Characteristic Mid-Atlantic Wetland Type - Winter Wet Woods

Winter wet woods in Delaware. Credit: Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Env'l Control

Winter wet woods are inland, non-tidal wetlands forested by broad-leaved deciduous trees and temporarily flooded. They often support red maple, blackgum, sweetgum, green ash, loblolly pine, and American hornbeam trees, as well as vegetation common to both uplands and coastal plan wetlands. Winter wet woods tend to occur in flat, broad areas between drainage divides, are primarily fed by precipitation, and are characterized by vertical hydrologic regimes. They typically retain snowmelt and spring rains and then discharge to groundwater, often drying up by summer.