Mississippi River Delta Research Articles

Nitrogen Dynamics of Inundated Sediments in an Emerging Coastal Deltaic Floodplain in Mississippi River Delta Using Isotope Pairing Technique to Test Response to Nitrate Enrichment and Sediment Organic Matter

Nitrate (NO3–) enrichment in rivers over the last four decades has potentially shifted how coastal ecosystems process nitrogen (N). Shifts in N dynamics may be particularly significant in coastal deltaic floodplains when sediments are inundated during river flood stage as this may change the fate of NO3– transported to the coastal ocean. We evaluated the relative importance of denitrification, dissimilative nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) in intact sediment cores of Wax Lake Delta (WLD) using continuous flow-through system. We manipulated this experimental system with two concentrations of riverine NO3– (lower concentration at 5 μM and ambient concentration at 100 μM) to test how nitrate-enriched waters may modify N cycling in coastal deltaic floodplains. Inundated sediments in a coastal deltaic floodplain removed bio-reactive N as a function of sediment organic matter (SOM) concentrations, indicating how N dynamics vary as a result of deltaic succession. Direct denitrification was the dominant N pathway in inundated sediments in WLD, which was several times greater than coupled nitrification-denitrification, DNRA, and anammox. Gross denitrification (direct denitrification + coupled nitrification-denitrification) rates generally increased with SOM concentrations and ranged from 4 to 12 μmol N m–2 h–1 under lower NO3– enrichment (5 μM) and 68 to 276 μmol N m–2 h–1 under higher NO3– enrichment (100 μM). Most of these changes in N fluxes with SOM and NO3– enrichment resulted from the increase in direct denitrification rates rather than coupled nitrification-denitrification rates. DNRA rates varied from 0 to 65 μmol N m–2 h–1, and the relative significance of DNRA increased as a percentage of total NO3– reduction (%DNRA) with increasing ratio of organic carbon to NO3– concentrations (OC/NO3–). Anammox rates increased among sites as SOM increased, but rates were lower from 0.0 to 38 μmol N m–2 h–1. The dominance of direct denitrification and increased anammox rates with SOM concentrations indicate that dynamic deltaic floodplains can permanently remove bio-reactive N in the proximal zone of river deposition of tidal freshwater wetlands.

Muddy foil: a history of extraction and resistance in the lower Mississippi River Delta

ABSTRACT This article considers Mississippi River Mud as an analytic for unruly ontologies and fugitive spaces. Historic discourses around mud—and by extension, muddy spaces—were mapped onto lawless, not-fully-humans who occupied them. They reflected efforts to impose rational order and naturalize a political economy of monoculture, river shipping, and fossil fuels. This episteme, which reduces complex ecologies to agents of capital extraction, has transformed the once alluvial forests and marshlands of south Louisiana into subsiding oil and gas fields, abandoned wells, and eroding canals. An explication of mud by communication scholars ruptures this discourse in imagining alternative ways of living.

Soil quality indices as affected by long‐term burning, irrigation, tillage, and fertility management

AbstractUnderstanding the impacts of long‐term agricultural practices on soil quality (SQ) is key for sustaining agroecosystem productivity. This study investigated conventional and no‐tillage (NT), residue burning and no burning, residue level (high and low), and irrigation (irrigated and dryland) effects on soil properties, SQ, and crop yields following 16 yr of a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] double‐crop system via the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF). A field experiment was conducted in the Lower Mississippi River Delta region on a silt‐loam soil. Bulk density, soil organic C (SOC), total N (TN), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and soil P and K from the 0‐ to 10‐cm soil depth were used as SQ indicators investigated individually and as an overall soil quality index (SQI). Following 16 yr, residue burning reduced SOC (1.1%) compared with no burning (1.24%). Irrigation resulted in greater soil TN than dryland management systems (p < 0.05). Reduced soil pH and extractable soil P and K occurred under NT, high residue, and irrigated treatments. Irrigation increased soybean yields, regardless of the tillage system. Burned, NT–high residue management increased wheat yields (3.45 Mg ha−1). Irrigation reduced SQ because of low EC and K scores. High residue reduced SQ compared with the low residue treatment within NT systems, owing to low pH scores. The SMAF indices identified the impacts of irrigation, NT, and optimal N fertilization on SQ. Monitoring of soil pH, P, and K may be needed to maintain SQ in long‐term wheat–soybean systems.

