Wetland indicator status
The factual accuracy of parts of this article (those related to article) may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: status definitions were updated in July 2012 based on qualitative ecological descriptions by a National Panel (NP) that was initiated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. (January 2021) |
Wetland indicator status denotes the probability of individual species of vascular plants occurring in freshwater, brackish and
The wetland indicator status of a species is based upon the individual species occurrence in wetlands in 13 separate regions within the United States. In some instances the specified regions contain all or part of different floristic provinces and the tension zones which occur between them.
While many Obligate Wetland (OBL) species do occur in permanently or semi-permanently flooded wetlands, there are also a number of obligates that occur in temporary or seasonally flooded wetlands. A few species are restricted entirely to these transient-type wetland environments.
Plant species are general indicators of various degrees of environmental factors; they are however not precise. The presence of a plant species at a specific site depends on a variety of
A plant's indicator status is applied to the species as a whole however individual variations may exist within the species, referred to as "ecotypes"; individual plants which may have adapted to specific environments as may occur in a
Indicator categories
- Obligate wetland (OBL) - Almost always occurs in wetlands under natural conditions (estimated probability > 99%).
- Facultative wetland (FACW) - Usually occurs in wetlands (estimated probability 67% – 99%), but occasionally found in non-wetlands (estimated probability 1% – 33%).
- Facultative (FAC) - Equally likely to occur in wetlands and non-wetlands (estimated probability 34% – 66%).
- Facultative upland (FACU) - Usually occurs in non-wetlands (estimated probability 67% – 99%), but occasionally found in wetlands (estimated probability 1% – 33%).
- Obligate upland (UPL) - Almost always occurs in non-wetlands under natural conditions (estimated probability > 99%).
A positive (+) or negative (−) sign is used for the facultative categories. The (+) sign indicates a frequency towards the wetter end of the category (more frequently found in wetlands) and the (−) sign indicates a frequency towards the drier end of the category (less frequently found in wetlands).[1][2]
Wetland regions
Corps wetland regions are defined as follows:[3]
- AGCP = Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain
- AW = Arid West
- CB = Caribbean
- EMP = Eastern Mountains and Piedmont
- GP = Great Plains
- HI = Hawaii
- MW = Midwest
- NCNE = Northcentral and Northeast
- WMVC = Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast
- AK = Alaska
External links
- 1988 National List of Vascular Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands [1]
- 2016 USACE National Wetland Plant List [2]
References
- ^ National List of Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands -- North Central (Region 3). Reed P. 1988. National Wetland Inventory, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, St. Petersburg, FL. 90 pp.
- ^ The Concept of a Hydrophyte for Wetland Identification. Tiner R. (1991) Bioscience 41 (4) 236-246.
- ^ a b
Lichvar, R.W.; Banks, D.L.; Kirchner, W.N.; US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. p. 4. Retrieved 7 January 2021.