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Research about North Dakota

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including North Dakota.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
USGS1977

Duck nesting in intensively farmed areas of North Dakota

A study to determine the major factors limiting duck nesting and production on intensively farmed areas in eastern North Dakota was conducted from 1969 through 1974. A total of 186 duck nests was found during searches on 6,018 ha of upland. Nest density per km2 for 5 major habitat types was 20.2 in untilled upland, 3.7 in standing grain stubble, 1.6 in mulched grain stubble, 1.2 in summer fallow, and 1.1 in growing grain. Pintails ( Anas acuta ) nested in cultivated cropland types in greater prevalence than other duck species. Nest densities were 12 times greater on untilled upland (20.2/km2) than on annually tilled cropland (1.7/km2), and hatched-clutch densities were 16 times greater on untilled upland (4.8/km2) than on annually tilled cropland (0.3/km2). Hatching success was greater on untilled upland (25%) than on tilled cropland (17%). Of 186 nests found, 77 percent did not hatch; 76 percent of the failures were attributed to predators and 19 percent to farming operations. Poor quality nesting cover, the result of intensive land use practices, and nesting failures caused by machinery and predators mainly mammals, were the principal factors limiting duck nesting and production on intensively farmed areas.

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USGS1977

Use of natural basin wetlands by breeding waterfowl in North Dakota

Use of basin wetlands by breeding populations of 12 species of waterfowl was investigated in 1965 and during 1967-69 throughout the prairie pothole region of North Dakota. Data were obtained primarily by random sampling techniques. Of the total population occupying natural basin wetlands 55 percent occupied seasonal and 36 percent occupied semipermanent wetlands. Seasonal wetlands contained 60 percent of the population of dabbling ducks, while semipermanent wetlands supported 75 percent of the population of diving ducks. On basins with ponded water, highest concentrations of breeding pairs occurred on temporary, seasonal, and semipermanent wetlands; moderate concentrations were recorded on ephemeral, fen, and undifferentiated tillage wetlands, and low concentrations occurred on permanent and alkali wetlands. The proportion of basins that retained ponded water had a direct bearing on the value of each type of wetland to breeding waterfowl. Relative values of the more intermittent types of wetlands are greatly increased during years of ample precipitation.

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USGS1977

Preliminary report on the coal resources of the Dickinson area, Billings, Dunn, and Stark Counties, North Dakota

The Dickinson area is underlain by the coal-bearing Fort Union Formation (Paleocene). The Fort Union in this area contains nine potentially economic coal beds. Five of these beds are, either all or in part, shallow enough to be economically extracted by conventional strip-mining methods, while the remaining four deeper beds represent future possible strip-mining, in situ, or shaft-mining coal resources. The Fort Union coal beds in the Dickinson area are relatively flat lying (dips are less than 1½°) and only slightly influenced by faulting and both depositional and post-depositional channeling. Topography, coal thickness, and minimum overburden all combine to give the Dickinson area an excellent future coal resource development potential.

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USGS1977

Ground-water investigations at U.S. Air Force Launch Control Facility E-0, Ramsey County, North Dakota

U.S. Air Force Launch Control Facility E-0 is located in Ramsey County, North Dakota. Geohydrologic and water-quality data indicate that the fractured Pierre Shale is the only aquifer in the vicinity of the facility that will supply acceptable water at the required rate of 5 gallons per minute (0.32 liters per second}. The chemical quality of the water is generally considered marginally satisfactory for the intended use due to the presence of high concentrations of dissolved solids, and chloride or sulfate.

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