Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States

The Classification System

The structure of this classification is hierarchical, progressing from Systems and Subsystems, at the most general levels, to Classes, Subclasses, and Dominance Types. Figure 1 illustrates the classification structure to the class level. Table 1 lists the Classes and Subclasses for each System and Subsystem. Artificial keys to the Systems and Classes are given in Appendix E . Modifiers for water regime, water chemistry, and soils are applied to Classes, Subclasses, and Dominance Types. Special modifiers describe wetlands and deepwater habitats that have been either created or highly modified by man or beavers.

Table 1. Distribution of Subclasses within the classification hierarchy.

	System and Subsystem^a
	Marine		Estuarine		Riverine				Lacustrine		Palustrine
Class/Subclass	ST	IT	ST	IT	TI	LP	UP	IN	LM	LT	-
Rock Bottom
Bedrock	X		X		X		X		X	X	X
Rubble	X		X		X		X		X	X	X
Unconsolidated Bottom
Cobble-Gravel	X		X		X	X	X		X	X	X
Sand	X		X		X	X	X		X	X	X
Mud	X		X		X	X	X		X	X	X
Organic			X		X	X			X	X	X
Aquatic Bed
Algal	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X
Aquatic Moss					X	X	X		X	X	X
Rooted Vascular	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X
Floating Vascular			X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X
Reef
Coral	X	X
Mollusk			X	X
Worm	X	X	X	X
Streambed
Bedrock				X	X			X
Rubble				X	X			X
Cobble-Gravel				X	X			X
Sand				X	X			X
Mud				X	X			X
Organic				X	X			X
Vegetated								X
Rocky Shore
Bedrock		X		X	X	X	X			X
Rubble		X		X	X	X	X			X
Unconsolidated Shore
Cobble-Gravel		X		X	X	X	X			X	X
Sand		X		X	X	X	X			X	X
Mud		X		X	X	X	X			X	X
Organic		X		X	X	X	X			X	X
Vegetated					X	X	X			X	X
Moss-Lichen Wetland
Moss											X
Lichen											X
Emergent Wetland
Persistent				X							X
Nonpersistent				X	X	X	X			X	X
Scrub-Shrub Wetland
Broad-leaved Deciduous				X							X
Needle-leaved Deciduous				X							X
Broad-leaved Evergreen				X							X
Needle-leaved Evergreen				X							X
Dead				X							X
Forested Wetland
Broad-leaved Deciduous				X							X
Needle-leaved Deciduous				X							X
Broad-leaved Evergreen				X							X
Needle-leaved Evergreen				X							X
Dead				X							X
^aST = Subtidal, IT = Intertidal, TI = Tidal, LP = Lower Perennial, UP = Upper Perennial, IN = Intermittent, LM = Limnetic, LT = Littoral.

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