Southern Plains Ecoregion - National Rivers and Streams Assessment Results
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Key Results
An estimated 50,832 river and stream miles are represented in the Southern Plains ecoregion in the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA).
- In the Southern Plains ecoregion, biological condition was good in 42% of river and stream miles based on benthic macroinvertebrates.
- The most widespread stressors assessed in the Southern Plains ecoregion were nitrogen with 59% of river and stream miles in poor condition, phosphorus with 56% of miles in poor condition, and riparian disturbance with 36% of miles in poor condition.
- Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms that occur at low levels. Under the right conditions (elevated nutrients and increasing temperature), cyanobacteria can grow at elevated rates producing blooms. Not all cyanobacterial blooms are toxic, but some may release toxins, such as microcystins. For information about risks at specific locations, recreational water users should check with state, tribal or local governments.
- Microcystins detections occurred in 20% of river and stream miles in the Southern Plains ecoregion however, zero miles were above EPA’s recommended criteria.
Change from 2013-14*
- The percent of river and stream miles in poor condition for riparian disturbance increased by 15 percentage points.
- For the Southern Plains, the percent of river and stream miles with microcystin detections decreased by 31 percentage points.
To access more ecoregional specific information, please visit the interactive NRSA Dashboard.
* The change analysis is based on information from two points in time – 2013-14 and 2018-19.