Use Ecobot's soil suggestions in Ecobot Manager to streamline QA/QC by reviewing field selections against guidance aligned with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Automated Wetland Determination Data Sheets.

Soil suggestions are designed to support—not replace—your professional judgment. Ecobot does not automatically select indicators, allowing you to make the final determination based on field observations.

Soil Suggestions Basics

Soil Suggestions provide an additional layer of guidance to help you efficiently review and verify hydric soil indicators.

Refer to the Soil Suggestion Legend to interpret the indicator status:

• Green – Likely Met: Available evidence suggests the indicator is likely met.
• Yellow – Partially Met: Some requirements appear to be met, but additional review is recommended.
• No Color – More Information Required: There is not enough information available to determine whether the indicator is met.

Suggestions are intentionally conservative and only identify indicators that are likely met or partially met. Ecobot no longer eliminates indicators by marking them as "not met," ensuring your evaluation remains consistent with the Corps' automated data sheet methodology.

To review the criteria for any indicator, select the info icon next to the indicator to view the applicable regional supplement guidance.

Collector

• You must have a data connection for soil suggestions to occur. 

Manager

• Soil Suggestions are located on the Edit Point page of every survey in the Hydric Soil Indicators section.

Additional Info

• Soil Suggestions do not include rules with combined layers (i.e. a rule phrased as "if layer X is different than layer Z in this way, then indicator Y applies" is not included in suggestions because it involves more than one layer).
• A texture must be present for Soil Suggestions to work.
• Indicators with bold letters require Subregion on the point in order to process.
• Hydric Soil Indicator "A4" will be highlighted green if Hydrology Indicator "C1" is checked. This is the only Soil Indicator which changes based on Hydrology Indicator selections.

Soil Colors

Each populated Soil Layer Matrix and Redox will contain a color description and graphic based on entered values. This is designed to assist during QA, and also includes a gray/blank field if entered values are not valid Munsell selections.

Sources and Methodology

• Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States, A Guide for Identifying and Delineating Hydric Soils, Version 8.2, 2018 (USDA, NRCS)
• Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 3.0, 2012 (USDA, NRCS, Soil Survey Center)
• Regional Supplements to the USACE Wetland Delineation Manual (USACE, ERDC).
• The technical description, user notes, and applicable subregions in each hydric soil indicator come from Chapter 3 of the Regional Supplement.
• The deal-breakers section was created by wetland scientists to help easily parse through the requirements of each indicator.

References

1. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
2. Conservation Service. 2018. Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States,
3. Version 8.2. L.M. Vasilas, G.W. Hurt, and J.F. Berkowitz (eds.). USDA, NRCS, in
4. cooperation with the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils.
5. Schoeneberger, P.J., D.A. Wysocki, E.C. Benham, and Soil Survey Staff. 2012. Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 3.0. Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE.
6. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2007. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Alaska Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-07-24. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
7. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2008. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Arid West Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-08-28. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
8. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2010. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-10-20. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
9. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2011. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Caribbean Islands Region (Version 2.0). ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, C. V. Noble, and J. F. Berkowitz. ERDC/EL TR-11-4. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
10. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2012. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Eastern Mountains and Piedmont Region Version 2.0, ed. J. F. Berkowitz, J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-12-9. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
11. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2010. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Great Plains Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-10-1. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
12. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2012. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands Region Version 2.0, ed. J. F. Berkowitz, J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-12-5. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
13. U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2010. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Midwest Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-10-16. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
14. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2011. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Northcentral and Northeast Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, C. V. Noble, and J. F. Berkowitz. ERDC/EL TR-12-1. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
15. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2010. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-10-3. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.