We have established a long-term study of the bottomland forests located at Arcadia Lake in northeast Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. The lake was constructed during the 1980's and water levels reached conservation pool status in 1987.

The study site is located along the northwest boundary of Arcadia Lake. The site is dominated by black willow, green ash, and cottonwood. Lake elevation is maintained at 1006 ft. Heavy rainfalls increase lake elevation that often results in flooding into this bottomland hardwood forest. The photo above shows the area when the lake is at 1008 ft. The photo below shows the area when the lake is 1007 ft. The highest recorded elevation of the lake occurred in 1995 at 1022 ft.

We originally set out to establish monitoring for emerald ash borer within the stand. As we began observing the dynamics of the system, several other questions came to the forefront about the succession of this stand of trees.

We noted quite a bit of beaver activity, particularly during flooding. We are currently investigating if beaver are selecting for a certain tree diameter. During spring 2018, we found that 30% of our tagged ash had some type of beaver damage. A recent trip in July 2018 found the beavers actively selecting cottonwood following a recent flood. This is different than spring 2018 when we saw almost exclusively ash trees being selected by beavers.

Following a prolonged flood that reached 1008 ft during July 2018, many ash seedlings were inundated with water for nearly 3 weeks. The photos above show ash seedlings starting to grow new leaves after the water receded.