Use of hydrogeomorphic concepts to design created wetlands in southeastern Virginia

Mitigation wetlands constructed in southeastern Virginia during the past decade have experienced problems with inappropriate water levels, excessive erosion and sedimentation, low levels of soil organic matter, overly compacted substrates, and sulfidic soils. Most of these problems can be recognized in the future with adequate planning that permits sufficient study of the geomorphic and hydrologic processes active at the mitigation site, and if greater attention is given to the history of geomorphic processes that created natural wetlands in that area. New procedures of assessing wetland functions that use the “hydrogeomorphic” (HGM) classification of wetlands require examination of both surface and subsurface processes. If these HGM concepts are expanded to include geomorphic evolution, they will greatly improve recent practices in the design and construction of mitigation wetlands.