ABSTRACT:

The following standard operating procedure (SOP) was created for the the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS), an NSF EPSCoR funded project (OIA 2019603) seeking to explore the impacts of stream drying on downstream water quality across Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Idaho, and Mississippi. AIMS integrates datasets on hydrology, microbiomes, macroinvertebrates, and biogeochemistry in three regions (Mountain West, Great Plains, and Southeast Forests) to test the overarching hypothesis that physical drivers (e.g., climate, hydrology) interact with biological drivers (e.g., microbes, biogeochemistry) to control water quality in intermittent streams. An overview of the AIMS project can be found here: https://youtu.be/HDKIBNEnwdM
This protocol will describe the process of installing the water quality sensors (YSI EXO2 and s::can spectro::lyser) in the field. The installation and use of these sensors is for multi-year time series data (Approach 1).

ABSTRACT:

The following standard operating procedure (SOP) was created for the the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS), an NSF EPSCoR funded project (OIA 2019603) seeking to explore the impacts of stream drying on downstream water quality across Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Idaho, and Mississippi. AIMS integrates datasets on hydrology, microbiomes, macroinvertebrates, and biogeochemistry in three regions (Mountain West, Great Plains, and Southeast Forests) to test the overarching hypothesis that physical drivers (e.g., climate, hydrology) interact with biological drivers (e.g., microbes, biogeochemistry) to control water quality in intermittent streams. An overview of the AIMS project can be found here: https://youtu.be/HDKIBNEnwdM.

This protocol details the process for measuring streamflow within the stream network focused largely on low-flow conditions using dilution gaging techniques.

Also included in this resource is the AIMS datasheet used when taking measurements in the field.

The "living" version of this SOP is available on Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18mvs_aAr677eQDrwUuassMTWmjggSQxVkmkr0vgF0J4/edit?tab=t.0

From this SOP, the following data types will be created: stream width, depth, discharge (AIMS rTypes created: ENVI, DISC).

ABSTRACT:

Youngmeyer Ranch is located in Elk County, KS (outlet location: 37.56442, -96.49106) and managed by Witchita State University and owned by the Youngmeyer Trust. The ranch is roughly 1902 ha of grassland prairie used predominantly for cattle grazing and is burned every 1-2 years. A tributary of the Elk River, specifically the south branch of the Elk River headwaters, elevation at Youngmeyer ranges from 373-488 m with mean annual temperature of 13.7°C and mean annual precipitation of 979mm. This site is geologically constructed of Permian age limestone and shale with layers of chert below silty clay loam soils (Houseman et al. 2016). This site is predominantly grassland composed of the same dominant grasses as Konza Prairie, with scattered black oaks (Q. veluntina) along the creeks (Houseman et al. 2016)

Houseman, G. R., M. S. Kraushar, and C. M. Rogers. 2016. The Wichita State University biological field station: Bringing breadth to research along the precipitation gradient in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 119(1):27-32.

This resource contains the YSI field data from AIMS approaches 1 (maintenance samples ~every 3 weeks), and 2 (seasonal sampling) samplings at Youngmeyer. During sampling, a YSI Pro1030 Waterproof Handheld meter was placed in the stream and numbers were allowed to stabilize while water sampling took place. Data is not available when the site was dry - as noted by the flow_state column. In addition, some sampling events lacked a YSI handheld and data is therefore missing.

ABSTRACT:

Shane Creek, located north of Kings Creek in the Konza Prairie Biological Station (outlet location: 39.11522, -96.55838; 434 ha), is a native tallgrass prairie located in the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a long term ecological research station that has been in operation since 1980. Shane’s Creek is annually cattle-grazed and burned every three years. Konza is located in the Flint Hills of northern Kansas. In 2023, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in July; in 2024, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in September. Average annual precipitation for this site is 904.7 mm.

This resource contains the YSI field data from AIMS approaches 1 (maintenance samples ~every 3 weeks), 2 (seasonal sampling), and 4 (experiment) samplings at Shane’s Creek. During sampling, a YSI Pro1030 Waterproof Handheld meter was placed in the stream and numbers were allowed to stabilize while water sampling took place. Data is not available when the site was dry - as noted by the flow_state column. In addition, some sampling events lacked a YSI handheld and data is therefore missing.

