Wow! Can you believe this rain we’ve been having. This affects everybody. There has already been incredible damage to low lying stuctures. Unfortunate for those that thought the 100 year rain would not come in their lifetime. As we observe damage control, there are several things to consider. A difficult question to answer is “how long will trees tolerate flooding?”. The longer trees are exposed to flooding, the greater the potential for injury, but short periods of flooding can be tolerated by most trees.  An understanding of flooding characteristics effects on soil and trees will help us plan into the future. Flooding during the growing season is usually more harmful than flooding during dormant periods. If flooding is recurrent and the soil stays saturated, then serious damage to trees may occur. A landowner that wants to flood his hardwoods for duck hunting season, needs to be careful not to let the water stand long enough to damage the trees. Certainly, we do not want water standing for any long periods on pine plantations. Strong flooding can cause soil erosion around roots stuctures. Flooding affects the soil in many ways. It reduces the supply of oxygen to the soil and roots. It usually results in  growth inhibition and injury to flooded trees. The deposits of sediments during flooding also contribute to poor soil aeration. It will be a while before riverbottom hay feilds will return to normal production levels. We certainly appreciate a good rain and we need it to survive, but we should use good conservation practises and remember that God is in control.