C. Poole, S. J. O’daniel, L. A. Mertes, and J. A. Stanford. 2008. Surface
hydrology of low-relief landscapes: Assessing surface water flow impedance using
LIDAR-derived digital elevation models. Remote Sensing of Environment 112:4148–4158.
Introduction Results and Discussion
Conclusion
● While there is a variation between soil types across the
Engeseth-Rinde farm, the variation does not and will not affect
the flow of water on the property 1
● Leaving the tile lines in the field would be more beneficial than
removing them as the large disturbance to the land that is
required to remove the drains would be incredibly detrimental
to the efficacy of the restoration project in the short term
● That being said, the planting of native prairie plants on much
of the farmland (section 6 and 5a) would help mitigate any
problems with fast moving water down slopes 2 - planting of
native grasses and forbs in small areas to stop erosion would
also give a local seed bank to aid the planting of prairie
parcels elsewhere on the property
● Analysis of a DEM of the area shows where the DNR could
consider creating a wetland (specifically in section 7) 3 - other
places would need more landscaping to be suitable for
wetland use
● Future analysis of hydrological patterns on the
Engeseth-Rinde farm would greatly benefit from additional
information that the Schrader family could provide - as they
have worked the land for many years their knowledge of it will
be invaluable in the future
Fig. 1: Map of the Engeseth Rinde farm developed by Jeanine Vorland of the
MNDNR. Shows the parcelling of the land into restoration sections. These
parcels are used as reference points in our observations.
Fig. 2: Flow Accumulation map of the Engeseth Rinde farm developed by
ArcGIS. Places where water will accumulate are shown in purple.
Fig. 3: Flow Direction showing where water from each raster will flow. The
direction coding key shows the cardinal directions indicated by color
Fig 6: Data from the USGS Web Soil Survey showing the soil types present
on the Engeseth Rinde farm. The three main soil types represented on the
property are Port Byron Silt Loam (285B),Timula-Bold Complex (963C2),
and Littleton Silt Loam (1413B)
Fig 5: Map detailing water sink (internal drainage). Sink areas occur when water
has nowhere to flow, and is represented by all neighboring rasters having higher
elevation values than the processing cell.
● The difference between soil infiltration rates of the main soil
types (Fig. 6) is .1in/in which means it is negligible
● Both the flow accumulation and flow direction maps (Fig. 2 and
3 respectively) show that the areas 6 and 5a (Fig. 1) would
benefit from vegetated buffers to slow erosion
● Traditional buffer strips would be of little use to the property now
as there are no flowing bodies of water (Fig. 1)
● Tile lines (Fig. 4) are known to cover a large area of the field,
specifically in area 3 (Fig.1) - the removal of these tiles would
hinder restoration processes across that area because of the
large disturbance
● Our sink map (Fig. 5) shows only one area suitable for wetland
use - the general land is not topographically as such that
multiple wetlands would be possible without some landscaping
by the DNR.
Fig. 4: Tile lines in red and black are shown to be concentrated in the
northeast corner of the Engeseth-Rinde property (outlined in blue).