ABSTRACT:

This study was conducted on the South Fork of the Kings Creek research watershed (outlet location: 39.092281, -96.58719) within Konza Prairie Biological Station (KBPS) near Manhattan (KS, USA). At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie that is actively managed using controlled buns at varying frequencies (1-20 year return intervals) and grazing by bison or cattle. Kings Creek ranges in elevation from 338 to 430 m above sea level and drains into the Kansas River. The region is within a midwestern continental climate, with temperatures ranging from 4 to 22°C and mean annual precipitation averaging about 780 mm/yr.

This site lies within the Flint Hills ecoregion of eastern KS and northeastern OK, has a mean annual temperature of 11.7ºC (1983-2020), and 811 mm annual precipitation (1983-2020) with high interannual variability and an estimated 75% of annual precipitation occurring during late spring and early summer (Hayden 1998, Sadayappan et al. 2023). The AIMS study catchment, the South Fork of Kings Creek, is grazed by bison year-round, and includes sub-catchments with variable prescribed burn history, but the entire study area was burned in early April 2021. The riparian vegetation is deciduous gallery forest and the highest portion of the landscape is tallgrass prairie (Dodds et al. 2004) dominated by warm-season grasses, though woody encroachment has occurred in most subwatersheds (Sadayappan et al. 2023)*. The underlying bedrock of the Flint Hills ecotone is characterized as limestone, mudstone, and shale with predominately silty clay loam soils that rest atop (Hayden 1998, Vero et al. 2018).

This resource contains the YSI field data from AIMS approaches 1 (maintenance samples ~every 3 weeks), 2 (seasonal sampling), and 3 (syntopic sampling event) samplings at King's Creek. During sampling, a YSI Pro1030 Waterproof Handheld meter was placed in the stream and numbers were allowed to stabilize while water sampling took place. Data is not available when the site was dry - as noted by the flow_state column. In addition, some sampling events lacked a YSI handheld and data is therefore missing.

ABSTRACT:

Shane Creek, located north of Kings Creek in the Konza Prairie Biological Station (outlet location: 39.11522, -96.55838; 434 ha), is a native tallgrass prairie located in the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a long term ecological research station that has been in operation since 1980. Shane’s Creek is annually cattle-grazed and burned every three years. Konza is located in the Flint Hills of northern Kansas. In 2023, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in July; in 2024, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in September. Average annual precipitation for this site is 904.7 mm.
These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. This study took place in Shane’s Creek (434 ha) at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a long term ecological research station that has been in operation since 1980. Shane’s Creek is annually cattle-grazed and burned every three years. Konza is located in the Flint Hills of northern Kansas. In 2023, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in July; in 2024, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in September. Average annual precipitation for this site is 35.62 inches.

We constructed a wooden stream diversion structure halfway down a 380m reach containing four pools and three riffles above and below the structure. The structure had 4 1-foot diameter holes installed with PVC couplers. Four 130m corrugated flexible tubes were laid out from the diversion structure to the bottom of the impact reach. We deployed 20 STICs throughout the control and impact reach to quantify the extent of drying using rebar. Construction and preparation occurred in February and March, when the stream was dry, to minimize construction-related disturbances to the experimental sampling. Prior to experimental dry down, water was able to flow from upstream (control reach) to downstream (impact reach) through the holes. We obtained pre-dry down sampling to collect a reference point for both the control and impact reaches. These “pre-dry week X” samples were collected from April to mid-July due to multiple flooding events (April 25th, June 26th, and July 3rd) that disrupted the experimental setup and required redeployment of experimental structures and equipment. During the experimental dry down (“dry week X” samples), we attached the tubes to the couplers in the diversion structure. Flow was diverted around the impact reach into the downstream watershed for five weeks, during which we collected weekly samples. Following the final forced drying sampling, tubes were cut from their couplers to allow flow to resume in the impact reach (“re-wet week X” samples). After 6 hours, we performed day 0 re-wet sampling. Twenty four hours later, we performed day 1 re-wet sampling. One week later, the stream began to naturally dry down in both the control and impact reaches, and collected weekly natural dry down samples for two weeks (“natural dry down week X” samples).

