Field Indicators of Hydric Soils

FIGURE 3.19 Map of USDA land resource regions. (USDA-NRCS, 2006.) 

Many of the hydric soil indicators were developed for delineation purposes. During the development of these hydric soil indicators, observations were concentrated near the edge of the wetlands and in the interior of wetlands therefore, there are wetlands that lack any of the approved hydric soil indicators in their wettest portions. Delineators and other users of the hydric soil indicators should concentrate their observation efforts at the wetland edge when these conditions are suspect. 

To determine whether an indicator is present or not, it is critical to know exactly where to look. Depths used in the indicators are measured from the muck or mineral soil surface in most of the United States. We should look for an indicator at the soil surface nationwide when applying indicators A1 and A2 and in LRRs F, G, H, and M if the material beneath any mucky peat or peat is sandy. 

The following list of indicators was obtained from the USDA NRCS (2006) report on field indicators of hydric soils. Field indicators of hydric soils are grouped as follows  

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Richardson, J. L. and M. J. Vepraskas. 2001. Wetland Soils. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. 417 pp. USDA NRCS. 2006. In G. W. Hurt and L. M. Vasilas (eds.) Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States, Version 6.0. USDA NRCS in cooperation with the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils, Ft. Worth, TX. 

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