Table 8.

Mechanism of connection for VC (variably connected) wetlands under deluge conditions, defined as the two wettest images per path/row

Ecoregion	Merging with SI wetlands (%)	Expansion of individual wetlands (%)	Expansion and merging with other VC wetlands (%)
Lowland	46.0	21.5	32.5
Des Moines Lobe	44.7	29.4	25.9
Prairie Coteau	60.2	17.7	22.1
Missouri Coteau	65.9	11.4	22.7
Drift Plains	54.8	12.1	33.1
Devils Lake	82.2	0.9	16.9
All	60.4	12.5	27.1

Expansion of individual wetlands refers to those expanded wetlands that connect directly to the stream layer. Merging with SI (stream intersect) wetlands refers to wetlands merging in a stepping-stone fashion with the end member an SI wetland. Expansion and merging with other VC wetlands refers to a similar stepping-stone merging, but with the end member the stream layer