This resource contains the YSI field data from AIMS approaches 1 (maintenance samples ~every 3 weeks), 2 (seasonal sampling), and 3 (syntopic sampling event) samplings at King's Creek. During sampling, a YSI Pro1030 Waterproof Handheld meter was placed in the stream and numbers were allowed to stabilize while water sampling took place. Data is not available when the site was dry - as noted by the flow_state column. In addition, some sampling events lacked a YSI handheld and data is therefore missing.

ABSTRACT:

This dataset includes the HUC12 IDs of 82,312 HUC12s across the contiguous United States and an assigned "headwater type"/cluster ID derived from k-means clustering of this publicly available USGS dataset: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/67fffc34d4be020983ea0055.

ABSTRACT:

This study was conducted on the South Fork of the Kings Creek research watershed (outlet location: 39.092281, -96.58719) within Konza Prairie Biological Station (KBPS) near Manhattan (KS, USA). At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie that is actively managed using controlled buns at varying frequencies (1-20 year return intervals) and grazing by bison or cattle. Kings Creek ranges in elevation from 338 to 430 m above sea level and drains into the Kansas River. The region is within a midwestern continental climate, with temperatures ranging from 4 to 22°C and mean annual precipitation averaging about 780 mm/yr.

This site lies within the Flint Hills ecoregion of eastern KS and northeastern OK, has a mean annual temperature of 11.7ºC (1983-2020), and 811 mm annual precipitation (1983-2020) with high interannual variability and an estimated 75% of annual precipitation occurring during late spring and early summer (Hayden 1998, Sadayappan et al. 2023). The AIMS study catchment, the South Fork of Kings Creek, is grazed by bison year-round, and includes sub-catchments with variable prescribed burn history, but the entire study area was burned in early April 2021. The riparian vegetation is deciduous gallery forest and the highest portion of the landscape is tallgrass prairie (Dodds et al. 2004) dominated by warm-season grasses, though woody encroachment has occurred in most subwatersheds (Sadayappan et al. 2023)*. The underlying bedrock of the Flint Hills ecotone is characterized as limestone, mudstone, and shale with predominately silty clay loam soils that rest atop (Hayden 1998, Vero et al. 2018).

These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. 14 pressure transducers were placed in seven sets of nested groundwater and surface water monitoring wells along the Youngmeyer watershed,as well as an additional pressure transducer hanging from a tree at the watershed outlet to collect barometric pressure throughout sites in the watershed. These pressure transducers collected data from 2021 through 2024. These nested well locations monitored water level continuously throughout the project, as well as served as the AIMS approach 2 sampling locations, where a field team co-collected datasets characterizing the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecology across seven locations within the Talladega watershed six times across two years.

These sensors were set to collect temperature and pressure data every 15 or 30 minutes starting from 2021 through 2025. The raw pressure data were converted to water level using barometric pressure data and surveyed elevation data. Each .csv file is associated with a single sensor for a single year.

See the included AIMS_GP_KNZ_PRESdata_ReadME.xlsx file for more details.

ABSTRACT:

Shane Creek, located north of Kings Creek in the Konza Prairie Biological Station (outlet location: 39.11522, -96.55838), is a native tallgrass prairie that experiences cattle grazing and burning every 1-2 years.

These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. 7 pressure transducers were placed in surface water monitoring wells along the Shane Creek watershed, as well as an additional pressure transducer hanging from a tree at the watershed outlet to collect barometric pressure. These pressure transducers collected data from 2023 through 2024. These nested well locations monitored water level continuously throughout the project, as well as served as the AIMS approach 2 sampling locations, where a field team co-collected datasets characterizing the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecology across seven locations within the watershed.

These sensors were set to collect temperature and pressure data every 15 minutes starting from 2023 through 2024. The raw pressure data were converted to water level using barometric pressure data and surveyed elevation data. Each .csv file is associated with a single sensor for a single year.

For additional details see the AIMS_GP_SHN_PRESdata_ReadME.xlsx file.

ABSTRACT:

Youngmeyer Ranch is located in Elk County, KS (outlet location: 37.56442, -96.49106) and managed by Wichita State University and owned by the Youngmeyer Trust. The ranch is roughly 1902 ha of grassland prairie used predominantly for cattle grazing and is burned every 1-2 years. A tributary of the Elk River, specifically the south branch of the Elk River headwaters, elevation at Youngmeyer ranges from 373-488 m with mean annual temperature of 13.7°C and mean annual precipitation of 979mm. This site is geologically constructed of Permian age limestone and shale with layers of chert below silty clay loam soils (Houseman et al. 2016). This site is predominantly grassland composed of the same dominant grasses as Konza Prairie, with scattered black oaks (Q. veluntina) along the creeks (Houseman et al. 2016).

