National Wetlands Inventory JULY 1985 WETLANDS OF NEW JERSEY u.s. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service WETLANDS OF NEW JERSEY by Ralph W. Tiner, Jr. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 Habitat Resources One Gateway Center Newton Comer, MA 02158 JULY 1985 This report should be cited as follows: Tiner, R.W., Jr. 1985. Wetlands of New Jersey. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory, Newton Comer, MA. 117 pp. Acknowledgements Many individuals and organizations have contributed to the successful completion ofthe wetlands inventory in New Jersey and to the preparation of this report. The Service's National Wetlands Inventory Group in St. Petersburg, Florida provided technical support for producing the wetland maps and for constructing the New Jersey wetland database. The U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, New York District (Passaic River Basin Study Group) and the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Coastal Resources (Coastal Planning and Development) contributed funds to complete mapping in northern New Jersey and to digitize wetland maps along the coast, respectively. The N.J.D.E.P. Office of Environmental Analysis provided space and equipment for conducting the photo interpretation phase of the inventory. Special attention and appreciation is given to Larry Vinzant who performed nearly all of the photo interpretation. His work serves as the foundation of this report. I also thank John Organ, my former assistant, for his help in providing quality control of interpreted photos and draft maps and in reviewing the draft of this report. The efforts of Bill Zinni in completing photo interpretation (Frankfort and Lumberville maps), preparing Figures 14 and 22, and reviewing parts of the draft manuscript are also appreciated. Sincere gratitude is extended to the following persons for reviewing the draft manuscript and for providing additional information: Ralph Abele (FWS - Chapter 9), Michael Chezik (FWS), Inez Connor (FWS), Anthony Davis (FWS), Richard Dyer (FWS - Chapter 6, endangered plants), Carl Eby (SCS - Chapter 5), Norma Good (Biological Abstracts), Ralph Good (Rutgers University), Seymour Goodman (SCS Chapters 5 and 8), Michael Hochman (NJDEP - Chapter 9), Andrew Jaworski eNJ Pinelands - Chapter 5), Wendell Kirkham (SCS - Chapter 5 and 8), John Montanari (FWS), Bill Niedermyer (FWS Chapter 9), Blake Parker (FWS - Chapter 5), Walter Quist (FWS - Chapter 9), Porter Reed (FWS Chapter 6), Charles Roman (Rutgers University), Robert Simpson (Rider College ), Bill Sipple (EPA), H. Chris Smith (SCS - Chapter 5), Bill Wilen (FWS), and Robert Zampella (NJ Pinelands). I wish to thank the following for providing information for this report: Ralph Andrews, Ed Moses, and Hillary Zich (FWS), Richard Kantor, Anthony Petrongolo, and Larry Thornton (NJDEP), Kenneth Buchholz and Paul Eck (Rutgers University), and David Smart (SCS). The work of the individuals who typed portions of this report and its earlier draft is acknowledged. Particular thanks go to Lynne Ricci (draft manuscript), Lois Cohen ( draft manuscript), Alicia Bruneau (tables, manuscript and final editing), Mary Magno and Marguerite Donnelly (final editing). Graphic support was provided by Debra McGeever and the enclosed figure showing the distribution of New Jersey's wetlands was prepared by Kelly Drake and Fred Seavey. Table of Contents Page Acknowledgements .......................................................................... Table of Contents. ii List of Figures. .. .............................................. iv List of Tables ............................................................................... v Chapter 1. Introduction.................................................................... 1 Need for a Wetlands Inventory in New Jersey. 2 Description of the Study Area. 2 Purpose and Organization of this Report. 2 Chapter 2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wetland Definition and Classification System. 4 Introduction. 4 The Service's Definition of Wetland. 4 The Service's Wetland Classification System. 7 References . 12 Chapter 3. National Wetlands Inventory Techniques and Results. 13 Introduction . .. .......................... 13 Wetlands Inventory Techniques...... ........ ..... ......... ........ ...... ... ...... ...... ... 13 Review of Existing Wetlands Inventories. .. ............. 13 Mapping Photography . 13 Field Investigations . 13 Photo Interpretation and Collateral Data. 13 Draft Map Production. 16 Draft Map Review . 17 Final Map Production. 17 Wetland Database Construction ..... 17 Wetlands Inventory Results. 17 N ational Wetlands Inventory Maps ........ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 Wetland and Deepwater Habitat Acreage Summaries. 17 State Totals. 17 County Totals. 19 Summary................................................................................. 28 References . 28 Chapter 4. Wetland Formation and Hydrology.. .... ... ... ... ... ... .. .... ....... ..... 29 Introduction. 29 Wetland Formation.. ... ..... ............... ........ .. ..... ........ ..... ....... ...... 29 Inland Wetland Formation ..................................... " . ..... .. .... .. .... ... 29 Coastal Wetland Formation . 31 Wetland Hydrology.. ..... ........ ... ..... ...... ....... ......... .. ..................... 32 Tidal Wetland Hydrology .................... , .. .. ... ....... ...... ...... ... ...... .... 33 Nontidal Wetland Hydrology...... ...... ... ..... ........ ...... .... ..... ...... ..... .. 34 References. 37 Chapter 5. Hydric Soils of New Jersey. 38 Introduction. 38 Definition of Hydric Soil. 38 Major Categories of Hydric Soils. 38 National List of Hydric Soils. 39 New Jersey Hydric Soils. 40 County Acreage of Hydric Soils. 41 Description of Hydric Soils. 46 References . 53 11 Chapter 6. Vegetation and Plant Communities of New Jersey's Wetlands. 54 Introduction. 54 Hydrophyte Definition and Concept. 54 New Jersey Hydrophytes ................................................................... 54 Factors Influencing Wetland Vegetation. 54 Wetland Plant Communities. .. 56 Marine Wetlands ............ , . .......... ... ..... .... ...... ................. ... .. ...... 56 Estuarine Wetlands ..... 56 Riverine Wetlands .... ..