Restoration projects involving plant material will always require knowledge about the requirements for water and the suitability of the soil as a growing medium for the plant materials. Whether you are concerned with wetlands, forests, scrublands, or even deserts, you must know the historical aspects of water and soil conditions. Surprisingly, a number of wetland restoration/creation projects have been implemented with scant attention given to landform and elevation. As a result, the surface elevations of these project sites have either been too low or too high with respect to tidal influence or streamflows. The end result is a project that fails to perform as intended. Soils are complex assemblages of organisms, mineral sediments, water, and atmosphere that together create a growing medium. Typically, intensive farming depletes nutrients or introduces excessive amounts of nutrients that are not needed by native plants or that attract weeds and exotic species. Water and soil are two basic mediums that cannot be readily assessed simply by looking. To verify your supposition, a few laboratory tests are required to ensure the chemical constituents are within acceptable ranges for your intended purpose.