These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. 14 pressure transducers were placed in seven sets of nested groundwater and surface water monitoring wells along the Youngmeyer watershed,as well as an additional pressure transducer hanging from a tree at the watershed outlet to collect barometric pressure throughout sites in the watershed. These pressure transducers collected data from 2021 through 2024. These nested well locations monitored water level continuously throughout the project, as well as served as the AIMS approach 2 sampling locations, where a field team co-collected datasets characterizing the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecology across seven locations within the watershed.

These sensors were set to collect temperature and pressure data every 15 minutes starting from 2021 through 2024. The raw pressure data were converted to water level using barometric pressure data and surveyed elevation data. Each .csv file is associated with a single sensor for a single year.

For more information, see the AIMS_GP_YMR_PRESdata_ReadME.xlsx file in the resource.

ABSTRACT:

This resource contains the code for Seybold et al. (currently in review at Geophysical Research Letters).

Step 1 is the geospatial analysis and extraction of watershed attributes for 82,213 headwater watersheds across the continental United States.

Step 2 takes the extracted data from Step 1 and performs a k-means clustering of headwater watershed attributes. The final results of this clustering (linking HUC12 IDs and cluster assignments) is published as a standalone HydroShare resource and can be found here: Seybold, E. (2025). Headwater HUC12 IDs and associated Clusters, HydroShare, http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/4ba6663de66a42be81422d39ae349b66.

Step 3 takes the transformed headwater and downstream attributes generated in Step 1 (and used in Step 2) to train a random forest classification model that predicts headwater vs. downstream class membership.

ABSTRACT:

This resource includes cation (CAIO) data collected from Kings Creek within the Konza Prairie Biological Station. These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. This study was conducted on the South Fork of the Kings Creek research watershed (outlet location: 39.092281, -96.58719) within Konza Prairie Biological Station (KBPS) near Manhattan (KS, USA). At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie that is actively managed using controlled buns at varying frequencies (1-20 year return intervals) and grazing by bison or cattle. Kings Creek ranges in elevation from 338 to 430 m above sea level and drains into the Kansas River. The region is within a midwestern continental climate, with temperatures ranging from 4 to 22°C and mean annual precipitation averaging about 780 mm/yr.

This site lies within the Flint Hills ecoregion of eastern KS and northeastern OK, has a mean annual temperature of 11.7ºC (1983-2020), and 811 mm annual precipitation (1983-2020) with high interannual variability and an estimated 75% of annual precipitation occurring during late spring and early summer (Hayden 1998, Sadayappan et al. 2023). The AIMS study catchment, the South Fork of Kings Creek, is grazed by bison year-round, and includes sub-catchments with variable prescribed burn history, but the entire study area was burned in early April 2021. The riparian vegetation is deciduous gallery forest and the highest portion of the landscape is tallgrass prairie (Dodds et al. 2004) dominated by warm-season grasses, though woody encroachment has occurred in most subwatersheds (Sadayappan et al. 2023)*. The underlying bedrock of the Flint Hills ecotone is characterized as limestone, mudstone, and shale with predominately silty clay loam soils that rest atop (Hayden 1998, Vero et al. 2018).

We collected samples every ~3 weeks from 2021 to 2024 at the outlet of our watershed (SFM01, approach 1), seasonally at seven distributed sites (approach 2), and at 43 sites across the watershed between June 4, 2021-June 5, 2025 .
Samples were filtered in the field with a 0.45um PES filter and acidified to 2% nitric acid for preservation until analysis. Immediately prior to analysis, samples were filtered with a 0.2um PES filter. Aqueous concentrations of cations were determined using coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) (Horiba Ultima 2, Horiba Jobin Yvon) fitted with an AS 500 autosampler. The instrument has a glass concentric nebulizer equipped with a cyclonic chamber. The generator power is 1000 W. The plasma and auxiliary gas flow rate are 12 L/min and 0 L/min. The sheath gas flow rate and nebulizer are 0.2 and 0.8 L/min. Argon pressure is 80 psi. Multi-elemental standards are prepared in 2% nitric acid as well.

