Pacific Southwest

Title: Sediment Yield From First-Order Streams in Managed Redwood Forests: Effects of Recent Harvests and Legacy Management Practices

Author: O'Connor, M.D.; Perry, C.H.; McDavitt, W.

Date: 2007

Source: In: Standiford, Richard B.; Giusti, Gregory A.; Valachovic, Yana; Zielinski, William J.; Furniss, Michael J., technical editors. 2007. Proceedings of the redwood region forest science symposium: What does the future hold? Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-194. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 431-444

Station ID: GTR-PSW-194

Description: According to the State of California, most of North CoastÂ’s watersheds are impaired by sediment. This study quantified sediment yield from watersheds under different management conditions. Temporary sedimentation basins were installed in 30 randomly chosen first-order streams in two watersheds in Humboldt County, California. Most treatment sites were clearcuts, but two types of clearcut harvest occurred: sites harvested under strict regulations of a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and sites harvested prior to implementation of the HCP. Second-growth stands not recently entered served as the control. Neither geologic substrate nor management were significant predictors of sediment yield. The pre-HCP sites contributed more sediment, but some control sites had sediment yields comparable to these sites. The possible management effect on sediment yield may be influenced by the fact that the HCP sites have experienced only one or two post-harvest winters, while the pre-HCP sites had sediment mobilized in relatively severe winters over a longer post-harvest period. The mean sediment yield from control sites was higher than from HCP sites suggesting that legacy effects of management may be important.

Keywords: erosion and sedimentation, forest management, headwater channels

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Citation

O'Connor, M.D.; Perry, C.H.; McDavitt, W.  2007.  Sediment Yield From First-Order Streams in Managed Redwood Forests: Effects of Recent Harvests and Legacy Management Practices.   In: Standiford, Richard B.; Giusti, Gregory A.; Valachovic, Yana; Zielinski, William J.; Furniss, Michael J., technical editors. 2007. Proceedings of the redwood region forest science symposium: What does the future hold? Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-194. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 431-444.