Wetland Photointerpretation Keys

Click on one of the three wetland sub-classes to view the keys. To find out more about the class hierarchy refer to the VCGI LULC codes.

Anderson et al. (1976):
Wetlands are those areas where the water table is at, near, or above the land surface for a significant part of most years. The hydrologic regime is such that aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation usually is established, although alluvial and tidal flats may be nonvegetated. Wetlands frequently are associated with topographic lows, even in mountainous regions. Examples of wetlands include marshes, mudflats, and swamps situated on the shallow margins of bays, lakes, ponds, streams, and manmade impoundments such as reservoirs. They include wet meadows or perched bogs in high mountain valleys and seasonally wet or flooded basins, playas, or potholes with no surface-water outflow. Shallow water areas where aquatic vegetation is submerged are classed as open water and are not included in the Wetland category. Extensive parts of some river flood plains qualify as Wetlands, as do regularly flooded irrigation overflow areas. These do not include agricultural land where seasonal wetness or short-term flooding may provide an important component of the total annual soil moisture necessary for crop production. Areas in which soil wetness or flooding is so short-lived that no typical wetlands vegetation is developed properly belong in other categories.