Epiphytes and the National Wetland Plant List
Abstract
The National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) is a list of species that occur in wetlands in the United States. It is a product of a collaborative effort of four Federal agencies: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The NWPL has many uses, but it is specifically designed for use in wetland delineation for establishing the extent of Federal jurisdictional of wetland boundaries. To be listed in the NWPL, a plant must be rooted in soil, so there is a direct relationship between a plant?s occurrence and its preference for hydric soils. This relationship, coupled with the plant?s frequency of occurrence in wetlands, is used to place it in one of five categories representing the probability that the plant occurs in a wetland. Many species are considered to be epiphytes, but they represent various life forms, ranging from purely epiphytic to frequently occurring on the ground. Based on a literature review of 192 species across the United States and its territories, we determined which species fell into four categories of epiphytic life forms or are terrestrial and should not be considered epiphytes. Of the 192 species reported as epiphytes, 33 were determined to be terrestrial and 107 can grow on the ground for at least part of their life forms. Only these 140 species will be retained in the NWPL. This review documents the process of evaluating which epiphytes qualify for being retained on the NWPL. Documentation includes the literature and its review to support retaining the species on the NWPL. The reasoning behind removing Cuscuta from the list is also documented.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA539015
Entities
People
- Robert W. Lichvar
- Walter Fertig
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center