GIS Characterization of Beaver Watershed

Beaver Reservoir watershed is located in Northwest Arkansas including portions of Madison, Washington, Benton, Carroll, Franklin and Crawford counties. This watershed is important to the Northwest Arkansas region because it supplies most of the drinking water for the major towns and cities, and several rural water systems. The watershed consists of 308,971 ha with elevations ranging from approximately 341 m to 731 m above mean sea level. It includes the Springfield Plateau and the Boston Mountains provinces within the Ozark Plateau physiographic region. There are approximately 581 km of streams, 532 km of shore line, and 3712 km of roads in the watershed most of which are city streets and rural roads. The soils in the watershed vary extensively and are quite complex due to the differences in parent material, topography and time. Most parent material of the soils in the Springfield Plateau is limestone, whereas in the Boston Mountains the dominant parent material is sandstone and shale. The differences in soils have led to the differences in landuse and land cover. The near surface geology in the watershed is also divided by physiographic provinces. Most of the Springfield Plateau surface geology is limestone, whereas the Boston Mountains are primarily sandstone and shale. Spatial details of the streams, roads, soils and geology attributes in the watershed are presented in this report. The GIS database and characterization of the watershed offers an excellent beginning to future research and modeling of various water quality parameters in this and other watersheds

Quantification and Prediction of Stream Dryness in the Interior Highlands

Although ecological studies have noted streams drying in the Interior Highlands, published measurements of streambed dryness are lacking. Clearly, stream drying has the potential to affect benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities. In 2003, we initiated an assessment of streambed dryness for three streams in the Ouachita Mountains representative of the Central Hills, Ridges, and Valleys. In the following summer, we applied the approach to 15 similar size watersheds in three distinct ecoregions of the Interior Highlands: Ouachita Mountains-Athens Plateau, Ozark Highlands-Springfield Plateau, and Lower Boston Mountains. Repeated dryness measurements were recorded in each stream and correlated to nearby USGS stream gage records. Dryness reached as high as 86% for the Ouachita Mountains in 2003; whereas, flow was continuous in 2004. One stream in the Ozark Highlands dried completely in 2004, and dryness reached 84% in the Boston Mountains. Percent dry streambed was negatively correlated (Spearman rank) to discharge for the Ouachita Mountains in 2003 and the Boston Mountains in2004 (rs =-0.94 and -0.60, respectively; p \u3c 0.05, Ukey-Kramer). Maximum dryness during these months was significantly lower for the Ouachita Mountains than the Boston mountains and Ozark Highlands. Thus, discernable patterns of stream dryness exist among the different ecoregions of the Interior Highlands. Aquatic ecologists and resource managers in these ecoregions could employ such measures to further understand habitat limitations associated with these stream systems

Distribution of Fishes in Reference Streams Within Arkansas\u27 Ecoregions

The State of Arkansas has been subdivided into six ecoregions based on the homogeneity of land surface forms, potential natural vegetation, soil types and land uses. Reference streams of various sizes, excluding the large rivers, and with the least amount of point source and non-point source disturbances were selected for intensive physical, chemical and biological sampling. These data are to be used to characterize the streams and establish water quality criteria which will protect all stream uses. Fish communities of the reference streams were distinctively different among the ecoregions and can easily be used to characterize the waters of different ecoregions. Although composed of different species, the composition of trophic feeding levels of the fish community was very similar among the ecoregions. The average number of species collected per sample site was similar among the ecoregions; however, the Arkansas River Valley and the Gulf Coastal ecoregions had the greatest species richness and the Delta ecoregion was the lowest in species richness. Species of fish sensitive to environmental change comprised near 50% or more of the community relative abundance in the Boston Mountains, Ozark Highlands and Ouachita Mountains ecoregions. Delta ecoregion fish populations contained less than 1% sensitive species. Comparisons of the ten most abundant species from each ecoregion by use of a similarity index shows very little similarity among the ecoregions. The Ouachita Mountains and Boston Mountains communities were most similar and the Ozark Highlands community versus Delta and Ozark Highlands versus Gulf Coastal were least similar

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Morphological and Land use Characteristics of the Buffalo River Watershed

The Buffalo River was established by Congress iQ. 1972 as the first National River in the United States. The Buffalo River, which originates in the higher elevations of the Boston Mountains in Newton County, is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams in Arkansas. It is considered to be one of Arkansas\u27 greatest natural treasures, and thus, there is strong interest in protecting it from anthropogenic influences. An initial characterization of the soil taxonomic units, watershed boundaries, topography and physiographic units in the Buffalo River Watershed was presented by Scott and Smith (1994). The spatial distribution of the geologic units in the watershed was presented by Hofer et al. (1995)

The Norman Site: Descriptions

The Norman site (34WG2) lay on a terrace on the west side of the Neosho (Grand) River in Wagoner County, Oklahoma. Throughout much of its course within Oklahoma, this river flows along the western boundary of the Ozark Uplift. East of the river, the limestones, shales, and sandstones deposited during the Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian geological periods form the Boston Mountains and the Springfield Plateau. Several of these formations contain knappable cherts, often of good quality. West of the river, the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian deposits thin and dip under the surface to form the Prairie Plains Province, characterized by low, east-facing escarpments. Sandstone and shale bedrocks underlie the Prairie-Plains Province. The streams flowing eastward across these are muddy and sluggish

Spatial Distribution of the Surface Geology and 1992 Land Use of the Buffalo River Watershed

