If properly managed moist-soil wetlands production exceeds production from natural crops. Compared to traditional agricultural crops like corn, moist-soil plants provide superior protein and vitamins. They also deteriorate more slowly and therefore offer extended periods of nutrient availability during winter months.

Seed banks are collections of dormant seeds that exist naturally in soils. These seeds are ready to grow in the event of a disturbance. Often, 40 or more species of annual plants are represented in wetland seed banks, even following years of intensive agricultural activity.

Not all plants are created equally. Moist-soil plants are categorize by desirability as food or habitat.
Desirable plants provide habitat, energy, and nutritive requirements. While undesirable plants interfere with such production. Three common undesirable plant species are coffeebean, cocklebur, and alligatorweed. Once these seeds germinate they are difficult to control. Click here for a list of waterfowl food values of moist-soil plants.

The two factors that affect successful seed germination are timing and types of drawdown and stage of succession (length of time since soil disturbance).

The most desirable moist-soil plants occur and are most highly productive in early successional stages. In general, most areas managed for moist-soil should be disked once every 3-5 years in order to maintain this successional stage.