Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program Long Term Resource Monitoring

Conclusions

Net sedimentation rates over this 5-yr study were lower than rates presently used to estimate effects of sedimentation on UMR backwaters. Differences in annual sedimentation rates were associated with annual discharge, whereas differences along transects at the annual time scale were associated with bed elevation. These associations are important information for evaluating effects of sedimentation on habitat change. Such an evaluation would be incomplete without explaining spatial and temporal variation in sedimentation.  The predictions of cumulative effects of net sedimentation can be used to help manage fish and wildlife resources that may be affected by habitat changes. In addition, the information on spatial and temporal variability derived from the model could be useful for investigating direct annual effects of sedimentation on biotic and abiotic components of the river. To date, these direct effects have largely been ignored in the ecology of floodplain rivers.