The Buffalo River was established by Congress in 1972 as the first National River in the United States and is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams in Arkansas . The Buffalo River flows through the three major physiographic provinces of northern Arkansas, originating in the higher elevations of the Boston Mountains, and flowing generally northeastward to cut through the Springfield and Salem Plateaus. It drops from approximately 2000 feet in the headwaters to around 500 feet above sea level at its confluence with the White River in Marion County. The Buffalo River is considered to be one of Arkansas\u27 greatest natural treasures; thus there is strong interest in protecting it from undue anthropogenic influences. A general description of the area within the Buffalo River Watershed was given by Smith (1967)

An Annotated Checklist of the Crayfishes (Decapoda: Cambaridae) of Arkansas

Prior to the present study, 56 species with 3 additional subspecies for a total of 59 different taxa of crayfishes were recognized from Arkansas. We add a single species (Carmel Crayfish, Fallicambarus schusteri) to that list, subtract a documented synonym (Procambarus ferrugenius = Procambarus liberorum), update the classification to better reflect recent phylogenetic insights, and provide an updated annotated checklist of the 59 crayfish taxa of presently known from the state. There are 8 endemic species in Arkansas, including the Bayou Bodcau Crayfish (Bouchardina robisoni), Boston Mountains Crayfish (Cambarus causeyi), Hell Creek Cave Crayfish (C. zophonastes), Jefferson County Crayfish (Creaserinus gilpini), Ouachita Burrowing Crayfish (Fallicambarus harpi), Slenderwrist Burrowing Crayfish (F. petilicarpus), Saline Burrowing Crayfish (F. strawni), and Redspotted Stream Crayfish (Faxonius acares). There are also 2 federally endangered species, the Benton County Cave Crayfish (Cambarus aculabrum) and the Hell Creek Cave Crayfish (C. zophonastes) that inhabit Arkansas karst habitat. We expect that additional species will be included in the list with further DNA analyses

The Impact of Prescribed Fire on Moth Assemblages in the Boston Mountains and Ozark Highlands, in Arkansas

In addition to the impacts of prescribed fires on forest vegetation, this ecosystem process also has dramatic impacts on associated insect assemblages. For herbivorous, terrestrial insects, fire predictably results in a cycle of initial insect population reduction followed by recovery and growth, in which these insect populations exceed pre-fire abundances. We sought to examine if fire-induced disturbance cycles make prescribed burned areas more or less suitable specifically for moths (order Lepidoptera), which is a major food source for, among others, multiple bat species. We surveyed moth assemblages at 20 burned and 20 unburned sites in the Boston Mountain and Ozark Highland ecoregions of Arkansas, to determine if biomass or abundance of moths differed between areas that had been burned in the past 10 years, and those areas that had never been burned. Samples were collected early (April to July) and late (August to November) in the growing season of 2017 (hereafter early season and late season, respectively). We compared biomass and abundance of all moths, and of five representative moth species, between burned and unburned sites. The five moth species were chosen and considered to be representative due to their high relative abundance, and ease of identification. The five chosen moth species included the banded tussock moth (Halysidota tessellaris), white-dotted prominent moth (Nadata gibbosa), ailanthus moth (Atteva aurea), grape leaffolder (Desmia funeralis), and painted lichen moth (Hypoprepia fucosa). Results from paired t-tests showed no significant difference in total biomass, or abundance of representative species between burned and unburned sites. However, generalized linear regression models showed significantly higher abundance of moths in areas with high basal area that had been previously burned (β = -0.038 ± 0.004 SE,

Assessing the Vertical Accuracy of Arkansas Five-Meter Digital Elevation Model for Different Physiographic Regions

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) represent the elevation of the earth’s surface. Scientists and decision makers have used DEMs to address questions relating to the earth’s landscape. This study assessed the vertical accuracy of Arkansas 5-meter raster DEM dataset produced in 2006 photogrammetrically, for three physiographic regions that represented a variation of elevations. The vertical accuracy of the DEM datasets was assessed by comparing their elevations to elevations collected using a surveying carrier phase Global Position System (GPS). To make comparisons between physiographic regions, paired t-tests using absolute elevation value difference and elevation difference along with the Absolute Mean Range Value (AMRV) was also computed. The results of the study revealed that 5-meter DEM is statistically different from the true elevation for the state with a mean absolute difference elevation error of 2.90 meters. The mean absolute elevation error for the Boston Mountains, the Ouachita Mountains, and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain physiographic regions are 4.98, 2.81, and 1.06 meters, respectively. The absolute mean range value (AMRV) revealed that in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, the DEM might be problematic, since there is more error fluctuation (AMRV = 12.421%) across a smaller distribution of true elevation values compared to 1.283% for the Boston Mountains and 1.271% for the Ouachita Mountains physiographic regions

Limnological, Ichthyological, and Parasitological Investigations on Arkansas Reservoris in Relation to Water Quality

Lake Fort Smith, a 525 acre (212 ha) reservoir, was impounded in 1936 as a water supply for the city of Fort Smith. The reservoir is located on Clear Creek (Frog Bayou), a tributary of the Arkansas River, in the Boston Mountains 28 miles (45 km) northeast of the city of Fort Smith in Crawford County, Arkansas. A map and morphometric characteristics of Lake Fort Smith are given in Fig. 1 and Table I (Hoffman, 1951; Nelson, 1952). In 1956 Lake Shepherd Springs, a 750 acre (304 ha) impoundment, was created one mile upstream of Lake Fort Smith (Rorie, 1961). Both lakes have a shale substrate and are subject to periods of high turbidity. The 2 two lakes have a water shed of 65 square mile area (168 km ) of mountainous oak-hickory forest. Lake Shepherd Springs has not acted as a settling basin for sediments; thus, the upper portion of Lake Fort Smith has numerous shallow areas with a mud bottom supporting various submergent and emergent aquatic plants. The lower portion of the lake has a rocky, shale substrate with only limited emergent vegetation