Intermediate tab has data from all triplicates; final data shows only triplicate average, st dev, and RSD (relative st dev). RSD (relative standard deviation is included in intermediate tab; red color indicates values above 10%). We recommend that users use what is presented in the final data tab, as not every replicate has been accounted for and the data has been cleaned.

Low standard for each analyte (below): our lab uses this as the conservative detection limit/LOD. Na - 0.5 ppm / Ca - 0.5 ppm / B - 0.02 ppm / Mg - 0.5 ppm / Si - 0.5 ppm / K - 0.2 ppm / Sr - 0.05 ppm. Note: Boron (B) is almost always below our lowest standard. Most of this data is not useable/below our minimum standard.

ABSTRACT:

Youngmeyer Ranch is located in Elk County, KS (outlet location: 37.56442, -96.49106) and managed by Witchita State University and owned by the Youngmeyer Trust. The ranch is roughly 1902 ha of grassland prairie used predominantly for cattle grazing and is burned every 1-2 years. A tributary of the Elk River, specifically the south branch of the Elk River headwaters, elevation at Youngmeyer ranges from 373-488 m with mean annual temperature of 13.7°C and mean annual precipitation of 979mm. This site is geologically constructed of Permian age limestone and shale with layers of chert below silty clay loam soils (Houseman et al. 2016). This site is predominantly grassland composed of the same dominant grasses as Konza Prairie, with scattered black oaks (Q. veluntina) along the creeks (Houseman et al. 2016).

Houseman, G. R., M. S. Kraushar, and C. M. Rogers. 2016. The Wichita State University biological field station: Bringing breadth to research along the precipitation gradient in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 119(1):27-32.

We collected samples every ~3 weeks from 2021 to 2024 at the outlet of our watershed (ENM01, approach 1), seasonally at seven distributed sites (approach 2), and at 43 sites across the watershed between 2021- 2024 .
Samples were filtered in the field with a 0.45um PES filter and acidified to 2% nitric acid for preservation until analysis. Immediately prior to analysis, samples were filtered with a 0.2um PES filter. Aqueous concentrations of cations were determined using coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) (Horiba Ultima 2, Horiba Jobin Yvon) fitted with an AS 500 autosampler. The instrument has a glass concentric nebulizer equipped with a cyclonic chamber. The generator power is 1000 W. The plasma and auxiliary gas flow rate are 12 L/min and 0 L/min. The sheath gas flow rate and nebulizer are 0.2 and 0.8 L/min. Argon pressure is 80 psi. Multi-elemental standards are prepared in 2% nitric acid as well.

Intermediate tab has data from all triplicates; final data shows only triplicate average, st dev, and RSD (relative st dev). RSD (relative standard deviation is included in intermediate tab; red color indicates values above 10%). We recommend that users use what is presented in the final data tab, as not every replicate has been accounted for and the data has been cleaned.

Low standard for each analyte (below): our lab uses this as the conservative detection limit/LOD. Na - 0.5 ppm / Ca - 0.5 ppm / B - 0.02 ppm / Mg - 0.5 ppm / Si - 0.5 ppm / K - 0.2 ppm / Sr - 0.05 ppm. Note: Boron (B) is almost always below our lowest standard. Most of this data is not useable/below our minimum standard.

ABSTRACT:

This resource includes cation (CAIO) data collected from Shane Creek within the Konza Prairie Biological Station. These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. This study took place in Shane Creek (434 ha) at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a long term ecological research station that has been in operation since 1980. Shane’s Creek is annually cattle-grazed and burned every three years. Konza is located in the Flint Hills of northern Kansas. In 2023, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in July; in 2024, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in September. Average annual precipitation for this site is 35.62 inches.

Samples were collected ~ every 3 weeks at the outlet site (SHM01) and seasonally at seven spatially distributed long term monitoring sites (LTMs). Samples were filtered in the field with a 0.45um PES filter and acidified to 2% nitric acid for preservation until analysis. Immediately prior to analysis, samples were filtered with a 0.2um PES filter. Aqueous concentrations of cations were determined using coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) (Horiba Ultima 2, Horiba Jobin Yvon) fitted with an AS 500 autosampler. The instrument has a glass concentric nebulizer equipped with a cyclonic chamber. The generator power is 1000 W. The plasma and auxiliary gas flow rate are 12 L/min and 0 L/min. The sheath gas flow rate and nebulizer are 0.2 and 0.8 L/min. Argon pressure is 80 psi. Multi-elemental standards are prepared in 2% nitric acid as well.

