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

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California Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands v. 5.0.2 – Chapter 4 Worksheet 4.6: Structural Patch Types for All Wetland Types, Except Vernal Pool Systems Circle each type of patch that is observed in the AA and enter the total number of observed patches in Table 4.16 below. In the case of riverine wetlands, their status as confined or non-confined must first be determined (see Section 3.2.2.1). STRUCTURAL PATCH TYPE (check for presence) Riverine (Non-confined) Riverine (Confined) All Estuarine Depressional Slope Wetlands Lacustrine Individual Vernal Pools Playas Minimum Patch Size 3 m 2 3 m 2 3 m 2 3 m 2 1 m 2 3 m 2 1 m 2 3 m 2 Secondary channels on floodplains or along shorelines 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 Swales on floodplain or along shoreline 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 Pannes or pools on floodplain 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 Vegetated islands (mostly above high-water) 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 Pools or depressions in channels (wet or dry channels ) 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Riffles or rapids (wet channel) or planar bed (dry channel) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Non-vegetated flats or bare ground (sandflats, mudflats, gravel flats, etc.) 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 Point bars and in-channel bars 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Debris jams 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Abundant wrackline or organic debris in channel, on floodplain, or across depressional wetland 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 plain Plant hummocks and/or sediment mounds 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Bank slumps or undercut banks in channels or along shoreline 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 Variegated, convoluted, or crenulated foreshore (instead of broadly arcuate or mostly straight) 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 Animal mounds and burrows 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 Standing snags (at least 3 m tall) 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 Filamentous macroalgae or algal mats 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Shellfish beds 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Concentric or parallel high water marks 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 Soil cracks 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 Cobble and/or Boulders 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 Submerged vegetation 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 Total Possible 16 11 15 13 10 16 10 10 No. Observed Patch Types(enter here and use in Table 4.16 below) 68
California Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands v. 5.0.2 – Chapter 4 4.3.1.2 Patch Type Definitions for Vernal Pool Systems Animal mounds and burrows. Many vertebrates make mounds or holes as a consequence of their foraging, denning, predation, or other behaviors. The resulting soil disturbance helps to redistribute soil nutrients and thus it influences plant species composition and abundance. To be considered a patch type there should be evidence that a population of burrowing animals has occupied the Assessment Area. A single burrow or mound does not constitute a patch. Bare Soil. Areas at least 1m2 that lack at least 5% cover of vegetation are considered bare ground. Patches of bare ground serve as resting sites for passerine birds and foraging sites for predators. Drainage Branches. Many vernal pool systems consist of low-gradient drainage networks with multiple pathways or branches for surface water flow that provide alternative ways to naturally fill and drain vernal pools. Mima-mounds. These are regularly spaced, elliptical mounds of soil ranging in height from about 50 cm to 2 m. They provide upland transition zones around vernal pools, perches for ground-dwelling birds, burrowing habitat for small mammals, etc. Hummocks. In vernal pool systems, hummocks are small mounds created by plants, such as bunch grasses, usually along the upland margins of vernal pools or in the adjacent upland matrix. They are usually less than 10 cm high and less than 10 cm in diameter. Vernal Pool Types. The component pools of any given vernal pool system tend to vary in size and shape in ways that affect the communities of plants and animals they support. Large and Small Pools. There are no fixed, numerical criteria to identify large and small pools. Within many vernal pool systems, some pools are obviously larger than others. For any AA, the cutoff in size between large and small pools must result in three replicates of each. Simply- and Complexly-shaped Pools. Within many systems, some pools will be round in plan form (i.e., simply-shaped), whereas others will be much longer than wide or very irregularly shaped, with variegated shorelines. Pool Clusters. A cluster of vernal pools is a set of three or more pools that are hydrologically interconnected by swales or other surface flow pathways, with each pool being no more than 10 m away from another pool in the set. Soil cracks. Repeated wetting and drying of fine grain soil that typifies some vernal pools can cause the soil to crack and form fissures that provide habitat for amphibians and macroinvertebrates. Cracks must be a minimum of 1 inch deep to qualify. Swale Types. Vernal pool systems consist of vernal pools, vernal swales (and other pathways of surface water flow), subsurface flow, and an upland matrix that surrounds each pool and swale. A swale is an elongate feature, slightly concave in cross-section, that conveys surface flow but lacks a well-defined channel. Swales vary in width and length. Large and Small Swales. There are no fixed, numerical criteria to identify large and small pools. Within many vernal pool systems, some swales are obviously larger than others. For any AA, the cutoff in size between large and small pools must result in three replicates of each. 69
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