On Nov. 12-13, 2012, at the Airfield 4H Conference Center in Wakefield, Virginia, the Virginia Association of Professional Soil Scientists is organizing Hydric Soil Indicators: Their History, Use, and Applications. For more information, visit http://www.vapss.org/MeetingsEvents.html, or contact Sue Brown, at phone (540) 231-5741 or e-mail: suebrown@vt.edu.
The National Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) defines hydric soil as “a soil that formed under conditions of saturation, flooding or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part” (from “Hydric Soils–Introduction,” online http://soils.usda.gov/use/hydric/intro.html, accessed 9/27/12). The presence of hydric soils is one of three key indicators (along with hydrology and the presence of wetland plants) used in identifying wetland areas potentially subject to regulation under the federal Clean Water Act and under state wetlands laws and regulations.
Hydric soil would likely be found under these sundew plants (Drosera rotundifolia) in a bog in Giles County, Virginia, on October 3, 2009.
