DEEPWATER HABITATS

(Ecology) In conjunction with Wetlands, Deepwater Habitats constitute the spectrum of an ecological classification system to better understand and describe the characteristics and values of all types of land and to wisely and effectively manage such ecosystems. Deepwater habitats are permanently flooded lands lying below the deepwater boundary of wetlands. Deepwater habitats include environments where surface water is permanent and often deep, so that water, rather than air, is the principal medium within which the dominant organisms live, whether or not they are attached to the substrate. As in wetlands, the dominant plants are hydrophytes; however, the substrates are considered nonsoil because the water is too deep to support emergent vegetation. While wetlands and deepwater habitats are defined separately, both must be considered in an ecological approach to classification. The deepwater habitat/wetland classification includes five major Systems: (1) Marine (2) Estuarine (3) Riverine (4) Lacustrine (5) Palustrine The first four of these classifications include both wetland and deepwater habitats, but the Palustrine Wetlands System includes only wetland habitats. Also see Wetlands and Wetlands, Palustrine. (See Appendix W-3 for an explanation of the Wetland and Deepwater Habitat Classification System.)