Nebraskaland

Nebraskaland June 2020

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1253394

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June 2020 • Nebraskaland 33 the saltiness of the plant's sap. High salt levels are needed in the roots for osmosis to draw water in from the soil. The wind-pollinated fl owers bloom in late summer and consist of minute depressions in the stem. The tiny, green petals ring the depression. A single seed ripens within the stem as it fades to scarlet red then brownish in early fall. The briny water feeding the marshes, and on which saltwort depends, is of ancient origin. During the Cretaceous Period, some 70 to 160 million years ago when central North America was a vast inland sea, the salts were laid down in shale sediments on the sea fl oor. Today, the now deeply buried salts reach the surface by becoming dissolved in groundwater that artesian fl ow carries upward through overlying layers of porous sandstone to the marsh fl oor. Over millennia, evaporation has concentrated the salts in these wetland soils. Decline of the saline wetlands began soon after settlement when newly plowed upland soils washed down into the marshes burying their salt-laden topsoil with several feet of sediment. Many marshes were drained or fi lled as the city of Lincoln grew. Beginning about 1900, stream channelization turned the shallow, meandering creek beds bordering the marshes into deep canals that drained saline groundwater before it could seep into the marshes. And fi nally, increased overland fl ow of rainwater and snowmelt from urban areas and crop fi elds into the wetlands further diluted the saline soils, setting the stage for invasion by the highly- aggressive reed canary grass, narrow- leaf cattail and other non-native plants. As its habitat declined, so did saltwort. Today there are 10 known populations of saltwort remaining in Lancaster County. Conservation groups have conserved through acquisition and easements nearly 4,900 acres of land containing saline wetlands and restoration has occurred on several of these wetlands, mainly through the plugging of drainage ditches. Although this practice restored wetland hydrology, it did little to enhance salinity and saltwort habitat. Returning the Salt of the Earth A few months ago, Dan Schulz, resources coordinator with the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, told me about the unique salt marsh restoration occurring at his agency's Marsh Wren Wetland, At Marsh Wren, gated irrigation pipe is used to release salty groundwater into the marshes. The Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership directed the salt marsh restorations at this site. The Nebraska Environmental Trust provided project funding. PHOTO BY GERRY STEINAUER

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