The Vegetation Communities of the Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge

Here's a link to the just released report from the US Geological Survey on the vegetational communities of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1038/

The study covers plots in the Jameson Island, Lisbon Bottoms, Overton Bottoms, St. Aubert's Island and Boone Crossing Units of the refuge along the Missouri River. The report compiles data collected during bird and aerial photography studies in 2002-07 with a more complete vegetation dataset collected in 2009.

The study was completed by Matthew Struckoff, Keith Grabner and Esther Stroh of USGS and published in March, 2011. 

Some interesting stuff follows the dynamic changes in young cottonwood and willow forests as they mature following their establishment after the 1993 flood, when many areas of the refuge were taken out of agriculture. As the refuge has grown, some flood protection has been removed allowing for substantial annual flooding. This flooding, in just the past few years, has drastically changed some of the "old field" communities into dynamic and diverse ephemeral wetlands and wet prairies. Cool stuff.

Here's the link to the USGS announcement. From there you can download the report and the detailed appendices.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1038/