in wetlands (Appendix C, Section 2). Either list may be used. 

 Note: A District that, on a subregional basis, questions the 

 indicator status of FAC species may use the following option: 

 When FAC species occur as dominants along with other dominants 

 that are not FAC (either wetter or drier than FAC), the FAC 

 species can be considered as neutral, and the vegetation deci- 

 sion can be based on the number of dominant species wetter than 

 FAC as compared to the number of dominant species drier than 

 FAC. When a tie occurs or all dominant species are FAC, the 

 nondominant species must be considered. The area has hydrophy- 

 tic vegetation when more than 50 percent of all considered spe- 

 cies are wetter than FAC, When either all considered species 

 are FAC or the number of species wetter than FAC equals the 

 number of species drier than FAC, the wetland determination 

 will be based on the soil and hydrology parameters. Districts 

 adopting this option should provide documented support to the 

 Corps representative on the regional plant list panel, so that 

 a change in indicator status of FAC species of concern can be 

 pursued. Corps representatives on the regional and national 

 plant list panels will continually strive to ensure that plant 

 species are properly designated on both a regional and subre- 

 gional basis, 

 b. Other indicators. Although there are several other indicators 

 of hydrophytic vegetation, it will seldom be necessary to use 

 them. However, they may provide additional useful information 

 to strengthen a case for the presence of hydrophytic vegeta- 

 tion. Additional training and/or experience may be required to 

 employ these indicators. 



(1) Visual observation of plant species growing i n areas of 

 prolonged inundation and/or soil saturation. This indi- 

 cator can only be applied by experienced personnel who 

 have accumulated information through several years of 

 field experience and written documentation (field notes) 

 that certain species commonly occur in areas of prolonged 

 (>10 percent) inundation and/or soil saturation during the 

 growing season. Species such as Taxodium distichum, Typha 

 latifolia, and Spartina altemiflora normally occur in 

 such areas. Thus, occurrence of species commonly observed 

 in other wetland areas provides a strong indication that 

 hydrophytic vegetation is present. CAUTION: The presence 

 of standing water or saturated soil on a stte ts tnsufft- 

 cient evidence that the species present are able to tole- 

 rate long periods of inundation. The user must relate the 

 observed species to other similar situations and deterrmne 

 whether they are normally found in wet areas, taking znto 

 consideration the season and immediately preceding weather 

 conditions . 

 (2) Morphological adaptations. Some hydrophytic species have 

 easily recognized physical characteristics that indicate 

 their ability to occur in wetlands. A given species may 

 exhibit several of these characteristics, but not all 

 hydrophytic species have evident morphological 



23 