Investigation of Spatial and Temporal Salinity Distribution in a River Dominated Delta through Idealized Numerical Modelling

The world’s river deltas are increasingly vulnerable due to pressures from human activities and environmental change. In deltaic regions, the distribution of salinity controls the resourcing of fresh water for agriculture, aquaculture and human consumption; it also regulates the functioning of critical natural habitats. Despite numerous insightful studies, there are still significant uncertainties on the spatio-temporal patterns of salinity across deltaic systems. In particular, there is a need for a better understanding of the salinity distribution across deltas’ channels and for simple predictive relationships linking salinity to deltas’ characteristics and environmental conditions. We address this gap through idealized three-dimensional modelling of a typical river-dominated delta configuration and by investigating the relationship between salinity, river discharge and channels’ bifurcation order. Model results are then compared with real data from the Mississippi River Delta. Results demonstrate the existence of simple one-dimensional and analytical relationships describing the salinity field in a delta. Salinity and river discharge are exponentially and negatively correlated. The Strahler-Horton method for stream labelling of the delta channels was implemented. It was discovered that salinity increases with decreasing stream order. These useful relationships between salinity and deltas’ bulk features and geometry might be applied to real case scenarios to support the investigation of deltas vulnerability to environmental change and the management of deltaic ecosystems.

Temporal Occurrence of Plusiinae on Soybean in the Mississippi River Delta.

The subfamily Plusiinae of the moth family Noctuidae is made up 400 species worldwide. Two species of the subfamily, the soybean looper, Chrysodeixis includens (Walker), and the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), are important defoliating insect pests of various field crops and have been the subject of previous Plusiinae surveys in the Southern U.S. Soybean fields were sampled in the Mississippi Delta from 2010 to 2012 to determine the temporal occurrence of various Plusiinae species on soybean. As in previous surveys, C. includens was the most common Plusiinae species in soybean during the 3-yr survey, especially in late season collections (July-September). Rachiplusia ou (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was the predominant species observed in early season collections (May-early July). Populations of R. ou during the first sample dates during 2010 were much higher than those observed during the other years of the survey. Only three collected larvae successfully developed into T. ni adults, one each collected during May, June, and July. Although R. ou was not commonly reported in previous studies on soybean, it occurred in low numbers during June and July during the 3-yr study. The temporal occurrence and species composition followed a predictable pattern in all 3 yr of the study.

Mississippi River Delta: Land Subsidence and Coastal Erosion

The Mississippi River Delta is a major center for transportation, industry, human population and ecosystem services. Critical areas included energy production, navigation, fisheries, flood protection of coastal communities, and restoration of damaged habitats. Complex environmental management in a great river system requires broad-base complex science, engineering and monitoring. A major national and state objective has become the restoration of the Mississippi River Delta that is threatened by subsidence, flooding, storm surges, compaction, oil extraction and gas extraction. The primary objectives of the paper are to document the landscape and geological properties of the Mississippi River Delta which have contributed to the successful resource and economic development of a historically-rich region of North America and to document the natural resource and environmental risks to the Mississippi River Delta. Economic and urban development of the Mississippi River Delta by the oil and gas industry and creation of levees by the USACE has contributed to land subsidence problems. Environmental challenges include land subsidence as a result of the pumping of vast amounts of oil and gas, the lack of sediment deposition in the Mississippi River Delta as a result of a system of levees, coastal erosion impacts of hurricanes, disposal of untreated and treated wastewater, periodic flooding and water pollution.

Coastal Subsidence Due to Faults: Insights from Elevation Profiles of Vehicular Bridges, Southeastern Louisiana, U.S.A.

