KUCHLER TYPE VALUE AND USE
KUCHLER TYPE: Southern floodplain forest



FORESTRY VALUES : 
About 17 percent of the timberland in the Southeast is southern
floodplain forest.  Commercially valuable species include willow oak,
water oak, laurel oak, Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii), swamp chestnut
oak, cherrybark oak, water tupelo, black tupelo, sweetgum, and
baldcypress.  Timberlands have been lost from conversion to agriculture
and the reduction of undrained areas available for timber production
[18].  For detailed information on logging in southern wetlands refer to
Jackson and Chambers [10].

Sycamore, sweetgum, and American elm can pioneer on logged sites or on
oldfields in riverbottoms.  Logging favors sweetgum on sweetgum-willow
oak-dominated sites.  When cut, swamp chestnut oak-cherrybark oak may
succeed to sugarberry-green ash-American elm-red maple [18].

Frequent fire (25-year intervals) in the Okefenokee Swamp, combined with
logging, allows mixed hardwoods to dominate over cypress [3].  In south
Florida logging followed by severe fire usually leads to a climax of
hardwoods without cypress [8].  Hackberry-elm-ash is temporary following
logging and fire [16].


RANGE VALUES : 
Many southern floodplain forests have been cleared for pastures [18].


WILDLIFE VALUES : 
Southern floodplain forests provide valuable wildlife habitat for many
species, especially those that occur in aquatic-terrestrial ecotones.
The ecotones tend to support a greater number of species than aquatic or
terrestrial habitats alone.  Four attributes of the southern floodplain
forest have been listed as important to wildlife:  the predominance
of woody vegetation for cover; the presence of surface water and soil
moisture for greater food availability; the interspersion of swamps with
forests for greater habitat diversity; and the presence of riparian
forests that provide travel corridors for migration and dispersion [18].


OTHER VALUES : 
The southern floodplain forest provides recreation opportunities for
wildlife viewing, camping, hunting, and fishing [18].


MANAGEMENT CONCERNS : 
An estimated 69 percent of southern floodplain forests have been lost
since European settlement.  Diking and draining severely disrupt
hydrological regimes and alter plant communities, destroying ecological
diversity and integrity.  Wildlife habitat has been fragmented due to
agriculture, subdivision, and commercial development.  The Bachman's
warbler (possibly extinct), the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the Florida
panther are federally listed as endangered in the southern floodplain
forest [18].

Related categories for Kuchler Type: Southern floodplain forest