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Wetland types |
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Bottomland hardwoods |
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Conservation |
page 5 of 7 |
Once bottomland forests covered almost 30 million acres
across the Southeastern United States. Today, only about 40%
of that area still exists. Loss of these areas is largely
due to conversion to croplands, particularly for soybeans.
Additional losses have been caused by construction and
operation of flood control structures and reservoirs,
surface mining, and urban development. The moderately wet
forest types are increasingly fragmented due to improved
road access, increased agriculture usage and close proximity
to development. The wetter tracts are less fragmented but
also have lost many of their original functions. They are
somewhat less vulnerable to disturbances because moisture
conditions prevented access to these lands. In some regions
of the lower Mississippi floodplain, only a very small
percentage of original bottomland hardwood forests remain.
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