Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
1. Water regime influenced by oceanic tides, and salinity due to
ocean-derived salts 0.5 or greater.
2. Semi-enclosed by land, but with open, partly obstructed or
sporadic access to the ocean. Halinity wide-ranging because of
evaporation or mixing of seawater with runoff from land . . . . ESTUARINE
2. Little or no obstruction to open ocean present. Halinity
usually euhaline; little mixing of water with runoff from land . . . . .3
3. Emergents, trees, or shrubs present . . . . . . . . . . . . . ESTUARINE
3. Emergents, trees, or shrubs absent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARINE
1. Water regime not influenced by ocean tides, or if influenced by
oceanic tides, salinity less than 0.5
4. Persistent emergents, trees, shrubs, or emergent mosses cover
30% or more of the area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PALUSTRINE
4. Persistent emergents, trees, shrubs, or emergent mosses cover
less than 30% of substrate but nonpersistent
emergents may be widespread during some seasons of year . . . . . . . .5
5. Situated in a channel; water, when present, usually flowing . .RIVERINE
5. Situated in a basin, catchment, or on level or sloping ground;
water usually not flowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
6. Area 8 ha (20 acres) or greater . . . . . . . . . . . . LACUSTRINE
6. Area less than 8 ha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
7. Wave-formed or bedrock shoreline feature present or
water depth 2 m (6.6 feet) or more . . . . . . . . LACUSTRINE
7. No wave-formed or bedrock shoreline feature present and
water less than 2 m deep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PALUSTRINE
1. During the growing season of most years, areal cover by vegetation is
less than 30%.
2. Substrate a ridge or mound formed by colonization of sedentary
invertebrates (corals, oysters, tube worms) . . . . . . . . . . . REEF
2. Substrate of rock or various-sized sediments often occupied by
invertebrates but not formed by colonization of sedentary
invertebrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Water regime subtidal, permanently flooded, intermittently
exposed, or semipermanently flooded. Substrate usually not soil . . 4
4. Substrate of bedrock, boulders, or stones occurring singly
or in combination covers 75% or more of the area . . . .ROCK BOTTOM
4. Substrate of organic material, mud, sand, gravel, or
cobbles with less than 75% areal cover of stones, boulders,
or bedrock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .UNCONSOLIDATED BOTTOM
3. Water regime irregularly exposed, regularly flooded,
irregularly flooded, seasonally flooded, temporarily flooded,
intermittently flooded, saturated, or artificially flooded.
Substrate often a soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
5. Contained within a channel that does not have permanent
flowing water (i.e., Intermittent Subsystem of Riverine
System or Intertidal Subsystem of Estuarine System) . . . STREAMBED
5. Contained in a channel with perennial water or not
contained in a channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
6. Substrate of bedrock, boulders, or stones occurring singly
or in combination covers 75% or more of the area . . .ROCKY SHORE
6. Substrate of organic material, mud, sand, gravel, or
cobbles; with less than 75% of the cover consisting
of stones, boulders, or bedrock . . . . . . UNCONSOLIDATED SHORE
1. During the growing season of most years, percentage of area covered
by vegetation 30% or greater.
7. Vegetation composed of pioneering annuals or seedling
perennials, often not hydrophytes, occurring only at time of
substrate exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
8. Contained within a channel that does not have permanent
flowing water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STREAMBED (VEGETATED)
8. Contained within a channel with permanent water, or not
contained in a channel . . . . . . . UNCONSOLIDATED SHORE (VEGETATED)
7. Vegetation composed of algae, bryophytes, lichens, or vascular
plants that are usually hydrophytic perennials . . . . . . . . . . . .9
9. Vegetation composed predominantly of nonvascular species . . . . . 10
10. Vegetation macrophytic algae, mosses, or lichens growing
in water or the splash zone of shores . . . . . . . .AQUATIC BED
10. Vegetation mosses or lichens usually growing on organic
soils and always outside the splash zone of shores . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MOSS-LICHEN WETLAND
9. Vegetation composed predominantly of vascular species . . . . . . .11
11. Vegetation herbaceous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
12. Vegetation emergents . . . . . . . . . . . .EMERGENT WETLAND
12. Vegetation submergent, floating-leaved, or floating . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AQUATIC BED
11. Vegetation trees or shrubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
13. Dominants less than 6 m (20 feet) tall . .SCRUB-SHRUB WETLAND
13. Dominants 6 m tall or taller . . . . . . . . FORESTED WETLAND