Southeastern Naturalist K. Stephens, J. Sencindiver, and J. Skousen 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 40 Canaan Valley & Environs Southeastern Naturalist 2015 14(Special Issue 7):40–57 Characteristics of Wetland Soils Impacted by Acid Mine Drainage Kyle Stephens 1 , John Sencindiver 1 , and Jeff Skousen 1,* Abstract - A proposed section of Appalachian Corridor H, an interstate highway that begins at I-79 near Weston, WV, and will continue east to I-81 at Strasburg, VA, will pass through an area of the Beaver Creek watershed that was previously mined for the acid-producing Upper Freeport coal. Beaver Creek lows into the Blackwater River after lowing out of Canaan Valley. Partially reclaimed spoils from past mining activities are generating acid mine drainage. Wetlands adjacent to the spoils support plant communities that appear to be naturally treating the drainage. To better understand the chemical and physical functions within the wetlands and to assist the West Virginia Division of High- ways in constructing wetlands for mitigating environmental damage, we described the soils of the mine-drainage-impacted wetlands (Narrow Wetland, Iron Pond, and Railroad Grade) and took samples for subsequent laboratory analyses. For comparison, we also de- scribed and sampled unimpacted soils in Elder Swamp, which is an adjacent wetland that receives no mine drainage. The impacted wetland soils had thinner organic and mineral horizons and were lower in C and N than unimpacted soils. The electrical conductivity was low for all wetland soils, and pH ranged from 3.2–6.1, with both low and high pH values in impacted and unimpacted soils. These results were relected in the overall lower quality of vegetation that we noticed in the impacted wetlands. Introduction Section 404 of the 1977 Clean Water Act deines jurisdictional wetlands as “those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a fre- quency and duration suficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions” (Environmental Laboratory 1987). Wetlands perform unique eco- logical functions: they ilter water, recharge aquifers, mitigate lood events, and may support rare and diverse lora and fauna (Mitsch and Gosselink 2000). For an area to be identiied as a jurisdictional wetland, three key features must be present: 1) hydric soils, 2) hydrophytic vegetation, and 3) wetland hydrology. Hydric soils form through unique pedogenic processes such as horizon de- velopment, carbon (C) accumulation and distribution, low redox conditions, and water saturation. These processes allow for the development of easily identiiable morphological features that are distinctly different from the features of non- hydric soils. A hydric soil, by deinition, is “a soil which is saturated, looded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part” (USDA-NRCS 1995). Anaerobic conditions develop when wa- ter ills the soil pores, which decreases the rate at which oxygen (O 2 ) can diffuse 1 West Virginia University, Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, PO Box 6108, Morgan- town, WV 26506. * Corresponding author - jskousen@wvu.edu.