Forest Harvest Increases Runoff Most during Low Flows in Two Boreal Streams

• To understand how forest harvest influences the aquatic environment, it is essential to determine the changes in the flow regime. This paper presents changes in the hydrological regime during the first 2 y after harvest in two catchments of the Balsjo Catchment Study in Sweden. The changes were judged relative to a reference catchment, calibrated during an 18-mo pretreatment period starting in September 2004. From August 2006 through March 2008, there was an average of 35% more runoff from the harvested catchments relative to the reference. The flow increased most during the growing seasons and at base flows (< 1 mm d(-1); 58-99% increase), followed by dormant season and intermediate flows (30-43%). No significant changes were observed during the highest flows (over 5 mm d(-1)), except for the spring flood a few weeks after harvest, which was delayed and attenuated. Large relative changes in low flow may influence the ecosystem by altering the aquatic habitat

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Annan lantbruksvetenskap -- Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Other Agricultural Sciences -- Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

catchment

central sweden

large basins

oregon

paired intervention analysis

rejection rates

responses

roads

water

western cascades

Earth sciences

Geovetenskap

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vet (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)