Ecology of Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands of the Southeastern United States

This book studies tidal freshwater swamps, unique wetland systems that are especially vulnerable to human development and climate change. Coverage targets hydrological processes, community organization, and stress physiology of freshwater, tidally influenced land-margin forests of the southeastern United States. It describes the land use history that has led to the restricted distribution of these swamps, followed by descriptions of the hydrology, soils, biogeochemistry, and physiological ecology of these systems with special attention on similarities shared among tidal freshwater swamps. Overviews of tidal swamps along the Pocomoke River, Chesapeake Bay, Waccamaw River, Savannah River, Suwannee River, and Waccasassa Bay are presented for more specific detail. In addition, micro-tidal swamps along the rapidly subsiding Louisiana coast in the Manchac Swamp and wetlands in the Barataria and Terrebonne regions of Louisiana are described as examples of heavily degraded wetlands.