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Wetland Classification and Mapping of the Kenai Lowland, Alaska
Map Unit Descriptions Ecosystem: Headwater Fen Map Component: H3
Extent: 63 wetland polygons; 171.3 ha; 0.12% of wetland area; 0.38% of wetland polygons. |
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 An H3 Headwater Fen near Circle Lake, 15 miles northeast of Homer (polygon 10470). |
Wetland Indicators Type: Peat Average depth to water table: 14.1 cm; n=10 Organic layer thickness: 138.0 cm; n=9 Average depth to redoximorphic features: n/a Common Soils: STARICHKOF, SALAMATOF Common Plant communities: Bog blueberry – Dwarf birch – Tufted hairgrass Tufted bulrush – Fewflower sedge
NWI: PSS1,3&4Eg HGM: Terrene Basin groundwater-dominated Throughflow headwater. If not adjacent to a Late Snow Plateau Ecosystem wetland, then: Terrene Basin Outflow headwater. |
| Accuracy assessment: 5 polygons interpreted as H3 on aerial photographs were field checked. 2 remained H3; 1 each was revised to H23, H32 and upland. | |
The H3 map component is a fen dominated by shrubs, in a headwater basin. These units have a deeper water table and a thick peat layer. This is the most common map component of Headwater Fens and is often found in a mixed complex with the sedge-dominated, H2 component. When mixed, these two components often support high plant species diversity.
H3 components in the upper Anchor River watershed often contain a rare plant, elephant-head lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica. Rank S1S2: imperiled to critically imperiled in the State of Alaska according to the Alaska Natural Heritage Program).
