Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/6482
Title: Flood tolerance of plant species in bottomland forests of the southeastern United States
Authors: Theriot, Russell F.
Keywords: Bottomland hardwoods
Flood tolerance
FTI
Hydrologic zones
Flood Tolerance Index
Species composition
Vegetation
Floodplain forests
Wetlands
Publisher: U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station
Series/Report no.: Technical Report (Wetlands Research Program (U.S.)) ; no. Technical Report WRP-DE-6
Abstract: Vegetation data on species composition along a hydrologicgradient were collected at 17 bottomland forest sites throughout the southeastern United States. Weighted averages based on importance values calculated from 55 stands resulted in flood tolerance index (FIT) numbers, the optimum position for each species along the defined hydrologic gradient, for 312 identified pecies. Commonly occurring species were evaluated using cluster analyses and discriminant function analyses. Data on trees, saplings, and vine species clustered into distinct groups, with tree species being the most reliable; however, shrubs and herbaceous species did not cluster distinctly. Discriminant function analysis using FTI numbers for tree species proved to be 82 percent reliable in predicting zones. The accuracy of the Flood Tolerance Index (FTI) numbers did not vary regionally in the southeastern United States. Therefore, a single FTI number calculated for each species can be used to predict hydrologic zones for the entire study area.
Description: Technical Report
Gov't Doc #: Technical Report WRP-DE-6
Rights: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11681/6482
Size: 209 pages
Types of Materials: PDF
Appears in Collections:Technical Report

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