Hopkins, M.; Lopez, J., and Songy, A., 2022. Coastal subsidence due to faults: Insights from elevation profiles of vehicular bridges, southeastern Louisiana, U.S.A. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(1), 52–65. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Normal faults are common geological structures in the Mississippi River Delta within the underlying thick Cenozoic sedimentary section. Some faults have been identified as active, have deformed artificial features in the past century, and are concurrent with Louisiana's massive loss of coastal wetlands. Subsidence due to vertical motion, or slip, on faults, however, is poorly understood spatially and over decadal to centennial timescales. Therefore, how faults contribute to subsidence and subsequent land loss over these timescales must be considered for coastal wetland restoration efforts. Here, the elevation profiles of seven vehicular bridges that cross five known faults were analyzed to investigate the spatial and temporal behavior of the faults. Bridge elevation profiles are an effective method to analyze these faults over the timescale of interest for several reasons: (1) the bridges are of known age (10–89 y), (2) they were initially constructed horizontally, and (3) they are constructed on a foundation anchored below compacting Holocene sediments. Faults were projected to the surface using subsurface data such as seismic reflection data and well logs, and abrupt vertical offsets in the elevation of the bridges near a known fault are the result of slip. Four of the five faults examined show an offset in the bridges that cross them, and the offsets are largest at the traces. Offset rates, which are interpreted to be fault-slip rates, were calculated utilizing bridge age and the total offset amounts at the traces. Slip rates range from 0.6 ± 0.06 mm/y to 3.2 ± 0.2 mm/y. Restoration project viability may face significant risks from fault-related subsidence. The biggest threat appears to be limited spatially to within hundreds of meters of the faults, however, that risk cannot be totally precluded at greater distances from the faults.

The Place with No Edge: An Intimate History of People, Technology, and the Mississippi River Delta by Adam Mandelman

The Place with No Edge: An Intimate History of People, Technology, and the Mississippi River Delta by Adam Mandelman

Leading at the edge: A roadmap to advance edge of field practices in agriculture

Anyone who has driven cross-country knows one thing: America’s landscape is as diverse as it is beautiful. From the sandy shores of the Atlantic Ocean, rich soils of the Midwest, and flat expanse of the Mississippi River Delta, to the arid deserts of the Southwest and the forests of the Pacific Northwest—the landforms, climates, and resource concerns are different. In order to meet the diverse resource concerns of these landscapes, we need a diverse set of tools from which farmers, ranchers, and landowners can choose.

Aboveground biomass distributions and vegetation composition changes in Louisiana's Wax Lake Delta

The Wax Lake Delta (WLD) is an actively prograding delta in the Mississippi River Delta Plain that is otherwise experiencing widespread degradation and submergence of its coastal wetlands. The WLD is actively accumulating mineral and organic sediment that increases soil surface elevation, changing emergent wetland communities as the young delta develops. There is uncertainty in how the dynamics of community composition respond to net changes in soil elevation and determine aboveground biomass and carbon storage. This study utilizes high resolution imaging spectrometer data captured on October 17, 2016, to map the delta's dominant vegetation species and wetland types. We validated this vegetation map (overall accuracy = 77.62%, Kappa = 0.72) and compared it with a published species map that used WorldView-2 data collected five years earlier on October 16, 2011. This allowed us to map changes resulting from five years of delta development to determine changes in wetland forest species (Salix nigra), two dominant herbaceous wetland species (Colocasia esculenta and Polygonum punctatum), and various grass species. Results show an increase in C. esculenta and a marginal increase in forested wetlands (S. nigra). C. esculenta's expansion occurred largely from the delta island heads toward the fringes into wetland area previously occupied by P. punctatum, which saw a corresponding decline. Additionally, this study leveraged these species distributions with a published aboveground biomass (AGB) dataset to examine the dominant plant types' growth patterns across elevational gradients. We characterized variability in AGB by marsh platform elevation and across different elevational zones categorized by hydroperiod, or hydrogeomorphic zones. We found that the herbaceous plant species peak in AGB in the low intertidal zone and decrease with elevation before increasing slightly in the higher elevations, consistent with previous field-based mesocosm experiments for C. esculenta. With vegetation distributions, succession, and growth patterns in the WLD characterized, this study may inform future restoration efforts throughout the Mississippi River Delta Plain regarding the changing vegetation composition that may emerge following changes in surface elevation with sediment deposition.

