A Draft Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Wet Hardwood Flats on Mineral Soils in the Coastal Plain of Virginia

The hydrogeomorphic (HGM) approach applies functional indices to the assessment of functions by comparing functions across a suite of reference sites that range from severely altered to unaltered. This Draft Regional Guidebook is the result of applying the HGM approach to Hardwood Mineral Flats in the coastal plain of Virginia. In developing the Draft Regional Guidebook, various models from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, as well as, input from a workshop held in Wakefield, Virginia on May 13-14, 1998 were used to provide a template for model development. The workshop was attended by hydrologists, biogeochemists, soil scientists, wildlife biologists, and botanists from the public, private and academic sectors who have extensive knowledge of Hardwood Mineral Flats (Table 1 ). This Draft Regional Guidebook incorporates material from the Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Wet Pine Flats on Mineral Soils in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains by Richard Rheinhardt, Martha Rheinhardt, and Mark Brinson (1999). Excerpted material includes the overview of the HGM approach and the hydrology section (since the approach utilized for pine flats is also appropriate for hardwood flats). Additional input was gained from the Draft Functional Assessment for Deciduous Mineral Flat Wetlands, Version 5 - 1999 by the Natural Resources Conservation Service staff. Valuable suggestions from end-users of other HGM guidebooks regarding the pros and cons of various sampling methods were considered and incorporated into this draft guidebook where possible. An attempt was made to incorporate data that is routinely collected as part of wetlands delineations to reduce duplication of field data and expedite the assessment procedure. The field sampling time for this assessment will depend on the size of the site, and the skill level and number of personnel. The sampling assessment protocol can be conducted by one person (though sampling of microtopography will require the use of a measured stake that can be installed temporarily in the ground). Two people can collect field data on a three- plot site in three to four hours

The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities

This study examines how preferences for different types of applicants for admission to elite universities influence the number and composition of admitted students. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.