Flood Ecology

Flooding is a condition in which the terrestrial surface, streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands can no longer hold the discharge of water, and the excess water spreads out to the adjoining structures. Often such spreads bring ecological, environmental, economic, and societal destruction and disaster. Therefore flooding, as one of the major destructive natural disturbances in general, comes with a negative connotation. Although flooding can happen in a multitude of ways, from an ecological point of view, low to mild natural flooding (“regular flooding”) is a natural process in many terrestrial and transition zones (e.g., coastal transitions), provides several ecosystem services, and is an essential factor affecting the structure, function, and the health of coastal and riverine ecosystems, including floodplains. For instance, regular or predictable flooding is significant to maintaining healthy floodplain soils and vegetation that provide multiple resources to surrounding communities. However, the extent, intensity, direction, timing, and duration of flooding in a landscape would determine the ecological functions versus disaster. This article focuses on historical to recent literature on flooding ecology, types of flooding, and effects of flooding on different components of natural ecosystems. Because flooding ecology and its impact on agriculture and humanity deserve their separate bibliography, this bibliography deals only with the human and socioeconomic aspects of flooding.