Kettle Ecosystem wetlands are peatlands occupying depressions created when pockets of underlying ice melted at the end of the last glacial advance. They have a wetland or stream connection to Cook Inlet, unlike Depression and Spring Fen ecosystem wetlands. Depressions and Spring Fens are surrounded by uplands.

Explanation:

Peat depth is a minimum, because some sites had thicker peat deposits than the length of the auger used (usually 493 cm).

Water table depth is a one time measurement. At sites with seasonally variable water tables this measurement reflects both the conditions that year, and the time of year.

Redox features with low n and deep depths typically indicate deeper peat deposits, which mask redox indicators.

pH and specific conductance measured in surface water or a shallow pit with a YSI 63 meter calibrated each sample.

Plant Prevalence Index calculated based on Alaska indicator status downloaded from the USDA PLANTS database, which may use different values than the 1988 list.

Explanation:

Soils from 1998 Soil Survey of the Matanuska-SusitnaValley Area, Alaska, available online, follow the link in the table heading.

Plant communities based on Kenai Peninsula wetland mapping and soil survey, or other published accounts, especially Viereck, et.al., 1992.

Kettle Ecosystem Wetland Map Components:

K1: Kettle pond.

K2: Water table at or very near the surface, often sedge-dominated.

K3: Deeper, more variable water table, often shrub dominated.

K4: Seasonally high water table, forested.

Map Units currently in use: K1, K1c, K1d, K1-3, K1-4, K12, K12c, K13, K14d, K2, K2-4, K2-4c, K2-4d, K21, K21c, K21d, K23, K23d, K24, K3, K3d, K31, K31d, K32, K32d, K34, K4, K4d, K41, K42, K43, K43d

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2 April, 2009