"Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia." "March 1982." "FWS/OBS-81/37." Item 612 (microfiche) Bibliography: p. 109-126. Bottomland hardwood forests and their fauna comprise remarkably productive riverine communities adapted to a fluctuating water level ecosystem characterized and maintained by a natural hydrologic regime of alternating annual wet and dry periods. This community profile has been prepared in part to provide information for management decisions. The entire bottomland over which flooding occurs is a functional part of the wetland system and must be considered as a unit when making resource decisions. Water is the driving force of the bottomland hardwood community. Sources of water to bottomlands include precipitation and runoff from mountains and Piedmont, groundwater from rainfall, underground aquifers, continuous seepage from sand aquifers, and tidal flow. The physicochemical environment of the floodplains is a function of the interactions or processes occurring in the water column, in soil, and at the soil-water interface. The plant species and communities that inhabit the floodplain can be considered as buffers that absorb and dissipate the physical energies of the riverine system. Water movement is slowed and erosion is held in check through the anchoring of sediments by root systems, the deposition of sediments that are dropped from the slowed water column, and the reduction of the water column by the spreading out of water. The buffering role of the plant communities is also evident in the biogeochemical cycles of the riverine-palustrine system. The moisture gradient and hydroperiods of floodplains provide a continuum for a diverse fauna. Bottomland swamps are integrally coupled to the surrounding uplands, downstream estuarine systems, and the atmosphere