Bottomland Forests of the Louisiana Plains

The Bottomland Forest of the Louisiana Plains project aggregates forestlands across northeastern Louisiana with a commitment to sustainable forest management and provides significant climate benefits through carbon sequestration from native forests.

Bottomland hardwood forests are forested, alluvial wetlands occupying broad floodplain areas that flank large river systems. These forests are found throughout Louisiana in all parishes but are the predominant natural community type of the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain.

They are extremely productive areas due in part to periodic flood-transported and deposited particulate and dissolved organic matter and nutrients. In general, forested floodplain habitats are mixtures of broadleaf deciduous, needleleaf deciduous, and evergreen trees and shrubs.

Bottomland hardwoods serve a critical role in the watershed by reducing the risk and severity of flooding to downstream communities by providing areas to store floodwater. In addition, these wetlands improve water quality by filtering and flushing nutrients, processing organic wastes, and reducing sediment before it reaches open water.