News Releases from the Southern Research Station

Achieving Restoration Success In Bottomland Hardwood Forests

Asheville, NC -- Restoration of bottomland hardwood forests and forested wetlands on public and privately owned land is of considerable interest in the southern United States. These forests occur mostly in the floodplains of major rivers and their tributaries within the broad coastal plain stretching from Virginia to Texas. Success in restoring ecosystems has been hampered by misunderstanding the ecology of bottomland hardwood forests, unclear restoration objectives, or resistance to new methods and approaches.

In the June issue of Restoration Ecology, the quarterly journal of the Society for Ecological Restoration, myths about restoration and afforestation are discussed. Dispelling such myths paves the way to improving restoration success. In the view of the authors, the focus for ecological restoration should be to reestablish a completely functioning ecosystem. Restoration is one element of sustainable forest management that allows prescribing goals to incorporate landowner objectives, including economic considerations. The authors discuss objectives, techniques, and research opportunities that should lead to increased restoration success.

The original extent of southern bottomland forests may have exceeded 100,000,000 acres. Extensive clearing of this land for agriculture began in the early 1800’s. Current plans for public and private land suggest that nearly 500,000 acres could be restored in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley alone. Establishing forest cover on these lands is an important step in ecosystem restoration, but many problems can occur during the afforestation process.

Lead author, John A. Stanturf, PhD, of the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, can be contacted via e-mail at jstanturf@fs.fed.us. The article, “Achieving Restoration Success: Myths in Bottomland Hardwood Forests,” is a collaborative effort among Dr. Stanturf; Stephen H Schoenholtz, PhD, Department of Forestry, Mississippi State University; Callie Jo Schweitzer, PhD, Southern Research Station; James P. Shepard, PhD, National Council of the Paper Industry for Air and Stream Improvement, Gainesville, FL.

The Southern Research Station’s Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research is located in Stoneville, MS; contact Project Leader Ted Leininger, 662-686-3178; http://www2.srs.fs.fed.us/cbhr/