Playas (Southeast Blueprint Indicator)

Reason for Selection The unique wet-dry cycle that characterizes this important wetland ecosystem makes playas a biodiversity hotspot within the Great Plains. Playas support a rich community of wetland plants and invertebrates, providing habitat and food for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, and resident prairie birds, as well as many mammal and amphibian species. Healthy playas “provide a sustainable water source for communities and rain-fed operations, water filtration, flood control, livestock forage, and recreation” (PLJV 2022). They play a particularly critical role in groundwater recharge and filtration that improve the quantity and quality of water in the region’s aquifers. Sediment accumulation due to agriculture in and around playas, as well as modification from construction and hydrologic alteration, have significantly degraded and continue to threaten the habitat and ecosystem services that playas provide (PLJV website). Input Data * [Base Blueprint 2022 extent] * [Playa Lakes Joint Venture probable playas dataset v5], accessed 5-25-2022 This dataset is a regional compilation of several data sources including the National Wetlands Inventory, Soil Survey Geographic database, and satellite imagery. Specific details on methods are in the [release notes]. This dataset defines a healthy playa as one that is not farmed, has no hydrological modifications, is not within a wind farm, and is not sedimented. It defines playa clusters by identifying areas with either high playa density or high playa surface area, according to duck abundance data collected on playas. * Playa Lakes Joint Venture (JV) boundary extracted from the [North American Joint Venture Boundary dataset] * [Southeast Blueprint 2023 extent] Mapping Steps * From the Playa Lakes JV probable playas v5 data, convert polygons to raster and use the fields “healthy” and “cluster” to identify healthy playas and those that are part of a larger cluster. * Assign zero values to all pixels not identified as a playa above. Zero values are intended to help users better understand the extent of this indicator and make it perform better in online tools. * Convert the Playa Lakes JV boundary to raster, giving it a value of 1. * Limit the playas data (values of 0, 1, 2, and 3) to the Playa Lakes JV boundary by taking the playa raster times the JV raster. * Clip to the spatial extent of Base Blueprint 2022. * As a final step, clip to the spatial extent of Southeast Blueprint 2023. Note: For more details on the mapping steps, code used to create this layer is available in the [Southeast Blueprint Data Download] under > 6_Code. Final indicator values Indicator values are assigned as follows: 3 = Healthy playa and part of a larger cluster 2 = Healthy playa 1 = Other playa 0 = Not identified as a playa Known Issues * This indicator underrepresents playas, especially those smaller than 2 acres, in the eastern half of Beaver, Oklahoma. NWI data were missing from that area and the additional data sources used tend to underestimate playas, especially those less than 2 acres in size. Disclaimer: Comparing with Older Indicator Versions There are numerous problems with using Southeast Blueprint indicators for change analysis. Please consult Blueprint staff if you would like to do this (email [hilary_morris@fws.gov]). Literature Cited Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Playas of the high plains: Providing water for wildlife and people. [[https://pljv.org/docs/What_Are_Playas.pdf]]. Playa Lakes Joint Venture probable playas dataset v5. Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Accessed May 25, 2022. [[https://pljv.org/playas/playa-tools/]]. Playa Lakes Joint Venture website. 2022. Playas Benefit Wildlife and People. [[https://pljv.org/playas/]]. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. FWS Migratory Bird North American Joint Ventures Boundaries. [[https://gis-fws.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/d34bd6ebd33543d68a00fc7d412890fa_0/about]].