California Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands - State Water ...

California Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands v. 5.0.2 – Appendix III
condition – condition is defined as the ability of a wetland to maintain its complexity and
capacity for self-organization with respect to species composition, physio-chemical
characteristics, and functional processes, relative to healthy wetlands of the same type.
There are three primary aspects of condition: location, form, and structure.
confinement – the degree to which levee, terraces, or hillsides prevent the later migration of
a fluvial channel
debris jam – a conglomeration of material, organic or inorganic, floating or submerged, that
has been lodged into place by the action of a flowing stream
deciduous – plants (trees and shrubs) that shed all of their leaves annually, such that there is
a time each year at which individuals of the species are essentially devoid of leaves
deposition – the settlement of materials out of moving water and onto the bed, banks, or
floodplain of a wetland or riverine channel.
degradation – the long-term lowering of a fluvial channel due to erosion of its bed
detritus – deposition of newly dead or decaying organic matter
disturbance – the consequence of natural changes in forcing functions, or controlling
factors, through space and over time; disturbance is natural, regardless of its frequency,
persistence, or magnitude
duff – a spongy layer of decaying leaves, branches, and other organic materials along a
wetland shore or in a riverine riparian area
ecological services – the services, or beneficial uses, for which a wetland can be managed;
Key ecological services for many types of wetland include flood control, groundwater
recharge, water filtration, conservation of cultural values, aesthetics, and the support of
special-status species.
emergent vegetation - plant species typically growing on saturated soils or on soils covered
with water for most of the growing season; the leaves of emergent aquatic species are
partly or entirely borne above the water surface; examples of such species include
Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum (watercress), Scirpus californicus (tule, bulrush), Veronica
anagallis-aquatica (water speedwell), Polygonum amphibium (water knotweed), Typha
angustifolia (narrow-leaved cattail), Mimulus guttatus (common monkeyflower).
entrenchment – the degree to which fluvial flood flows are confined to channel banks
without access to the effective valley
effective valley width – the portion of a valley within which its fluvial channel is able to
migrate without cutting into hill slopes, terraces, man-made levees, etc.
forb – a plant with a soft, rather than permanent, woody stem that is not a grass or grass-like
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