Wetland Big 3

Ecosystem Services

provisioning (food, lumbar)

regulating

cultural (non-tangible benefit)

Historical wetland purposes

wetlands always a part of culture

Chincoteague

“large stream” or “inlet” - Pocomoke Indians

Wetlands are ________

transitional between land and water

Wetland Definition:

1. Water must be present on the surface or in the root zone at some point in the growing season (inundation)

2. Soils that are inundated long enough to develop anaerobic conditions (hydric soil)

3. Biota adapted to saturated conditions, particularly vegetation (hydrophytic vegetation)

Hydroperiod

the balance between inflows and outflows of water; water budget

Hydrologic pathways

precip, surface runoff, groundwater, tides, river flow, evapotranspiration

Hydric soil

soils that formed under conditions of saturations, flooding, or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part

Hydrophyte

plant adapted to wet conditions

Halophyte

Salt-tolerant plant

Hypoxia

Waters (or soils) with dissolved oxygen less than 2mg/L

Anoxia

Waters (or soils) with no dissolved oxygen

Wetland classification

Marine, estuarine, riverine, lacustrine, palustrine

Our focus: marine, estuarine

Marine

Open ocean overlying the continental shelf and its associated high-energy coastline

Estuarine

Deepwater tidal habitats and adjacent tidal wetlands that are usually semi-enclosed by land but have open,, partially obstructed, or sporadic access to the ocean, and in which ocean water is at least occasionally diluted by freshwater runoff from the land

Ramsar wetland type classification

Marine subtidal aquatic beds: includes kelp beds, sea-grass beds, tropical marine meadows

Sand, shingle or pebble shores: includes sand bars, spits and sandy islets, includes dune systems, and humid dune slacks

Estuarine waters: permanent water of estuaries and estuarine systems of deltas

Intertidal mud, sand or salt flats

Intertidal marshes: includes salt marshes, salt meadows, includes tidal brackish and freshwater marshes

Intertidal forested wetlands: tidal freshwater swamp forests

soil matrix

soil is a combination of sand, silt, and clay aka soil matrix

Field capacity

water held by soil against gravity

Wilting point

level plants can not uptake water

Percolation rate

the movement of water downward through the soil profile

Soil grain size methods

Sieve method, hydrometer, laser diffraction, texture by feel

Soil horizons

O A E B C R

Organic wetland soils

contains plant remains at various levels of decomposition

Field capacity percolation correlation

the higher the field capacity, the lower the percolation rate

Saprists (muck)

more than 2/3 decomposed; less than 1/3 plant fibers identifiable

Fibrists (peat)

less than 1/3 decomposed; more than 2/3 plant fibers identifiable

Hemists

mucky peat or peaty muck

Mineral soil

Less than 20-35% organic content

Redoximorphic features formed by reduction, translocation, and/or oxidation of iron and manganese oxides

Gleization (gley soil)

Redox depletion

gray or orange color

Munsell Soil Color Chart

Hue - 10 - dominant color(s)

Value - light to dark (higher, lighter; lower, darker)

Chroma - vibrancy (lower, dull; higher, vibrant)

10YR2/1

Organic content

lower in mineral, higher than organic

Organic carbon

lower in mineral, higher in organic

pH

circumneutral in mineral, acid in organic

Bulk Density

high in mineral, low in organic

Porosity

Low in mineral, high in organic

Hydraulic conductivity

high in mineral, low to high in organic

water holding capacity

low in mineral, high in organic

nutrient availability

high in mineral, low in organic

wetland hydroperiod

seasonal pattern of the water level

throughfall

amount of precipitation that falls through canopy

interception

amount of precipitation that is retained in canopy

stem flow

amount of precipitation that flows down stems

Net precipitation

amount of precipitation that reaches surface/water

Swamp

wetland dominated by trees or shrubs

Marsh

a frequently or continually inundated wetland characterized by emergent herbaceous vegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions

Upland (UPL)

Almost never occur in wetlands

Facultative Upland (FACU)

usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands

Facultative (FAC)

occur in wetlands and non-wetlands

Facultative Wetland (FACW)

usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands

Obligate (OBL)

almost always occur in wetlands

submerged

plants that conduct virtually all of their growth and reproductive activity under water

free-floating

plants that most often grow with the leaves and other vegetative and reproductive organs floating on the water surface

floating-leaved

plants that are rooted in sediment but also have leaves that float on the water surface

emergent

herbaceous and woody plants that grow with their bases submerged and rooted in inundated sediment

Aerenchyma tissue in roots and stem

spongey for floating

stem hypertorphy and fluted trunks

stability