A Crash Course on Wetland Identification

Blue Vervain is also another common wetland plant noticeable by its small blue/purple flower clusters.

Lacy Powers, Conservation Technician, BCCD
Wetlands are unique environments that occur in areas where water interacts with the soil, creating conditions that support a wide variety of plant and animal species that have adapted to these moist conditions. These ecosystems are crucial for biodiversity by serving as wildlife habitats and provide essential functional values such as: water filtration, carbon storage, flood control, and improving water quality. Since the beginning of settlement in Pennsylvania, it is estimated we have lost over 56% of our wetlands due to development, agricultural, and damming of waterways. Being able to identify the presence of a wetland is important to preserving our water quality and protecting our communities.

There are three special ingredients that must be present to make a wetland. Just as you can’t make a cake without flour, milk, and eggs, you can’t make a wetland without having hydrology, hydrophytic (water-loving) vegetation, and hydric soils (saturated/inundated soils).  These indicators are known as the “3H’s” of wetland determination. 

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Wetland hydrology is known as the total amount of wetness characteristics in an area that is inundated (water seasonally or permanently covers the land surface) or has saturated soils (soil pores are temporarily or permanently filled with water to soil surface) during the growing season that supports hydrophytic vegetation.

There are many different types of wetness characteristics to show hydrology.  Some characteristics are seeing water on the surface, digging a hole in the ground and observing water, viewing waterlines on tree trunks, or seeing tree root systems that grow close to or above the land surface. Once we can determine hydrology is present, we can investigate to see if it’s been around long enough to make hydric soils.

Hydric soils form when the soils have been saturated for long enough during the growing season that anaerobic (oxygen depleted) conditions develop in the upper part of the soil. These soils can support the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation.

There are some easy indicators to help give you an idea if wetland soils are present.  You can dig a round hole into the ground and try to keep the core of the hole together as you remove it.  Look at the core and if you see light grey soil, this indicates that the oxygen has been completely removed from the soil due to extended water saturation. Similarly, if you see red/orange spots or color in the soil, this is because the iron in the soil has undergone a chemical process due to water level fluctuations in the soil. This helps indicate to us that wetland soils are- or possibly are- present, and we can move on to see if the soils are suitable for hydrophytic vegetation.

Hydrophytic vegetation involves a community of plants that have adapted to excessively wet conditions for at least part of the growing season. These plants can occur in areas where the soil saturation or inundation is either permanent or frequent and long enough to influence hydrophyte plant growth. Figuring out what is hydrophytic vegetation can be the hardest part of determining a wetland and does require in-depth knowledge of plants.

Most of us know cattails are a tell-tale sign of a wetland, but just because they are not present doesn’t mean you don’t have one.  Sedges are a common wetland plant that have a triangular stem that is not round or hollow like grasses, and the leaves have a distinctive “V” shape.  Another common wetland plant to look for are rushes. Unlike sedges, rushes have round, smooth stems that are solid and lack the triangular shape distinctive in sedges. They often have small, clustered flower or seed heads at the top of the plant and appear in tight groups with a spike-like arrangement. A simple mnemonic to remember these plants are, “Sedges have edges and rushes are round.” While there is more to identifying hydrophytic vegetation than just these plants, this will give you a good indication that you now have all the three required wetland indicators, and a wetland is possibly present.

Wetlands are complex and involved ecosystems that takes extensive knowledge in knowing the different types of wetlands in different regions.  This crash course is to help you have the basic knowledge to stop and reach out to our office before you begin your project, if you suspect a wetland is present. The PA Department of Environmental Protection regulates all wetlands in Pennsylvania and being caught working in a wetland without prior approval can be a major headache and extremely costly. When it comes to wetlands it is better to ask for permission than to pay for it later!
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The Bradford County Conservation District is committed to helping people manage resources wisely.  You can visit the Bradford County Conservation District at 200 Lake Rd in Wysox across from the Wysox Fire Hall. Contact us at (570) 485-3144 or visit our web page at www.bccdpa.com.