Monday, 7 November 2005 - 7:25 PM

Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Agricultural and Wetland Soils of South Louisiana and Remediation Considerations.

Robert Gambrell, Wetlands Biogeochemistry Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 00000

Hurricane Katrina severely impacted southeastern Louisiana (and neighboring Mississippi) agricultural and wetland areas in late August, and about a month later high waters associated with Hurricane Rita caused flooding all across south Louisiana and coastal regions of east Texas. In southeastern Louisiana, especially hard hit were citrus and cattle operations and everything else south of New Orleans to near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Essentially all of the communities, agricultural, and pasture land in this area were protected by levees and pumping stations that offered inadequate protection during the storm, then helped contribute to extended retention of the salty flood waters after the storm. In southwestern Louisiana, the salt water surge affected substantial areas used for rice and sugar cane production and pasture land. Natural coastal wetlands were subjected to substantial erosion, saltwater intrusion to freshwater wetlands, and a few unusual physical perturbations. It is too early to predict the degree of possible remediation and recovery in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes (east and south of New Orleans) where already very low land continues to subside, a process accelerated in many areas by the levee and pump system for flood protection. Citrus groves flooded with salt water will not recover. There are other, decades-old examples in this region of south Louisiana where large agricultural tracts developed in wetlands have been flooded and have never been restored. Much of the slightly higher wetlands and agricultural land in southwest Louisiana should recover substantially within a reasonably short time. This presentation will focus on selected examples of impacts and prospects for recovery.

Back to The Impact and Aftermath--Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Back to Z15 Special Session: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Back to The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 6-10, 2005)