What is Restoring Bottomland Hardwood Forests? A Study From the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

The interest in changing the use of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) floodplain has been gathering momentum. Recent changes in federal farm programs, heightened awareness of the value of forested wetlands and increasingly productive farming practices have allowed for consideration of land use changes. Marginal agricultural land in the LMAV, cleared at the time of soaring soybean prices, is no longer looked upon as being favorable only for agriculture. These lands, usually deemed marginal because of seasonal high water, are being offered for reforestation. These once forested tracts of land are being converted from row agriculture back to some form of a bottomland hardwood ecosystem. Restoration is one of those terms loosely defined and often loosely applied. In the LMAV, bottomland hardwood forest restoration has attracted heightened interest. It has been estimated that 80 percent of the bottomland hardwood forests in this area have been converted to other uses over the past 40 years, Today, there is renewed activity in restoring these systems. Much of the impetus for this activity revolves around federal cost share programs, in particular the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), which provides payments to landowners interested in reestablishing native bottomland systems. The problem is obtaining a clear definition of restoration and quantifying the different spatial and ecological entities involved in restoration success. Virtually all success criteria designated for restoration efforts involve a study only of physiognomy of restored vegetation. Currently absent from the restoration plans/goals are explicit statements regarding the restoration of hydrologic, edaphic or faunal components. Restoration involving forested systems is a long-term endeavor and cannot be handled properly with quick fixes. It is agreed that reforestation success does not equal restoration. There still exists controversy over the reforestation success criteria used for WRP in the LMAV. We must decide criteria based on sound science, using integrated fact-based management, .and be aware of the consequences. Additionally, these systems and the restoration attempts must be