Intermediate tab has data from all triplicates; final data shows only triplicate average, st dev, and RSD (relative st dev). RSD (relative standard deviation is included in intermediate tab; red color indicates values above 10%). We recommend that users use what is presented in the final data tab, as not every replicate has been accounted for and the data has been cleaned.

Low standard for each analyte (below): our lab uses this as the conservative detection limit/LOD. Na - 0.5 ppm / Ca - 0.5 ppm / B - 0.02 ppm / Mg - 0.5 ppm / Si - 0.5 ppm / K - 0.2 ppm / Sr - 0.05 ppm. Note: Boron (B) is almost always below our lowest standard. Most of this data is not useable/below our minimum standard.

ABSTRACT:

Youngmeyer Ranch is located in Elk County, KS (outlet location: 37.56442, -96.49106) and managed by Witchita State University and owned by the Youngmeyer Trust. The ranch is roughly 1902 ha of grassland prairie used predominantly for cattle grazing and is burned every 1-2 years. A tributary of the Elk River, specifically the south branch of the Elk River headwaters, elevation at Youngmeyer ranges from 373-488 m with mean annual temperature of 13.7°C and mean annual precipitation of 979mm. This site is geologically constructed of Permian age limestone and shale with layers of chert below silty clay loam soils (Houseman et al. 2016). This site is predominantly grassland composed of the same dominant grasses as Konza Prairie, with scattered black oaks (Q. veluntina) along the creeks (Houseman et al. 2016).

Houseman, G. R., M. S. Kraushar, and C. M. Rogers. 2016. The Wichita State University biological field station: Bringing breadth to research along the precipitation gradient in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 119(1):27-32.

We collected samples every ~3 weeks from 2021 to 2024 at the outlet of our watershed (ENM01, approach 1), seasonally at seven distributed sites (approach 2), and at 43 sites across the watershed between 2021- 2024.
Samples were filtered with a 0.45um PES filter and frozen until analysis. Aqueous concentrations of anions were determined using an IC-3000 IC system (Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA) equipped with Dionex AERS 500 suppressor (2 mm, Thermo Scientific) and Dionex AS auto-sampler (Thermo Scientific). A Dionex IonPac AS15 column (2 mm × 50 mm, Thermo Scientific) with a guard column Dionex IonPac AG15 (2 mm × 50 mm, Thermo Scientific) was used to separate anions using a mobile phase of 38 mM KOH and a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The column temperature is 30 °C. Chromeleon software 7.1 is used for system control. Final data tab shows average of triplicates collected in the field and st dev of triplicates. Any NO3 values below 0.01 mg/L are below the lowest standard used in lab analysis and should be interpreted with caution.

The final data tab includes QA/QC’d averaged data for fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate in ppm with standard deviations. If the sample is below detection (BD), it is denoted as that and highlighted pink. Average NAs indicate analytes were not run or that samples were missing. NA’s in the standard deviations columns could indicate that those samples were not run or that only replicate was able to be analyzed.

ABSTRACT:

This resource includes anion (ANIO) data collected from Shane Creek within the Konza Prairie Biological Station. These data were collected in support of the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. This study took place in Shane Creek (434 ha) at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a long term ecological research station that has been in operation since 1980. Shane’s Creek is annually cattle-grazed and burned every three years. Konza is located in the Flint Hills of northern Kansas. In 2023, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in July; in 2024, the outlet of the stream wet up in March and dried down in September. Average annual precipitation for this site is 35.62 inches.

We collected samples every ~3 weeks from 2021 to 2024 at the outlet of our watershed (SHM01, approach 1) and seasonally at seven distributed sites (approach 2) between 2021- 2024.
Samples were filtered with a 0.45um PES filter and frozen until analysis. Aqueous concentrations of anions were determined using an IC-3000 IC system (Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA) equipped with Dionex AERS 500 suppressor (2 mm, Thermo Scientific) and Dionex AS auto-sampler (Thermo Scientific). A Dionex IonPac AS15 column (2 mm × 50 mm, Thermo Scientific) with a guard column Dionex IonPac AG15 (2 mm × 50 mm, Thermo Scientific) was used to separate anions using a mobile phase of 38 mM KOH and a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The column temperature is 30 °C. Chromeleon software 7.1 is used for system control. Final data tab shows average of triplicates collected in the field and st dev of triplicates. Any NO3 values below 0.01 mg/L are below the lowest standard used in lab analysis and should be interpreted with caution.

