Patterns of Riparian and In-stream Large Woody Debris Across Contrasting Stand Ages in a Southern Appalachian Forest

Patterns of Riparian and In-stream Large Woody Debris Across Contrasting Stand Ages in a Southern Appalachian Forest PDF Author: Rebekah Pine
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Book Description
Large woody debris (LWD) has been credited as an important structural and functional component of riparian and in-stream ecosystems. LWD that recruits from riparian zones into stream bankfull margins is crucial in understanding the connectivity between the two ecosystems. The amount of riparian zone and in-stream LWD is closely linked to the time since last disturbance and successional patterns following that disturbance or disturbance events. However, this relationship is poorly understood in southern Appalachian landscapes. I analyzed the amount and volume of LWD in stands of contrasting establishment ages in the Sipsey Wilderness of the Bankhead National Forest, Alabama and the large woody debris loading in streams that were contained within three establishment classes. The establishment classes span 60 years (pre-1900s to 1950s) and incorporate three stages of forest development: stem exclusion, understory reinitiation, and understory reinitiation that is transitioning into complex. The most often cited pattern of LWD loading across forest ages is a parabola shape. However the abundance and volume of LWD across the establishment classes in the study area followed a bell shape pattern with the highest amount and volume of riparian zone LWD in the 1930s age class. In this establishment class mean volume of LWD per plot was 5.62 m3 ± 1.17 SE compared to 4.26 m3 ± 0.60 SE in the pre-1900s establishment class and 5.09 m3 ± 0.59 SE in the 1950s establishment class. Mean density and mean volume of riparian zone LWD per plot did not significantly differ across the chronosequence. The mean volume of in-stream LWD followed the same bell shape pattern with the highest mean volume of in-stream LWD per plot also occurring in the 1930s establishment class (2.50 m3 ± 0.72 SE). However, there was no significant difference in the density or volume of in-stream LWD across the chronosequence. Not only does this study provide specific LWD abundance and volume for specific stand ages but it also can provide baseline data for mature Quercus stands. In addition, my research begins to explore how stand dynamics influences LWD in a southern Appalachian system.

Patterns of Riparian and In-stream Large Woody Debris Across Contrasting Stand Ages in a Southern Appalachian Forest

Patterns of Riparian and In-stream Large Woody Debris Across Contrasting Stand Ages in a Southern Appalachian Forest PDF Author: Rebekah Pine
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Book Description
Large woody debris (LWD) has been credited as an important structural and functional component of riparian and in-stream ecosystems. LWD that recruits from riparian zones into stream bankfull margins is crucial in understanding the connectivity between the two ecosystems. The amount of riparian zone and in-stream LWD is closely linked to the time since last disturbance and successional patterns following that disturbance or disturbance events. However, this relationship is poorly understood in southern Appalachian landscapes. I analyzed the amount and volume of LWD in stands of contrasting establishment ages in the Sipsey Wilderness of the Bankhead National Forest, Alabama and the large woody debris loading in streams that were contained within three establishment classes. The establishment classes span 60 years (pre-1900s to 1950s) and incorporate three stages of forest development: stem exclusion, understory reinitiation, and understory reinitiation that is transitioning into complex. The most often cited pattern of LWD loading across forest ages is a parabola shape. However the abundance and volume of LWD across the establishment classes in the study area followed a bell shape pattern with the highest amount and volume of riparian zone LWD in the 1930s age class. In this establishment class mean volume of LWD per plot was 5.62 m3 ± 1.17 SE compared to 4.26 m3 ± 0.60 SE in the pre-1900s establishment class and 5.09 m3 ± 0.59 SE in the 1950s establishment class. Mean density and mean volume of riparian zone LWD per plot did not significantly differ across the chronosequence. The mean volume of in-stream LWD followed the same bell shape pattern with the highest mean volume of in-stream LWD per plot also occurring in the 1930s establishment class (2.50 m3 ± 0.72 SE). However, there was no significant difference in the density or volume of in-stream LWD across the chronosequence. Not only does this study provide specific LWD abundance and volume for specific stand ages but it also can provide baseline data for mature Quercus stands. In addition, my research begins to explore how stand dynamics influences LWD in a southern Appalachian system.

Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests

Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1422345688
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests

Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biodiversity
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Modeling Large Woody Debris Recruitment for Small Streams of the Central Rocky Mountains

Modeling Large Woody Debris Recruitment for Small Streams of the Central Rocky Mountains PDF Author: Don C. Bragg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Riparian forests
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
As our understanding of the importance of large woody debris (LWD) evolves, planning for its production in riparian forest management is becoming more widely recognized. This report details the development of a model (CWD, version 1.4) that predicts LWD inputs, including descriptions of the field sampling used to parameterize parts of the model, the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the model's structure, and a case study of CWD's application to a stream in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Estimating Large Woody Debris Recruitment from Adjacent Riparian Areas

Estimating Large Woody Debris Recruitment from Adjacent Riparian Areas PDF Author: Kathleen P. Minor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Large woody debris recruitment to streams from adjacent riparian forests influences stream channel morphology, sediment routing, and fish habitat. A mathematical model was developed to 1) determine whether the trees in a stand adjacent to a stream, upon falling, would provide large woody debris of a specified size to the stream and 2) determine the volume of trees, upon falling, that reach a stream over a specific time period. The model considered stand and topographic parameters such as tree size, tree form, distance from the stream, hill slope gradient, stream gradient, stream width, riparian buffer width, and basal area of the stand. The likelihood that a tree of a specified size will reach the channel is the probability the tree will fall in a given direction evaluated at 1 degree azimuths from 0 to 360 degrees multiplied by the probability it is tall enough to reach the stream. Volume estimates were calculated by multiplying estimated tree volumes by the joint probabilities. A test riparian polygon comprised of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii {Mirb.] Franco) was selected to illustrate how the model predicts large woody debris recruitment of both key pieces and volume to an adjacent stream. Estimating large woody debris recruitment to streams from adjacent riparian stands over several decades may be useful in determining effectiveness of various configurations of riparian buffers and provide assistance in the prediction of the future quality of aquatic and terrestrial habitats in riparian zones. This model provides one way to estimate where large wood is coming from within a riparian leave area and could be useful in determining necessary widths for riparian areas that are intended to provide large woody debris recruitment over time.

Coarse Woody Debris in an Age Sequence of Southern Appalachian Forests

Coarse Woody Debris in an Age Sequence of Southern Appalachian Forests PDF Author: Peter R. Kapeluck
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Coarse woody debris
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Specific Gravity of Coarse Woody Debris for Some Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest Species

Specific Gravity of Coarse Woody Debris for Some Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest Species PDF Author: M. B. Adams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest litter
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Postharvest Windthrow and Recruitment of Large Woody Debris in Riparian Buffers

Postharvest Windthrow and Recruitment of Large Woody Debris in Riparian Buffers PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Large woody debris (LWD) is an important component of forest ecosystems and provides structural complexity to small streams. Riparian buffers are intended to provide long term supplies of LWD, but post harvest windthrow often occurs. To document the impacts of windthrow in riparian buffers and identify the components needed for small stream LWD recruitment modeling, I sampled 39 small streams at the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest (MKRF) and on Vancouver Island. I took two basic approaches. In the small stream experiment at MKRF a series of small clearcuts were harvested in 1998 in a 70 year old second growth stand. I measured LWD in 10m and 30m buffer treatments, and in the unharvested control. I added samples in mature and old-growth stands for comparison. In the second approach, I retrospectively sampled buffers that were exposed by harvesting from 0-20yrs ago on southwestern and northeastern Vancouver Island. In both studies, all logs greater than 7.5 cm diameter at mid-creek, in decay class 1 to 4 that spanned at least part of stream channel width were measured. There was no significant difference in the number of spanning and in-creek logs in 10m and 30m buffer given the short term monitoring of woody debris in the buffers. The majority of windthrown trees were still suspended above the stream channel years after a windthrow event. The height above stream was negatively correlated with log decay class and the buffer age class. The number of logs was higher in immature stands than mature stands. As the stems per hectare in riparian stands increases, so does the frequency of spanning LWD. The frequency of logs in decay classes 3 and 4 was higher in older buffers, and deciduous LWD decayed more quickly than conifers. Interestingly, the log length was found to be shorter in advance stage of decay. Key elements in a conceptual model of LWD recruitment via windthrow are the geometry of initial log position, log size, species and decay rate.

Riparian Areas

Riparian Areas PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309082951
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.

Coarse Woody Debris and Nutrient Dynamics in a Southern Appalachian Spruce-fir Forest

Coarse Woody Debris and Nutrient Dynamics in a Southern Appalachian Spruce-fir Forest PDF Author: Anita Kristine Rose
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description