Wetland Soils

Michael J. Vepraskas is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Soil Science at North Carolina State University, where he is also head of the Soil Science Department. Currently, he specializes in wetlands with a focus on hydric soil formation and identification. His class on wetland soils is taught both on campus and online. In addition, he trains wetland consultants and regulators in identifying hydric soils through short courses that have been taught throughout the United States. He holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Madison (BS and MS) and Texas A&M University (PhD). Christopher B. Craft is the Janet Duey Professor of rural land policy in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington. He earned degrees from the University of North Carolina-Ashville (BA, biology), the University of Tennessee (MS, ecology), and North Carolina State University (PhD, soil science). Professor Craft has over 30 years of experience working in inland freshwater and coastal wetlands. His research interests include wetland restoration, nutrient enrichment and eutrophication, carbon sequestration, and effects of climate change; his research projects span the Eastern, Midwest, and Western United States, Europe, and China.

"This is an exceptional reference … a virtual encyclopedia on hydric soils written by the nation’s leading soil scientists offering readers a complete understanding of hydric soils, including the processes responsible for their development, their diagnostic properties, and how to delineate hydric soils in the field."—Ralph Tiner, Institute for Wetland & Environmental Education & Research, Inc., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA"The main strength is the comprehensiveness of the book. It covers all aspects of wetland soil characteristics including chemistry, hydrology, morphology, biota, classification, identification and delineation. … written in a way that anybody can understand and therefore it is useful to have it at hand."—Jan Vymazal, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague"… an accessible, soil-centric perspective on the hydrologic, physical, chemical and biological phenomena that give rise to these enigmatic ecosystems. … stays true to the goal of providing students and practitioners with the basic science theory they need to understand wetland soils, and insights on how the science applies to practical applications."—J. Patrick Megonigal, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA"…offers a comprehensive coverage of wetland soils with great detail provided about their physical, chemical and morphological properties while simultaneously providing a strong national level review of their landscape associations. … maintains the essential sequencing of the original version with basic fundamental and underpinning topics being covered first, followed by applications, and then field landscape distributions … will continue to be the standard reference and textbook for both undergraduate and graduate courses and will also serve as an invaluable background resource for wetland professionals working in the field."—W. Lee Daniels, Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA"… this book can serve as an excellent reference for students, professionals, consultants, and others involved in wetland science research and applications."—Vadose Zone Journal, October 2016

• BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HYDRIC SOILS. WETLAND SOIL LANDSCAPES. WETLAND FUNCTIONS AND RESTORATION.