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Wetland Classification and Mapping
of Seward, Alaska
Map Unit Descriptions Ecosystem: Kettle Map Component: K3
Seward Area Extent: 40 wetland polygons; 46.8 acres |
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A relatively homogeneous, shrubby K3 kettle ringed by mountain hemlock and Sitka spruce on a bedrock ledge above the Snow River.
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Wetland Indicators Type: Peat Average depth to water table: 10 cm Organic layer thickness: at least 125 cm Average depth to redoximorphic features: n/a Common Soils: Terric Cryosaprists, Typic Cryosaprists, Typic Cryohemists Common Plant communities: Fewflower sedge - crowberry (Carex pauciflora - Empetrum nigrum) Barclay willow - bluejoint reedgrass (Salix barclayi - Calamagrostis canadensis) Sitka alder - bluejoint reedgrass (Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata / Calamagrostis canadensis) Bluejoint reedgrass - field horsetail (Calamagrostis canadensis - Equisetum arvense)
NWI: PSS1,3&4Bg HGM: Terrene Basin groundwater-dominated Throughflow (headwater) |
K3 is the Kettle Ecosystem wetland component with a deeper water table, and frequently dominated by shrubs. Kettle Ecosystem wetlands are connected through other wetlands to streams and eventually Resurrection Bay. Around Seward, K3 peatlands are the second most numerous wetland type found, although they are not extensive. They are common on the large rock drumlin northeast of town, and in other ice-scoured bedrock low spots, especially near the South Fork of the Snow River. K3 Kettle components are also found with other wetland components, especially K2 the sedge-dominated component, in small peatland complexes.