Documentation of Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) space use and move persistence in the northern Gulf of Mexico facilitated by angler advocates

AbstractAtlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus, hereafter tarpon) are facing a multitude of stressors and are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN; however, significant gaps remain in our understanding of tarpon space use and movement. From 2018 to 2019, citizen scientists facilitated tagging of 23 tarpon with SPOT tags to examine space use and movement across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Movement‐based kernel densities were used to estimate simplified biased random bridge‐based utilization distributions and a joint move persistence model was used to estimate a behavioral index for each fish. Tarpon showed consistent east–west movement from the Alabama/Florida border to Louisiana, and utilization distributions were highest in the Mississippi River Delta. Move persistence was highest in Alabama and Mississippi and lowest in Louisiana. Our examination of tarpon space use and movement indicates that Louisiana is a critical, yet understudied, part of their range.

Hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA

Barataria Bay is a receiving basin for a large Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion scheme in Louisiana, USA. In this region, data on sediment transport and hydrodynamics are scarce but essential for the design and planning of future sediment diversion and marsh creation. Four months of bottom boundary layer observations were conducted to study winter and spring hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in this coastal bay. Hourly waves, tides, currents, and bottom suspended sediment concentrations were measured using multiple optical and acoustic sensors attached to two tripod platforms. High temporal resolution data indicated that the salinity in the northern bay was mainly controlled by northerly winds, and tidal currents kept the salinity high in the southern bay during the winter cold front season. In spring, frequent, pervasive southerly winds and the westward shelf transport of less saline water emerging from the Mississippi River Delta lowered the salinity in the southern bay. Spectral analysis showed that wave-current combined shear stress played the most critical role in triggering sediment resuspension. The Style-Glenn 1-D bottom boundary layer model was applied in sediment flux calculations, and showed that net sediment transport mainly occurred during cold front passages. During two 3-day cold-front events, southward sediment fluxes accounted for 56% of the total sediment flux during the 35-day winter period, revealing their nonlinear, event-driven, and episodic nature. The direction of the sediment transport generally rotated, and its magnitude changed considerably, when southeasterly winds shifted to intensified northwesterly winds. Long-duration southerly pre-frontal winds facilitated wetland sedimentation by transporting sediment to the northern bay during high water level conditions impacted by flooding spring tides or southerly winds. Conversely, northerly winds during cold fronts dominated bidirectional tidal currents and led to southward net sediment transport and possible escape of sediment from the bay. The timing of diversion openings, the orientation of receiving basins, and dominant wind directions in relation to fetch, as well as the dynamic water levels should be considered in the planning and management of future diversion operations in coastal areas.

The impact of recently excavated dredge pits on coastal hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico shelf

Large volumes of sand are needed in order to combat coastal land loss due to global sea-level rise for restoration of barrier island systems and beaches undergoing rapid erosion and submergence. The sediment required for such projects often originates from dredging of sand deposits on the adjacent shelf. Two dredge pits, with contrasting geology and located at varying distances from the Mississippi River Delta in the northern Gulf of Mexico shelf were sampled during spring and summer. Samples were also collected concurrently from surrounding continental shelf stations that are subject to seasonal hypoxia every summer. The bottom water dissolved O2 inside the dredge pits were found to be consistently hypoxic or near hypoxic throughout both seasons, with high sediment O2 consumption (SOC) rates of 23.7 to 51.8 mmol m−2 d−1 in spring and 34.3 to 51.3 mmol m−2 d−1 in summer. In contrast, control stations immediately outside the dredge pits showed lower SOC rates ranging between 6.3 and 35.9 mmol m−2 d−1. The SOC rates of the surrounding continental shelf subjected to annual seasonal hypoxia ranged between 25.7 and 59.6 mmol m−2 d−1 indicating that the dredge pits experienced similar high rates of SOC. Our results suggest that sluggish water circulation inside these topographic depressions coupled with higher SOC rates does result in persistent low bottom O2 conditions inside these dredge pits well beyond the duration of the seasonal hypoxia period in this region. This is the first study to provide insight on the impacts of dredge pits to surrounding hypoxia in this region which is critical as future dredging operations are expected to increase worldwide with projected sea-level rise.

