Classification and Inventory of Wetlands in the Southern Appalachian Region

Abstract

The National Wetlands Inventory of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has prepared large scale (1:24,000) wetland maps for nearly all of the Southern Appalachian Region. Traditional and digital cartographic products are available from the Earth Science Information Centers of the United States Geological Survey and from State-run distribution outlets. Most of the materials prepared by the NWI within the region were cooperatively funded by the States and other Federal Agencies.

NWI maps describe wetlands in terms of the life form of the dominant vegetation, substrata where vegetation is sparse or lacking, water chemistry, relative duration of inundation or saturation, and special modifiers. The maps display wetland polygons as small as 0.5 hectares in size and linear wetlands as narrow as 8 meters, showing the size, type of wetland, and relative position of the wetland on the landscape. The wetland inventory process is principally a remote sensing task, relying on the interpretation of high altitude color infrared aerial photography, supported with ground truth data and collateral information. The procedure has limitations related to scale, quality, and timing of the aerial photography; experience and training of the photo interpreters; and the wetland types which are to be classified and delineated. Since wetland maps provide a static depiction of a dynamic resource, the NWI conducts periodic wetland status and trends studies to evaluate wetland change in areal extent and the reasons for the change. Although trend surveys are routinely conducted nationally and selectively for regional and local areas, no study to specifically address the wetlands of the Southern Appalachian Region has been developed.