Clearing new ground

I have a couple of areas on my property that have trees that are very likely, not of benefit to the overall system. There is one area in particular depicted below, where I have a number of perennial weeds, willow, alder, poplar. They are at the very southern end of the property, wrapping around the south and west sides of an area that I believe it going to be best suited to forest garden / zone 3 & 4. It is shaded by the aforementioned trees for all or much of the day, even in summer.

So clear the trees, job done? Not quite - this area is quite saturated, as we are in the bottom of a valley, with a river running on our southern boundary. As such I am concerned as whilst they don't serve the landscape that might be coming, they likely do a reasonable job of holding soil together and drinking up alot of that saturation at the wettest times of the year. Repurposing these shade creators as woodchips and ensuring solar access to the area inevitably means running a gauntlet of the area being over saturated, while new trees try to establish.
I'm looking at cover cropping with possibly some minor earthworks this year and moving towards planting next year.

Any resources or tips on how to manage an area and process like this?

I don't see the need to cover crop. You could just plant now.
You can build ditches off contour to drain the soil and quickly channel it to the river.
The soil from the ditches could build mounts, and you could plant trees in those mounts.

I would avoid the following trees: apple, peach, European pear, non-native grapes, but there is another 4 dozen fruiting/nut plants that are available.

MJ,

My 2 cents would be to leave the trees in place as a guard against erosion.  Perhaps you could trim a bit to let in more light and improve your view.

Just my 2 cents,

Eric

Hi MJ,

I might consider whether the trees currently there are the type that are adapted to the soil, it’s structure, and the general sogginess and intermittent flooding. Will cutting those trees down destabilize the bank and lead to further erosion and flooding?  Is the existing soil of the type that the trees I want to plant will survive/thrive?  Is it too soggy, and will result in root rot?  

Those are the just the questions that come to my mind based on the description and pictures - there may be other factors you are considering.

Thats a great idea, pollard the trees. You get woodchip, and more sunlight but get to keep the root.
Plant your food forest, then after a few years you can completely cut down the willow/poplar trees if you still see the need.