Simulating hydrological connectivity and water age within a coastal deltaic floodplain of the Mississippi River Delta

Located at the mouth of large rivers, coastal deltaic floodplains are important ecosystems for trapping sediment and removing excess nitrogen introduced to the river through agricultural and urban runoff. Hydrological connectivity (the percent of river channel water interacting with floodplain wetlands), water age (the time elapsed since water entered the system via the main river channel) and water temperature have strong impacts on the biogeochemical processes controlling the fate of sediment and nutrients at continental margins. A Delft3D hydrodynamic model was used to explore the role of river and tide forcings, hydrogeomorphology, and vegetation roughness on hydrological connectivity, water age, and water temperature of a young, prograding river delta in coastal Louisiana, Wax Lake Delta. Across a simulation period of January to June 2015, an average of 39.9% of river flow entered the delta floodplains and water within the floodplains had an average water age of 0.8 days. In winter and spring, floodplain zones with higher sediment surface elevations (supratidal hydrogeomorphic zones) were characterized by increased water age and warmer water temperatures compared to subtidal floodplains and channels. Our experimental models indicate that the presence of wetland vegetation decreases hydrological connectivity by preventing flow of water into deltaic floodplain, but increases water age by retaining water within the floodplains. Despite small amplitudes (~30 cm), tides create hourly exchange between channels and floodplains, which decreases water age in floodplains, but has little impact on average connectivity. Our results emphasize the role of both hydrological forcings (river and tides) and ecosystem features (vegetation and sediment surface elevation) in regulating channel-floodplain interactions in deltaic systems. Evaluated against field data, which is often difficult to collect at high spatial and temporal frequency in floodplains, this model performs well, highlighting the utility of numerical models in capturing landscape-scale hydrodynamics.

Multiple Potential Stressors and Dieback of Phragmites australis in the Mississippi River Delta, USA: Implications for Restoration

In 2016, widespread dieback of Phragmites australis was reported in the Mississippi River Delta (MRD), Louisiana. We conducted two common-garden experiments to investigate several potentially important factors associated with this dieback: scale insects, water depth, fertilization and P. australis genetics (three lineages: Gulf, Delta and invasive EU). Predictions tested were scale abundance is lower in high water, at low fertilization, and for EU; plant biomass is negatively impacted by scales, high water and high fertilization; and EU suffers the least damage from the three potential stressors. Scale abundance was 41% lower in high water and decreased 2.7 fold as fertilization increased. Also, EU had 1.5–2.6 times fewer scales than Gulf, but had similar scale abundance to Delta. Impacts of scales, water depth and fertilizer on plant biomass depended strongly on lineage. Scales reduced biomass of Delta, EU and Gulf by 38%, 32% and 10%, respectively. In comparison, biomass was 30% higher for EU, 46% lower for Gulf and unchanged for Delta in high versus low water. Finally, at high fertilization levels, Gulf produced 57% more biomass than EU. Owing to its greater tolerance to scales and high water, EU may be most suitable for use in restoration of the MRD.

Sediment infilling and geomorphological change of a mud-capped Raccoon Island dredge pit near Ship Shoal of Louisiana shelf

To restore degraded barrier shorelines of the Mississippi River Delta of coastal Louisiana, sand is dredged from high-quality borrow areas on the adjacent continental shelf. This dredging process generally creates a topographic low that facilitates the rapid capture of sediments. Our understanding of sedimentary processes and influences on seabed morphologic evolution is still limited. In this study, Raccoon Island dredge pit in a paleo-river channel on the Louisiana shelf was studied via multiple bathymetric surveys. Physical parameters include pit geometry and topographic change from post-dredging, and infilling sediment sources were analyzed. Raccoon Island pit was 100% filled up less than six years after dredging. The average infilling rate in the Raccoon Island pit was 1.10 m/year from 2013 to 2018. During the surveying period, the pit wall slope decreased by 6.8° within two years. The sediment infilling process in the Raccoon Island pit was likely under the combined influence of topography, wind-driven currents, storm waves, and the dynamic Atchafalaya River dispersal system. The Atchafalaya River reached high discharge in 2016, which likely contributed to a surprisingly high sediment infilling rate at Raccoon Island pit between 2015 and 2018. Raccoon Island pit is in a mixed texture environment in which the sandy pit was fully filled with mud. Mud is useful for marsh restoration but is not considered a quality resource for barrier island or beach restoration. Thus, the Raccoon Island pit is not regarded as a renewable resource for future barrier island restoration.

