By Ralph W. Tiner - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - August 2011

Dichotomous Keys and Mapping Codes for Wetland Landscape Position, Landform, Water Flow Path, and Waterbody Type Descriptors: Version 2.0. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory Program. 

A wide variety of wetlands have formed across the United States.  To describe this diversity and to inventory wetland resources, government agencies and scientists have devised various wetland classification systems (Tiner 1999).  Features used to classify wetlands include vegetation, hydrology, water chemistry, origin of water, soil types, landscape position, landform (geomorphology), wetland origin, wetland size, and ecosystem form/energy sources. For full article, click here.