25 Years of Change in Aquatic Plants in the Upper Mississippi River
The Upper Mississippi River, along with a few other rivers worldwide, has experienced a remarkable increase in aquatic vegetation over the last 25 years. Using complex community modeling, scientists are determing where, what species, and why, aquatic vegetation increases were observed in the Mississippi River. This information can help us understand the natural recovery of aquatic plants, and how we can help restore plants in areas that need human intervention.
The purpose of this study is to understand changes in the aquatic vegetation communities over time. The abundance and diversity of aquatic vegetation has increased over several decades in some areas of the Upper Mississippi River. Using the 25 years of data collected by the UMRR LTRM, scientists are currently investigating when, why, and where these changes occurred by using complex community models.
Several environmental factors, including water quality, climate (precipitation and temperature), hydrology (changes in the river flow), plant characteristics, and vegetation phylogeny (family relationships) were incorporated into a model to help understand changes. These models are highly complex and can take 6 days to run! This ongoing project is being completed in partnership with the University of Helsinki in Finland.
The Upper Mississippi River, along with a few other rivers worldwide, has experienced a remarkable increase in aquatic vegetation over the last 25 years. Using complex community modeling, scientists are determing where, what species, and why, aquatic vegetation increases were observed in the Mississippi River. This information can help us understand the natural recovery of aquatic plants, and how we can help restore plants in areas that need human intervention.
The purpose of this study is to understand changes in the aquatic vegetation communities over time. The abundance and diversity of aquatic vegetation has increased over several decades in some areas of the Upper Mississippi River. Using the 25 years of data collected by the UMRR LTRM, scientists are currently investigating when, why, and where these changes occurred by using complex community models.
Several environmental factors, including water quality, climate (precipitation and temperature), hydrology (changes in the river flow), plant characteristics, and vegetation phylogeny (family relationships) were incorporated into a model to help understand changes. These models are highly complex and can take 6 days to run! This ongoing project is being completed in partnership with the University of Helsinki in Finland.