Saline Wetland Ecosystems

Saline Wetlands are a unique ecosystem which serve as habitat and resources for various wildlife. This includes migrating birds, endangered insects, common mammals, and rare saline plants.

Red Winged Blackbirds:

Large populations of Red-winged Blackbirds migrate through or to Nebraska annually. Saline wetlands in Nebraska are used as stopovers for migrating populations and breeding grounds for nesting populations.

Salt Creek Tiger Beetle:

The Salt Creek Tiger Beetle is endangered and endemic to Lincoln. The endemic status means that the only known populations of the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle in the world are found in Lancaster County. These beetles are currently protected by both the federal and state government. The Salt Creek Tiger Beetle requires a certain level of salinity in the flood plains to bury their eggs in the soil. A major threat to the beetles is habitat destruction and degradation from destroying wetlands, decreasing salinity, and channelization of riverbanks.

Common Mammals:

Rabbits and deer are common mammals which can be found in areas surrounding saline wetlands and rely on the ecosystem services provided to the environment.

Saltwort:

Saltwort is a halophytic plant species that is endangered in Nebraska. Salinity impacts a plant's ability to use water; Saltwort is especially adapted to saline environments that most plants cannot survive in. This makes Saltwort competitive in saline wetlands. However, as salinity decreases in wetlands this makes Saltwort more vulnerable to competition and invasive species. This habitat degradation or complete loss is the main cause of Saltwort's endangered status.

Little Salt Creek runs through the saline wetlands of Frank Shoemaker Marsh in Lincoln, NE.