Delta Plain - Somewhat Poorly Drained Bottomland Hardwoods

Description

American Sycamore, Baldcypress, Black willow, Boxelder, Common Persimmon, Drummond Red Maple, Eastern Cottonwood, Green Ash, Laurel Oak, Sugarberry, Sweetgum, Pecan

Submodel

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.

Submodel

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.

Submodel

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 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 into Pasture & Hayland Group 2C.
Deep bottomland soils with loamy surface layers and loamy subsoils. Somewhat poorly drained to well-drained alkaline bottomland soils of high natural fertility. 0-8% slopes. Most slopes are 0-3%. Only a few soils occur on 3-5% slopes.

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 are 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.

Submodel

Submodel

Submodel

Description

This site is generally considered not well suited for urban development due to flooding potential and wetness. If site hydrology has been altered with drainage systems development may be possible. Maintenance of the hydrologic control must be continued and if control is abandoned or lost, site conditions may return to excessively wet conditions which will inhibit urban development on this site.

This state represents an area that has been altered to provide locations for homes, businesses, and infrastructure where people live, work, and recreate. The human population is higher than in the surrounding rural area. It is where buildings are close together and are usually considered cities and towns. This state may be found in small clusters in rural areas where multiple buildings are in close proximity with roads and infrastructure that support a rural population.

The changes to the landscape will not generally return to the historic community of Hardwood trees, however, some of this landcover may be present in areas. There are generally many introduced and potentially invasive species located in these areas and managed as ornamentals. These non-native species should be managed to prevent infestation and invasion into other areas where they can become a problem.

Within this land use, there are expansive networks of infrastructure both above and below ground for use by the inhabitants of the area. These include roads, drainage channels and structures, electrical distribution systems, telecommunications systems, drinking water distribution systems, and many other components that contribute to the quality of human life.