Hydrologic Modifications Challenge Bottomland Hardwood Forest Management

Bottomland hardwoods are floodplain forests along rivers and streams throughout the southeastern United States. The interrelations among hydrology, soils, geomorphic landforms, and tree species composition are the foundation of forest management in bottomland hardwoods, and historically their corres...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forestry 2019-09, Vol.117 (5), p.504-514
Main Authors: King, Sammy L, Keim, Richard F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bottomland
Disturbance
Ecosystems
Flooding
Floodplains
Floods
Forest management
Forestry
Forests
Geomorphology
Groundwater
Hardwoods
Historical account
Hydrology
Interspecific
Landforms
Regeneration
Resource management
River ecology
Rivers
Sediments
Soil dynamics
Soil moisture
Species composition
Streams
Trees
Water management
Water quality
Wetlands
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Bottomland hardwoods are floodplain forests along rivers and streams throughout the southeastern United States. The interrelations among hydrology, soils, geomorphic landforms, and tree species composition are the foundation of forest management in bottomland hardwoods, and historically their correspondence has allowed for somewhat predictable forest responses based upon the hydrogeomorphic setting. However, extensive hydrologic and geomorphic modifications in floodplains have disrupted these interrelations and, on many sites, have created novel disturbance regimes resulting in unpredictable forest responses. Reduced or altered timing of surface flooding and groundwater declines are common in the region and have favored increases in stem densities, particularly of species less tolerant of flooding and more tolerant of shade. In these highly modified systems, more process-level understanding of floodplain hydrology, soil moisture dynamics, interspecific tree competition, and regeneration is needed to develop more effective management prescriptions and for forestry to be represented in integrated water-resource management decisions.
ISSN:0022-1201
1938-3746
DOI:10.1093/jofore/fvz025