Evaluating the Role of Conserved Lands in Supporting Wetland Hydrology in Working Agricultural Landscapes

Conserved lands play a central role in sustaining ecological functions within working agricultural regions, yet their capacity to maintain wetland conditions varies widely depending on hydrologic persistence and seasonal dynamics. This study assesses the hydrologic performance of Nebraska’s major conservation programs using multi-year Sentinel-2 satellite observations spanning from 2018 to 2024. Five land-protection categories were evaluated: the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs), the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and additional protected lands mapped in the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). To capture hydrologic dynamics across scales, we quantified parcel-level inundation percentages alongside program-level wetness metrics that represent cumulative surface-water extent. Lands enrolled in WRP and WPA generally exhibited higher inundation levels at the 0% threshold across annual and seasonal periods, with variability across programs, reflecting their role in wetland restoration and habitat provision. WMAs showed greater seasonal variability but retained water under higher persistence thresholds (≥25% and ≥50%), underscoring their importance in maintaining semi-permanent wetland conditions during drier periods. Wetland-associated CRP lands provide essential short-duration wetness that supports regional hydrologic connectivity across working agricultural landscapes. Similar seasonal patterns were observed across other protected lands, which generally contributed to episodic surface water rather than long-term hydrologic storage. Seasonal analyses highlighted strong intra-annual variability driven by snowmelt, precipitation regimes, and evapotranspiration. Collectively, the results demonstrate substantial differences in hydrologic function among conservation programs and provide an empirical basis for prioritizing investments toward lands that most effectively sustain wetland habitats and water-quality benefits.