Delta Plain - Poorly Drained Backswamp

Description

Willow, Water Oaks, Honey Locust, Green Ash, Sweetgum, Baldcypress, Red Maple, Box Elder, Overcup oak, Nuttall Oak, Bitter Pecan, Palmetto, Poison ivy

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Description

Forest Canopy opening created by potentially several ways that allows the understory community to receive adequate sunlight. This State will have a continuum from sparse herbaceous due to recent opening occurring to regeneration of Woody species with dense herbaceous species to the stage where the woody regeneration overtops the herbaceous and begins to shade them out. This continuum of colonization can be delineated as multiple phases depending on needs, and succession can be set back along the continuum.

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Description

Catastrophic river change in channel (AVULSION)

When the river changes courses from potentially multiple factors this site will be affected in many ways. This site may become the location of the new channel when the river re-occupies and older course or that of another river. Conversely when the river changes course and abandons previous backswamps the site may loose sediment and water inputs and become drier other than in extreme events. This State has potentially multiple phases as great as all of the other states of the Ecological Sites in the sub region.

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Description

This site is generally considered not suited for crop production due to flooding and wetness. When the site hydrology has been altered mechanically by the construction of levees, water control structures, and potentially pumps, crop species may be established and the site utilized for production. Maintenance of the hydrologic control must be continued to maintain production and if control is abandoned or lost, site conditions may return to excessively wet conditions which will prevent utilization of the land for crop production. Conditions even with control may only allow production on an irregular basis.

This state represents a crop production field. Annual plantings for forage production would also be included in this phase, which may include cool season annual grasses and legumes and warm season forage species. Vegetable crops are grown on this site and are generally on a small scale. Sugarcane, Corn, and Soybeans are dominant crops and can be planted in fields with adequate management. Wheat may be included in the rotation or as a standalone crop. Other row crop species have been produced on these sites. Often two or more crops will be grown in a multiyear rotation, this breaks pest cycles and some crops produce higher amounts of residue, which is left on the soil to improve soil health. Maintenance of monoculture crop stands also requires the control of unwanted species, which will require Pest Management and Nutrient Management to maintain the needed fertility for production of the desired species. Refer to E-Field Office Technical Guide and the local NRCS Field Office for management assistance.

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Description

This site is generally considered not suited for grazing due to flooding and wetness. When the site hydrology has been altered mechanically by the construction of ditches, levees, water control structures, and potentially pumps, forage species may be established and the site utilized for grazing. Maintenance of the hydrologic control must be continued to maintain production and if control is abandoned or lost, site conditions may return to excessively wet conditions which will prevent utilization of the land for forage production. Conditions even with control may only allow forage production on an irregular basis. Additionally, adjacent higher elevation areas or protected areas may be needed for the storage of harvested forage or holding of livestock when wet or flooded conditions occur. Some forage operations on this site may experience none to multiple extreme wetness events in a single year that will require preplanning and resources to meet the needs of the livestock.

This state is characterized by a monoculture or a mixture of forage species planted or allowed to establish from naturalized species managed for forage production or as herbaceous ground cover.

This Site fits Pasture & Hayland Groups: 1A and 1B
Deep, poorly drained, bottomland soils with mostly clayey or loamy surface layers, having high or medium natural fertility and are subject to damaging overflows. Flooding is occasional to frequent with very brief to very long duration. It has a range of limitations that could include wetness, trafficability, high water tables, and soils saturation during the growing season.

Most soils need nitrogen fertilization for higher levels of production when grasses are grown alone. It is not practical to apply high rates of fertilizer due to the wetness limitation potential of the site which normally occurs from December through June. To prevent extreme acidity in the subsoil when high rates of acidifying nitrogen is used, the surface soil should not be allowed to become more acid than 5.0 pH and lime should be applied at more frequent intervals.

Adapted Grasses and Legumes
Hybrid bermudagrass, common bermudagrass, dallisgrass, bahiagrass, and johnsongrass are the better adapted warm-season perennials. White clover, vetch, winter peas, and red clover are adapted cool-season legumes. Periodic brush control is needed to prevent the area from reverting to woodland.

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