Bottomland Hardwood Forest Characteristics

Bottomland hardwood forests can reduce the risk and severity of flooding to downstream communities by providing areas to store floodwater.

Bottomland hardwood forest characteristics.

You can use the term bottomland forest loosely to refer to a variety of wooded habitats but true bottomland forests have these characteristics. Bottomland swamp forest silviculture symposium field tour. They are seasonally wet areas for example from annual spring flooding. They are occasionally flooded which builds up the alluvial soils required for the gum oak and bald cypress trees that typically grow in this type of biome.

These zones are the result of an active river cutting its banks and forming new land putnam 1960. The soil which erodes from the bank is often deposited on the inside bend downstream on what is referred to as a point bar. Leitman introduction bottomland hardwoods blh occur throughout the riverine floodplains of the southeastern united states figure 1. Bottomland hardwood forests support a great variety of tree and shrub species.

The bottomland hardwood forest is a type of deciduous and evergreen hardwood forest found in us broad lowland floodplains along large rivers and lakes. Bottomland hardwood forests blh are found in temperate humid regions of the southeastern us primarily on alluvial floodplains adjacent to rivers. 276 characteristics of wetlands ecosystems of southeastern bottomland hardwood forests william h. Bottomland forests represent a transition between drier upland hardwood forest and very wet river floodplain and wetland forests.

Typical tree species growing in these forests range from cottonwoods and sweetgums to cherrybark oaks water oaks and hickories. They are generally found along the edges of lakes and rivers and in sinkholes. Results indicate that overcup oak is dominant in all three vertical layers while the more desirable willow oak is common only in the overstory. Historic blhs were a product of the natural hydrologic and geomorphic processes associated with their adjacent rivers.

Hook 3 victor w. 1 common characteristics of bottomland swamp forests in the south atlantic coastal plain hydrology effects species composition o persistent. Bottomland hardwood forests are recognized as an important feature of the landscape joining riverine systems with upland forests and function as areas of filtration for. Patrick jr j george dissmeyer 2 donai d.