Moist-Soil Management Advisor (MSMA)

The Moist-Soil Management Advisor software provides a tool to assist wetland managers in the development of annual management plans for a moist-soil complex composed of several individual units.  For each unit in the complex, decisions are required concerning time of drawdown in spring, what (if any) manipulations are required to control vegetation or salinity problems, and time of flooding in fall.  From the outset, the goal of the program has been to provide, in a useable format, pertinent biological information necessary to develop an ecologically sound plan for moist-soil management that contributes to the overall habitat objectives of the area.  Accomplishment of such a goal requires: (1) considering important parameters within the context of the moist-soil complex rather than on a unit-by-unit basis, (2) relying on the expertise of the land manager to integrate and determine the applicability of information provided, and (3) ensuring sufficient flexibility in the program to allow all decisions to be made by the user.

Suggestions provided by the Advisor are based on management capabilities of each moist-soil unit and on principles of wetland and waterfowl ecology, including germination and growth requirements of plants, response of vegetation communities to management activities (e.g., water level manipulations, mechanical disturbance), waterbird migration chronology and food/habitat requirements, and habitat objectives.  The required data is input to the system by creating data bases that describe unit conditions, acres of different habitats desired, and management capabilities.  These data bases are updated as necessary to reflect changes in vegetation, water management and vegetation manipulation capability, and habitat objectives.

If you are having trouble with the Moist-Soil Management Advisor, or just have a question about how to use a particular feature, we want to hear from you. Contact us by sending Email to msma_support@usgs.gov. But before you contact us, we ask that you read our list of Frequently Asked Questions - many questions can be answered there!

System Requirements

• 386/486/Pentium computer running Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, or Windows NT
• super VGA graphics card/monitor (800x600 or higher mode required for data entry)
• 4 MB hard disk space
• 4 MB memory for Windows 3.1, 8 MB memory for Windows 95

FORT Software Disclaimer

Download Software

• MSMA.EXE (3.6 MB)
• DATENTRY.EXE (822 KB) - Microsoft Word User's Guide
• CONSULT.EXE (484 KB) - Microsoft Word User's Guide

Also at FORT

• MSMA Frequently Asked Questions
• MSMA Wetland Management Information and Related Links