Relationships Among Soil Lithology, Timber Harvest and the Hydrology of Coastal Plain Depressional Wetlands

Abstract

Piezometric data and soil data are being collected within and around a group of Coastal Plain depressional wetlands located in commercial timber land in Effingham County, GA. The water level data is being used to determine how differences in soil lithology affect the hydroperiods, especially the start and end of dry periods. The data is also being used to compare the hydroperiods among wetlands with differing ages of adjacent tree stands. The pine forests around these wetlands are harvested on a 20-25 year cycle, and the chemistry and understory of these wetlands respond dramatically and immediately to adjacent timber harvest. The role of hydrologic change in these chemical and plant community responses is being investigated as part of this project.