The final data tab includes QA/QC’d averaged data for fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate in ppm with standard deviations. If the sample is below detection (BD), it is denoted as that and highlighted pink. Average NAs indicate analytes were not run or that samples were missing. NA’s in the standard deviations columns could indicate that those samples were not run or that only replicate was able to be analyzed.

ABSTRACT:

This study was conducted on the South Fork of the Kings Creek research watershed (outlet location: 39.092281, -96.58719) within Konza Prairie Biological Station (KBPS) near Manhattan (KS, USA). At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie that is actively managed using controlled buns at varying frequencies (1-20 year return intervals) and grazing by bison or cattle. Kings Creek ranges in elevation from 338 to 430 m above sea level and drains into the Kansas River. The region is within a midwestern continental climate, with temperatures ranging from 4 to 22°C and mean annual precipitation averaging about 780 mm/yr.

This site lies within the Flint Hills ecoregion of eastern KS and northeastern OK, has a mean annual temperature of 11.7ºC (1983-2020), and 811 mm annual precipitation (1983-2020) with high interannual variability and an estimated 75% of annual precipitation occurring during late spring and early summer (Hayden 1998, Sadayappan et al. 2023). The AIMS study catchment, the South Fork of Kings Creek, is grazed by bison year-round, and includes sub-catchments with variable prescribed burn history, but the entire study area was burned in early April 2021. The riparian vegetation is deciduous gallery forest and the highest portion of the landscape is tallgrass prairie (Dodds et al. 2004) dominated by warm-season grasses, though woody encroachment has occurred in most subwatersheds (Sadayappan et al. 2023)*. The underlying bedrock of the Flint Hills ecotone is characterized as limestone, mudstone, and shale with predominately silty clay loam soils that rest atop (Hayden 1998, Vero et al. 2018).

Sample collection followed 3 approaches: (1) sampling at the outlet site ~every 3 weeks (SFM01) from 2021-2025, (2) sampling at 7 spatially distributed long term monitoring sites (LTMs) seasonally from 2023-2024, and (3) synoptic survey design to support the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. During June 2021, a field team co-collected datasets characterizing stream microbiota, biogeochemistry, and hydrology across 50 locations within a sub-drainage of the South Fork of Kings’ Creek. The 50 sites were selected to balance multiple competing priorities: (i) strategically targeting existing monitoring infrastructure with long-term data (n=14); (ii) including sites near several known springs and tributary junctions (n=9); and (iii) including a range of drainage area and topographic wetness index (TWI) values (n=27), both of which have been correlated with flow permanence elsewhere. For a detailed description of the site selection process, please see (Swenson et al., 2024). Subsequent sampling events occurred in July and August to capture watershed contraction.
Samples were filtered with a 0.45um PES filter and frozen until analysis. Aqueous concentrations of anions were determined using an IC-3000 IC system (Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA) equipped with Dionex AERS 500 suppressor (2 mm, Thermo Scientific) and Dionex AS auto-sampler (Thermo Scientific). A Dionex IonPac AS15 column (2 mm × 50 mm, Thermo Scientific) with a guard column Dionex IonPac AG15 (2 mm × 50 mm, Thermo Scientific) was used to separate anions using a mobile phase of 38 mM KOH and a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The column temperature is 30 °C. Chromeleon software 7.1 is used for system control. Final data tab shows average of triplicates collected in the field and st dev of triplicates. Any NO3 values below 0.01 mg/L are below the lowest standard used in lab analysis and should be interpreted with caution.

The final data tab includes QA/QC’d averaged data for fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate in ppm with standard deviations. If the sample is below detection (BD), it is denoted as that and highlighted pink. Average NAs indicate analytes were not run or that samples were missing. NA’s in the standard deviations columns could indicate that those samples were not run or that only replicate was able to be analyzed.