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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/6479| Title: | A guidebook for application of hydrogeomorphic assessments to riverine wetlands |
| Authors: | Brinson, Mark M. Rheinhardt, Richard D., 1954- Hauer, F. Richard. Lee, Lyndon C. Nutter, Wade L. Smith, R. Daniel Whigham, Dennis F. |
| Keywords: | Classification Clean Water Act Ecosystem Functional assessment Hydrogeomorphic Impact analysis Mitigation Reference wetlands Restoration Section 404 Regulatory Program Wetlands Ecosystem management Environmental management Wetland delineation |
| Publisher: | U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical Report (Wetlands Research Program (U.S.)) ; no. Technical Report WRP-DE-11 |
| Abstract: | The report outlines an approach for assessing wetland functions in the 404 Regulatory Program as well as other regulatory, planning, and management situations. The approach includes a development and application phase. In the development phase, wetlands are classified into regional subclasses based on hydrogeomorphic factors. A functional profile is developed to describe the characteristics of the regional subclass, identify the functions that are most likely to be performed, and discuss the characteristics that influence how those functions are performed. Reference wetlands are selected to represent the range of variability exhibited by the regional subclass in the selected reference domain, and assessment models are constructed and calibrated by an interdisciplinary team based on reference standards and data from reference wetlands. Reference standards are the conditions exhibited by the undisturbed, or least disturbed, wetlands and landscapes in the reference domain. The functional indices resulting from the assessment models provide a measure of the capacity of a wetland to perform functions relative to other wetlands in the regional subclass. The application phase of the approach, or assessment procedure, includes the characterization of the wetland, assessing its functions, analyzing the results of the assessment, and applying them to a specific project. The assessment procedure can be used to compare project alternatives, determine the impacts of a proposed project, avoid and minimize impacts, determine mitigation requirements or success, as well as other applications requiring the assessment of wetland functions. This document is for use by a team of individuals who adapt information in this guidebook to riverine wetlands in specific physiographic regions. By adapting from the generalities of the riverine class to specific regional riverine subclasses, such as high-gradient streams of the glaciated northeastern United States, the procedure can be made responsive to the specific conditions found there. For example, separation of high-gradient from low-gradient streams may be necessary to reduce the amount of variation indicators to make the assessment more sensitive to detecting impacts. |
| Description: | Technical Report |
| Gov't Doc #: | Technical Report WRP-DE-11 |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/6479 |
| Size: | 219 pages |
| Types of Materials: | |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
