Hydric Soils

Hydric soils are found in wetlands. They develop in areas that are saturated and anaerobic for periods long enough for redoximorphic features to form, and/or for organic C to accumulate, all within 30 cm of the soil surface. Hydric soil field indicators are soil layers having well-defined colors, specific quantities of redoximorphic features, and organic C contents, that are used to identify hydric soils in the field. The Hydric Soil Technical Standard describes how a hydric soil without field indicators can be identified using measurements to determine if the soil becomes saturated and anaerobic.