Pacific Southwest

Title: Predicting Stream Temperature After Riparian Vegetation Removal

Author: McGurk, Bruce J.

Date: 1989

Source: In: Abell, Dana L., Technical Coordinator. 1989. Proceedings of the California Riparian Systems Conference: protection, management, and restoration for the 1990s; 1988 September 22-24; Davis, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-110. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 157-164

Station ID: GTR-PSW-110

Description: Removal of stream channel shading during timber harvest operations may raise the stream temperature and adversely affect desirable aquatic populations. Field work in California at one clearcut and one mature fir site demonstrated diurnal water temperature cycles and provided data to evaluate two stream temperature prediction techniques. Larger diurnal temperature fluctuations were observed in the water flowing through the clearcut than in the undisturbed area above the clearcut site. The mature fir forest also had a large diurnal water temperature variation. A 5.6°C temperature rise was observed through a 380-m clearcut that exposed the stream channel, and Brown's equation predicted a change of 6.1°C. A regression model underpredicted the maximum observed temperature by just under 2°C at the clearcut site. A technique that includes the effect of shade recovery after timber harvest is suggested for use during long-range harvest planning.

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Citation

McGurk, Bruce J.  1989.  Predicting Stream Temperature After Riparian Vegetation Removal.   In: Abell, Dana L., Technical Coordinator. 1989. Proceedings of the California Riparian Systems Conference: protection, management, and restoration for the 1990s; 1988 September 22-24; Davis, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-110. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 157-164.