The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of time, land-use history, disturbance, and geomorphology on riparian forest structure and woody diversity. There are four objectives of this study in Northern Missouri floodplain forests. The first is to quantify the effects of time on forest structural and woody species diversity. The second is to examine the effect of previous land-use, disturbance history, and geomorphology on woody plant and structural diversity. The third is to document the effect of succession on the numbers and abundance of individual species and forest structure variables (ie. snags). The fourth is to characterize the disturbance regmine of these communities.