Compliance Assistance - Training - Wetlands Identification Training (Text Version)

Hydric Soil

Wetland soil characteristics form when soil is continuously saturated for periods of one or two weeks or more during the growing season. The parent material influence how the soil retains water, and the hydric (wet) soil characteristics that form.

If the soil is continually saturated throughout the growing season, the lack of oxygen may severely slow the rate of decay of plant matter and result in the accumulation of a thick layer of peat or muck. Such soils are known as organic soils

Wetland soil characteristics form when soil is continuously saturated for periods of one or two weeks or more during the growing season. The parent material influence how the soil retains water, and the hydric (wet) soil characteristics that form.