Lower Wisconsin River Research Articles

Abundance and Growth of Young-of-Year Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) and Sauger (S. canadense) in Pool 10, Upper Mississippi River, and at Prairie du Sac Dam, Lower Wisconsin River, 1987–1994

ABSTRACT We estimated the relative abundance and growth of young-of-year (YOY) walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) and YOY sauger (S. canadense) based on night electroshocking each October from 1987–1994 in the upper part of Pool 10 on the upper Mississippi River and in the tailwaters of the Prairie du Sac dam on the lower Wisconsin River. Catches of each species varied substantially from year to year at each location. Strong year classes of walleye and sauger were produced at both locations in 1991 and 1994, and weak year classes were produced in 1990. In other years, relative year-class strengths were only partially concordant between species and locations. Overall, growth of YOY walleye and YOY sauger was fast at both locations, and varied less than abundance. However, annual growth fluctuations were not correlated between species or between locations. Abundance and growth of YOY walleye and YOY sauger were correlated to only a limited extent with water levels during the spring (April-May), with air tempera...

Vegetation and Cropping Effects on Pedogenic Processes in a Sandy Prairie Soil

The presence of native prairies in the Lower Wisconsin River valley that have not been cropped affords a mean of comparison across undisturbed and managed ecosystems. A native prairie soil and a prairie converted to corn (Zea mays L.) and red pine (Pinus resinosa Aiton) plantations were studied to determine the influence of vegetation on soil-forming processes in the sandy landscape of the Lower Wisconsin River valley. Effects of afforestation and cultivation were determined by separating organic matter among particle-size and chemical fractions, differentiating among forms of extractable Fe and Al, and measuring dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Fe and Al in bulk precipitation, throughfall, and soil solutions at three depths. The soil under native prairie vegetation showed distinctive horizonation, including an umbric epipedon formed by melanization. Thickness of the A horizon was significantly less in the forested and cultivated soils than in the prairie soil. Greater amounts of the floatable fraction of organic C, fulvic acids, and Fe-organic complexes were present in the forested soils than in the prairie soil. Carbon concentration in the A horizon of the cultivated soil was significantly lower than in the prairie and forested soils, due to losses by erosion, decomposition, and DOC leaching. In the cultivated soil, the floatable and humin fractions showed the greatest decrease in C concentration compared with the prairie soil. Analysis of the solution data indicated leaching of soluble Fe-organic complexes under coniferous and corn vegetation, suggesting that afforestation and cultivation initiated incipient podzolization.

In situ characterization of hydrologic properties of Sparta sand: relation to solute movement

Hydrologic characteristics of soils are of general significance for many land use activities because of their relationship to water and solute flow. Water plays important roles in soil genesis, agricultural productivity, and transport of potential contaminants to groundwater. Sandy soils in portions of the Lower Wisconsin River Valley (LWRV), dominated by Sparta sand (uncoated, mesic Typic Quartzipsamments), have been under intense scrutiny recently because of extensive atrazine (2-chloro-(4-ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine) contamination of groundwater. However, groundwater beneath broadly similar sandy soils elsewhere in Wisconsin, with similar land-use (crop) management and production potentials, does not show such contamination. The purpose of this study was to determine particular hydrological properties of Sparta sand of the LWRV for use in modeling solute flux, and whether these properties might be distinct from those of a dominant soil of another major intensively farmed agricultural area in Wisconsin. In situ measurements of hydraulic conductivity and pore water pressure of the Sparta sand were made with an automated time-domain reflectometry system and pressure transducer-equipped tensiometers, respectively. Hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated Sparta sand was significantly different ( P<0.01) between monitored depths in the profile. The differences observed in hydraulic conductivity were correlated with morphologically and physically described soil profile features. Hydraulic conductivity values for Sparta sand ranged from approximately 1 × 10 −4 to 2 × 10 8 ms −1. This is about one order of magnitude greater than values reported for Plainfield sand (mixed, mesic Typic Udipsamments), a similar sandy soil, at comparable water content and profile depth. Water redistribution data for Sparta sand were fitted to a non-linear model of the form θ v(ag)=0.261 (t+2.3) −0.1475, where θ v(avg) is the mean profile water content (m 3 m −3) and t is time (minutes).

Irrigation and Polymer Effects on Herbicide Transport through the Unsaturated Zone of a Sparta Sand

AbstractState‐sponsored monitoring programs show that the Sparta sand (sandy, mixed, mesic Entic Hapludoll) of the Lower Wisconsin River Valley (LWRV) is susceptible to herbicide movement through the vadose zone, especially atrazine [2‐chloro‐(4‐ethylamino)‐6‐(isopropylamino)‐s‐triazine]. Experiments were initiated to examine the effect of irrigation scheduling and pesticide formulation on transport through the vadose zone. Intact Sparta sand (SP) columns were extracted from the LWRV and instrumented to simulate temperature, irrigation and drainage conditions encountered in the field. Labeled 14C‐atrazine, alachlor [2‐chloro‐N‐(2,6‐diethylphenyl)‐N‐(methoxymethyl) acetamide], and metolachlor [2‐chloro‐N‐(2‐ethyl‐6‐methylphenyl)‐N‐(2‐methoxy‐1‐methylethyl) acetamide] were monitored in the leachate. Treatments included irrigation schedules to match no‐irrigation or rainfed (RF), evapotranspiration (ET) and ET plus an additional 25% (ET +). Formulation treatments consisted of standard pesticide tank‐mix mixtures with and without the addition of a polymer (2% by volume). Increased water input significantly increased metolachlor transport through the SP profile. Due to variability in the leachate data, no significant differences in the total amount of atrazine leached through the columns were shown to exist between the ET and ET + treatments; however, after initial irrigation, atrazine concentration in leachate from ET + treatment was 10 to 15 times greater than leachate of the ET treatment. When compared to the standard herbicide formulation, the use of the polymer significantly reduced and delayed the peak concentrations of metolachlor in the leachate. A significant difference also was observed in the amount of metolachlor retained in the surface soil (0–10 cm) of those columns receiving the polymer treatment compared to those receiving the standard application of the herbicide.

