Wetland Hydrology Measurements from Prince Edward Island National Park

Parks Canada monitors wetland hydrology at four basin marsh ponds in PEI National Park using in-situ water level loggers. The dataset provides five annual hydrological parameters, including mean daily water level and the Richards-Baker Index, calculated for each site based on a May 1 to April 30 water year.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between the Richards-Baker Index (RBI) and mean daily water level to characterize flow stability in wetland ponds.
• Model the annual magnitude of min/max water level difference against climate variables to assess year-to-year hydroperiod variability.
• Compare the Julian date of annual maximum water level across the four monitored sites to identify spatial patterns in seasonal flooding.
• Use the five fundamental hydrological parameters as features for classifying wetland ecosystem health or predicting biotic components.

Strengths

• Data is collected from four distinct basin marsh pond sites, enabling spatial comparison.
• Includes five specific annual hydrological parameters, such as the Richards-Baker Index, which measures standardized daily fluctuations.
• Measurements are derived from in-situ Onset HOBO U20 water level loggers, providing direct field observations.

Limitations

• The dataset's temporal coverage and total number of annual records are not specified in the input.
• Limited to four specific pond sites within PEI National Park, which may not represent broader wetland hydrology.

Provenance

Source

Parks Canada

Collection Method

Sampled using in-situ Onset HOBO U20 water level loggers at four basin marsh ponds; five annual parameters are calculated per site.

Time Range

Annual calculations based on a water year from May 1 to April 30; specific start and end years are unknown.

Freshness

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Geography

Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada.