Planted oaks and natural invasion in bottomland hardwood forests of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Conversion of woodlands to other land-use types has resulted in the loss of over 80 percent of the historic bottomland hardwood forests of the Lower Mississippi Valley. This represents a loss of more than 6 million ha of forested wetlands. Heightened interests in reforestation and the mixed results associated with past afforestation efforts emphasize the need for more and better information on successful tree planting and the effects of natural woody invasion.