Spatial and temporal patterns of land loss in the Lower Mississippi River Delta from 1983 to 2016

The Mississippi Delta in coastal Louisiana has some of the highest rates of land loss in the world. This land-loss crisis might become a global problem because most major deltas are expected to be vulnerable to land loss during the remainder of the 21st century and beyond. Despite this predicament, we do not understand how land loss in a deltaic environment proceeds in time and space. Here, we evaluate the spatial and temporal trends of land loss in the Lower Mississippi River Delta (LMRD) region using spatial statistics and landscape metrics. We used nearly 4800 Landsat images to construct a series of three-year cloud-free composites from 1983 to 2016. From these data, we created a stability index (SI), which is a dimensionless measure of the number of land-to-water transitions that a land pixel makes before being considered lost. Our results indicate that on the LMRD, 75% of land loss is a single transition from land to water, while about 25% of land pixels have two or more transitions before being considered lost. Using a local indicator of spatial association, we show that pixels with similar SI tend to cluster together. Single transition clusters (low SI) form elongated shapes, they are densely packed, and they are predominantly, but not always, found on marsh edges. On the other hand, multi-transition clusters (high SI) form square-like shapes, they are more fragmented, and they are usually found in marsh interiors. Our analysis further shows that the land-loss area within the spatial patches with both high and low stability is strongly related to the density of land patches and their shape (R2 of 0.717 and 0.545 respectively). Our analysis suggests that land-loss pixels on the marsh edges undergo different temporal patterns of land loss compared to those in the marsh interior. We hypothesize that this arises because wave edge-erosion drives land loss on marsh edges, whereas subsidence-related flooding drives land loss in marsh interiors. The stability index provides a useful way to characterize the processes causing land loss.

Correction to: “Relationships Between Salinity and Short-Term Soil Carbon Accumulation Rates from Marsh Types Across a Landscape in the Mississippi River Delta”

Correction to: “Relationships Between Salinity and Short-Term Soil Carbon Accumulation Rates from Marsh Types Across a Landscape in the Mississippi River Delta”

Investigating Plant Phenotype, Salinity, and Infestation by the Roseau Cane Scale as Factors in the Die-Back of Phragmites australis in the Mississippi River Delta, USA

Die-back of Phragmites australis in the Mississippi River Delta (MRD), Louisiana, USA, is associated with large populations of nonnative Roseau Cane Scale (RCS), Nipponaclerda biwakoensis. Initial observations suggested different P. australis phenotypes displayed different susceptibilities to scale infestation and die-back, but the role of scale infestation on die-back was unknown. To understand the effect of RCS on P. australis, paired stands of Delta and European phenotypes in the MRD were monitored for stem heights, densities, and scale infestation over two years. A mesocosm experiment was conducted to assess whether RCS abundance and P. australis growth were dependent on water salinity and phenotype. Three Phragmites australis phenotypes were grown in small pools under fresh or mesohaline conditions, and RCS infestated or non-infested treatments. Scale densities were up to 7 times greater on the Delta compared to the European phenotype. Scale infestation resulted in 22%–39% reductions in the proportion of stems with green leaf tissue for all phenotypes, and 12% reduction in stem heights for Delta-type. Salinity was detrimental to all phenotypes, reducing stem heights by 20% compared to freshwater. Our results provide evidence that the RCS can result in die-back symptoms similar to what is observed in the MRD.

Economics over Risk: Flooding Is Not the Only Driving Factor of Migration Considerations on a Vulnerable Coast

We analyzed the migration consideration factors of residents from the Mississippi River Delta in southern Louisiana, which is under the influence of rising sea levels, subsiding land, and increasing flood risks. Through the use of a telephone survey of 1,125 adult individuals in twenty-four parishes, we gathered the demographic data and flood risk experiences and perceptions of each respondent. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, means comparisons, and logistic regression to determine the factors with the highest influence on migration consideration. Results show that 21.5 percent of respondents considered moving, and they were mostly renters, were mostly younger, had experienced flooding before, and were less satisfied with their current living condition. Flood risk was found to be an important deciding factor, but it is not the most important one. Instead, economic opportunities have a greater effect on respondents’ desire to move or stay. The findings provide useful information and insights into the planning and management of a flood-prone region and whether managed retreat or other mitigation measures would be effective.