Once floods are past, recovery can be a slow process. Flooding forces a host of external and internal changes onto trees. A clearer understanding of how trees react to, and how their essential resources are changed by flooding can help us better care for trees. A flood is the saturation and inundation of soil with water. The water can be stagnant and standing, or rapidly flowing.
Floods can occur in the cold, dormant winter period or at the height of hot summer weather.
Floods can be quick, passing in days, or may be part of a long-term change in the environment lasting for several years. Floods can be from fresh water flows above and below ground, or from salt water tides and storm surges. Tree survival of floods depends upon many attributes of the tree, site and flood. There is no single kind of flood, or flood damage. In this article, only temporary fresh water inundations and associated tree damage will be reviewed.