Completing IWMM vegetation surveys requires you identify the most common wetland plants found within a unit. The surveys are completed once annually, typically late in the growing season when dominant plant species have started to senesce. Obtaining an accurate measure of plant community composition (both percent cover and species composition) requires a working knowledge of wetland plant species in your region. What if you are unfamiliar with one or more common wetland plant species in your unit? Refer to field guides, visit the National Plant Database to review plant genuses or species to make a positive identification or take a digital photo and email it to John_Stanton@fws.gov, IWMM Science Team member and Regional IWMM Contact, for assistance with identification. The accuracy of this information is critical to assigning energy (kcals) to the unit for evaluating annual management actions and/or updating the flyway model and the capacity (energy) of the landscape to support migrating and wintering waterbirds.