Atrazine, Alachlor, and Metolachlor Mobility through Two Sandy Wisconsin Soils

AbstractPesticide mobility through Sparta sand from the Lower Wisconsin River Valley (LWRV) and Plainfield sand from the Central Sands (CS) of Wisconsin was examined to interpret results from state‐sponsored groundwater monitoring programs and to identify fundamental mechanisms important in pesticide transport through the unsaturated zone. The mobility of 14C‐labeled atrazine [2‐chloro‐(4‐ethylamino)‐6‐(isopropylamino)‐s‐triazine], alachlor [2‐chloro‐N‐(2,6‐diethylphenyl)‐N‐(methoxym ethyl) acetamide], and metolachlor [2‐chloro‐N‐(2‐ethyl‐6‐methylphenyl)‐N‐(2‐methoxy‐1‐methylethyl) acetamide] was monitored through replicated intact soil column‐microlysimeters. Soil columns of Sparta sand (sandy, mixed, mesic Entic Hapludolls) from the LWRV and Plainfield sand (sandy, mixed, mesic Typic Udipsamments) from the CS were instrumented in the greenhouse to simulate field conditions. All pesticides were shown to be much more mobile through the Sparta sand as compared to Plainfield sand. Peak atrazine concentration was 15 times greater in the leachate from the Sparta soil than from the Plainfield sand. Percentage loss of applied pesticide was four times greater in the leachate from the Sparta soil than from the Plainfield sand. Similar results were found for metolachlor and alachlor. The relative order of mobility for each soil was found to be atrazine &gt; metolachlor &gt; alachlor. Factors found to contribute to increased mobility of pesticides through the Sparta sand include higher hydraulic conductivity, smaller water‐holding capacity, and less atrazine adsorption due to less organic C and clay content. The hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) of the upper motzone (0–20 cm) of the Sparta soil is five times faster than the Plainfield soil. The waterholding capacity and the atrazine adsorption coefficient (Kd) of the Plainfield sand were measured to be 1.6 and 1.8 times greater, respectively, than those of the Sparta soil.

Geology of the Pre-Illinoian Sediment in the Bridgeport Terrace, Lower Wisconsin River Valley, Wisconsin

The Bridgeport terrace in the lower Wisconsin valley is characterized by pre-IUinoian till-like sediment at the west end of the terrace that grades eastward into fluvial sediment with eastward-dipping foreset beds that underlie an eastward-sloping-depositional surface. The Bridgeport sediment overlies a rock bench that protected it from erosion. Stratigraphic relationships indicate the valley was already incised below the rock bench by the time the Bridgeport sediment was deposited. A pre-IUinoian age for the Bridgeport terrace is indicated by deeply weathered sediment and by the reversed remanent magnetism of fine-grained units in the terrace gravel. Furthermore, a well-developed, probable Sangamon age, paleosol is developed underneath two loess units that overlie the fluvial sediment. The clay mineralogy of till-like sediment at the west end of the terrace is similar to pre-Illinoian till units in Iowa and west-central Wisconsin.

The Pleistocene History of the Lower Wisconsin River

Previous articleNext article FreeThe Pleistocene History of the Lower Wisconsin RiverPaul MacClintockPaul MacClintock Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Geology Volume 30, Number 8Nov. - Dec., 1922 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/622963 Views: 95Total views on this site Citations: 2Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: James C. Knox , and John W. Attig Geology of the Pre-Illinoian Sediment in the Bridgeport Terrace, Lower Wisconsin River Valley, Wisconsin, The Journal of Geology 96, no.44 (Sep 2015): 505–514.https://doi.org/10.1086/629244BARBARA ZAKRZEWSKA VALLEYS OF DRIFTLESS AREAS, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 61, no.33 (Mar 2010): 441–459.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1971.tb00798.x

Outline of Pleistocene History of Mississippi Valley

Previous articleNext article FreeOutline of Pleistocene History of Mississippi ValleyFrank LeverettFrank Leverett Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Geology Volume 29, Number 7Oct. - Nov., 1921 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/622818 Views: 120Total views on this site Citations: 4Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Rachel Ann Lyman, Christine E. Edwards Revisiting the comparative phylogeography of unglaciated eastern North America: 15 years of patterns and progress, Ecology and Evolution 12, no.44 (Apr 2022).https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8827James C. Knox* Geology of the Driftless Area, (Jan 2019).https://doi.org/10.1130/2019.2543(01) James C. Knox , and John W. Attig Geology of the Pre-Illinoian Sediment in the Bridgeport Terrace, Lower Wisconsin River Valley, Wisconsin, The Journal of Geology 96, no.44 (Sep 2015): 505–514.https://doi.org/10.1086/629244BARBARA ZAKRZEWSKA VALLEYS OF DRIFTLESS AREAS, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 61, no.33 (Mar 2010): 441–459.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1971.tb00798.x