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GUIDE TO NEBRASKA'S WETLANDS
NEBRASKA'S REGIONAL
WETLAND COMPLEXES
Wetlands occur throughout Nebraska, but for many purposes it is useful
to identify some of the larger wetland complexes. A complex is considered
a geographically defi nable concentration of wetlands similar in form and
function. The basis for these complexes and much of the information was
adapted from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's Nebraska Wetlands
Priority Plan (Gersib 1991). These boundaries were refi ned, new boundaries
added, and wetland acreage and number statistics generated following
procedures described by LaGrange et al. (2005).
The wetland complexes are grouped into four categories: playas, sandhills,
saline/alkaline and riverine. Six of the complexes were ranked by Gersib (1991)
in the Nebraska Wetlands Priority Plan, and the rankings received were based
on wetland functions, losses, and threats. The remaining eight complexes were
not discussed or scored by Gersib (1991), and the information available for
these complexes is considerably less.
Nebraska's regional wetland complexes consist of four types of wetlands: Playa, Riverine, Saline/Alkaline and Sandhills. Even if a
wetland is not located within one of these four complexes, it still is an important component of our ecosystem.
TIM REIGERT, NEBRASKALAND
Wetland Types
Playa
Riverine
Saline/Alkaline
Sandhills
CENTRAL TABLE PLAYAS RAINWATER BASIN CENTRAL PLATTE RIVER EASTERN SALINE
SOUTHWEST PLAYAS
SANDHILLS
WESTERN ALKALINE NIOBRARA RIVER ELKHORN RIVER
TODD
VALLEY
MISSOURI
RIVER
PLATTE
CONFLUENCE
LOWER
PLATTE
RIVER
LOUP/PLATTE RIVER SANDHILLS
