An In-Depth Short Course for Wetland Professionals

Hydric soils are found in waterlogged, anaerobic environments such as wetlands. They are one of the three primary characteristics used to identify a wetland, in addition to shallow water tables or inundation, and hydrophytic vegetation. This two-day training course offers an in-depth look at basic hydric soil evaluation and will guide participants through identification and documentation of hydric soil field indicators.

Topics covered in this course include soil profile descriptions, wetland soil chemistry, redoximorphic features and hydric soil field indicators, organic soil field indicators, and landscape relationships of hydric soils. In addition to classroom discussion and homework, you’ll gain hands-on fieldwork experience in soil description and identification of hydric soil field indicators.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Complete detailed profile descriptions in the field
• Understand how hydric soil field indicators form
• Identify field indicators from profile descriptions
• Identify field indicators in organic materials
• Understand how hydric soil field indicators relate to wetland hydrology

Who Should Attend? 

Environmental professionals and consultants, biologists, wetland scientists, soil scientists, land use planners, and regulatory agency personnel dealing with wetlands. This course focuses on hydric soils and aims to develop skills in identifying hydric soil field indicators. It will be of interest to those who need to identify wetlands.

Testimonial

“I thought the course was a great way to learn about and identify hydric soil; provided many great materials and tools to do so.” 
– Nicholas Romano, Environmental Analyst at Kimley-Horn, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Course Details

Dates: Fall dates coming soon. Add yourself to the WATCHLIST. 

Location:

Registration Fee: $885

Meet the Program Faculty

Michael Vepraskas, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Soil Science at North Carolina State University, conducts research on hydric soils and teaches a semester-long course on wetland soils. Mike has nearly 45 years of experience conducting research on hydric soils at three universities. He authored Redoximorphic Features for Identifying Aquic Conditions as an outgrowth of his work for the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in revising Soil Taxonomy.

Mike also helped develop the NRCS’s Field Indicators of Hydric Soils of the United States, and he is a featured lecturer at the NRCS’s Advanced Hydric Soils Workshop taught throughout the country. Mike currently works with consultants and government agencies to solve unique hydric soil problems throughout the U.S., including the development of a technical standard for hydric soil identification for the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils.

Available Hydric Soil Courses

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