Tracy et al. (2026) Anthropogenic contributions to drought impacts in floodplain forests

Identification

• Journal: Elsevier eBooks
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: John Tracy, Ajay Sharma
• DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-443-44625-2.00005-9

Research Groups

• School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
• College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States

Short Summary

This chapter synthesizes how anthropogenic alterations to river flow patterns exacerbate climate-driven drought impacts on floodplain forests, and presents global examples of innovative management strategies to mitigate these effects and sustain ecosystem services.

Objective

• To explore how anthropogenic alterations to seasonal river flow patterns intensify climate-driven drought impacts on terrestrial floodplain forests, and to identify and describe global innovative management strategies aimed at mitigating these impacts.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global rivers and floodplains, focusing on terrestrial floodplain forests worldwide.
• Temporal Scale: Seasonal flow patterns, hydroperiod, and long-term impacts of flow alterations on forest health and regeneration.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable (conceptual review/synthesis).
• Data sources: Literature review, synthesis of existing research, and global case studies of management strategies.

Main Results

• Anthropogenic alterations such as damming, channelization, water diversions, and land development significantly alter seasonal river flow patterns, exacerbating climate-driven drought impacts on floodplain forests.
• These exacerbated impacts lead to reduced forest area and degraded ecosystem structure and function within floodplain forests.
• A range of innovative management strategies are employed globally to mitigate these impacts, including man-made river connections, variable regulated flows, holistic flow management, diversion weirs, and slough flow restoration.
• The primary objective of these management strategies is to maintain or mimic natural seasonal flow variation, which is crucial for the regeneration and growth of desired floodplain forest vegetation.

Contributions

• Provides a focused synthesis on the anthropogenic contributions to drought impacts specifically within terrestrial floodplain forests, distinguishing it from broader instream river management literature.
• Compiles and categorizes a diverse set of global innovative management strategies designed to restore hydroperiod and mitigate drought impacts in these critical ecosystems.
• Emphasizes the importance of mimicking natural seasonal flow variations as a core principle for effective floodplain forest restoration and management.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Tracy2026Anthropogenic,
  author = {Tracy, John and Sharma, Ajay},
  title = {Anthropogenic contributions to drought impacts in floodplain forests},
  journal = {Elsevier eBooks},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/b978-0-443-44625-2.00005-9},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-44625-2.00005-9}
}