INTRODUCTION 



Bottomland forests are found in the floodplains of rivers in the 

 southeastern United States from eastern Texas to Virginia. They have 

 distinct topographic features that are the result of historical hydro- 

 logic characteristics of the rivers, including periodic fluctuations in 

 water levels and changes in stream course. Recognizable floodplain 

 topographic features include first bottoms, second bottoms or terraces, 

 uplands, riverfront, swamp, poorly drained flats, well-drained flats, 

 and sloughs (Putnam, Furnival , and McKnight 1960). These features are 

 characterized by different hydrologic regimes and can be identified as a 

 hydrologic gradient transitional between permanent water and terrestrial 

 uplands . 



Many studies have previously described the forest communities 

 associated with these floodplain features (Putnam, Furnival, and 

 McKnight 1960; Broadfoot and Williston 1973; Chambless and Nixon 1975; 

 Hodges and Switzer 1979; Mohler 1979; and Hupp and Osterkamp 1985). 

 However, studies describing the relationship between plant species dis- 

 tribution and specific inundation/saturation regimes in bottomland for- 

 ests are rare (Bedinger 1971; Mohler 1979; Huffman 1980; and Leitman, 

 Sohm, and Franklin 1984). Even so, these studies all demonstrated that 

 frequency and duration of inundation/saturation exert a controlling 

 influence on the composition, structure, and distribution of wetland 

 plant communities. As an example, Bedinger (1971) found a definite 



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