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Classification, Characterization & Assessment of the Wetlands of Arkansas — Introduction
In 1997, the Arkansas Multi-Agency Wetland Planning Team (MAWPT) developed the Arkansas Wetland Strategy, which identified various tasks intended to improve wetland stewardship in the state. Two major objectives were to develop basic information on the diversity and characteristics of Arkansas wetlands, and to develop assessment tools that can be used to improve wetland management and restoration.
Work toward these objectives has progressed in several facets. First, wetland experts from various state and federal agencies, universities, and the private sector were brought together in a workshop and a series of field studies. The result was the development of a uniform classification system for the wetlands of the state, identification of high-quality examples of most of the wetland community types in the state, and development of a database containing specific information about selected wetlands. However, even with wetland divided into a classification, the nature of wetlands within classes change as you look at different parts of our diverse state. Hence, assessment procedures were created for each wetland subclass in each Wetland Planning Area, in order to account for any variation in wetlands that is not due to wetland condition or health. Information on the HGM Classification, Arkansas Wetland Planning Regions, and HGM Functional Assessment can be found below:
Classification Of Arkansas Wetlands
Wetlands occur in many forms, ranging from extensive, deeply flooded swamp forests to tiny hillside seeps to prairies and forests that are wet for only part of the year. In order to discuss the characteristics of wetlands, we must first classify them into groups that are similar in some fundamental ways. There are many different ways to classify wetlands. For example, we commonly refer to swamps (forested or shrub wetlands, flooded most of the time), marshes (herbaceous plant communities, flooded most or all of the time), and floodplain wetlands (usually forested, but flooded only seasonally). However, in Arkansas, there are many types of wetlands that do not fit neatly into any of these categories. Therefore, we use a hydrogeomorphic (HGM) classification system, which is based primarily on the landscape setting and the way water moves into and through the wetland. This classification system has the added advantage of being designed to facilitate wetland functional assessment. Information on wetland classes, subclasses, and community types can be reviewed by clicking the link above. You will find information on where you can visit many different types of wetlands and what you will see, including lists of common plants. By separating wetlands into hydrogeomorphic classes and subclasses, we are able to distinguish between differences in function that are due to a true difference in wetland condition or health, from those which are inherent because different types of wetlands are being compared.
Arkansas Wetland Planning Regions
Arkansas is made up of a great variety of landscapes, and particular wetland types tend to be associated with particular combinations of geology, topography, soils, and climatic conditions. The two major physiographic regions of the State are the uplands of northern and western Arkansas, and the lowlands of eastern and southern Arkansas. For the purposes of wetland management, planning, characterization, and HGM Regional Guidebook development, we subdivide these further into five Wetland Planning Regions. Click here to learn more about these areas, and then follow more links to continue learning about wetlands.
Arkansas HGM Functional Assessment Regional Guidebooks
With the classification of wetlands developed, the MAWPT was able to turn its attention to developing detailed characterizations of each wetland class, subclass and community type within each Wetland Planning Region. With this information, the MAWPT has been developing assessment tools that can be used to improve wetland management and restoration. Specifically, we are developing uniform system to help professionals evaluate the condition of wetlands throughout Arkansas. The system being adapted to this purpose for Arkansas wetlands is known as the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Assessment of Wetland Functions, which is usually referred to simply as "HGM." This tool is designed to allow any wetland to be compared to a set of "reference wetlands" that represent a wide range of conditions for the specific wetland type, from relatively pristine to heavily disturbed. The standards of comparison include such things as the plant species present, the size of trees, whether there are special wildlife habitat features present (such as logs and dead trees) and whether the hydrology of the wetland has been modified.
Because each Wetland Planning Region has a unique suite of wetland types and forms, an HGM Regional Guidebook is being developed for each of Arkansas' 5 Wetland Planning Regions.
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