wetlands

Wetland indicators

-Hydrology: water table, saturation, flooding

-Vegetation: hydrophytic plants

-Soils: hydric soils

Jurisdictional wetland

Must have hydrology, hydric soil, hydrophytic vegetation

5 Wetland systems (Cowardin 1979)

Marine, Estuarine, Riverine, Lacustrine, Palustrine.

Hydric soil indicators

Gray color, mottles, sulfur smell, organic matter.

Clean Water Act agencies

EPA & Army Corps of Engineers.

Oxidation/reduction (redox)

Anaerobic conditions reduce Fe/Mn → gley colors, mottling.

Inundation/flooded/saturation

-Inundated: covered by water

-Ponded: water collects in depression

-Flooded: overflow from stream/lake

-Saturation: soil pores filled with water

Hydropattern

Seasonal water pattern

Hue, value, chroma (Munsell colors)

Hue = color (e.g., 10YR)

Value = light/dark

Chroma = intensity

50/20 rule

Dominant species = top 50% cover; hydrophytic if ≥50% are hydrophytes.

FAC Neutral Test

Hydrologic budget sources

Precipitation, surface inflow/outflow, groundwater, tides.

Four goals of wetland classification

Describe wetlands, compare, manage, support research.

Ohio palustrine wetlands

Marshes, swamps, bogs, fens.