Over the past century, millions of ponds have been constructed on farms across the eastern Great Plains of the US. Although these ponds have been built to provide water for livestock and reduce soil erosion, they also serve as habitat for native species in agricultural landscapes that historically lacked natural wetlands. Because this role in supporting biodiversity has been chronically underappreciated, approaches to managing these ponds effectively for conservation remain poorly developed. Here, we discuss the historical context of pond construction, the role of ponds in agriculture, and their present distribution across the “American Pond Belt”. On the basis of our review of their ecology and threats, we contend that farm pond conservation should focus on enhancing pondscapes – networks of ponds encompassing a range of successional stages – to support the broadest array of biodiversity at a landscape scale. We also highlight the role of scientists, agency personnel, policy makers, and landowners in the future conservation of pondscapes in the Great Plains.

中文翻译：

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美国池塘带：保护挑战和机遇的不为人知的故事

在过去的一个世纪里，美国东部大平原的农场建造了数百万个池塘。虽然这些池塘的建造是为了为牲畜提供​​水源并减少水土流失，但它们还是历史上缺乏天然湿地的农业景观中本地物种的栖息地。由于这种支持生物多样性的作用长期被低估，有效管理这些池塘以进行保护的方法仍然不完善。在这里，我们讨论了池塘建设的历史背景、池塘在农业中的作用以及它们在“美国池塘带”中的目前分布。根据我们对其生态和威胁的审查，我们认为，农场池塘保护应侧重于增强池塘景观——包括一系列演替阶段的池塘网络——以支持景观尺度上最广泛的生物多样性。我们还强调了科学家、机构人员、政策制定者和土地所有者在未来大平原池塘景观保护中的作用。