Fast-growing forest management to regulate the balance between wood production and water supply

Abstract

Increasingly, fast-growing forest plantations are able to support the wood supply but may simultaneously reduce water availability. The trade-off between wood production and water supply is more evident in areas with low water availability, high seasonal variation, or high water demand from local communities. The management regime adopted in forest plantations can either increase or reduce this trade-off. Thus, we assess herein the water and wood supply under different fast-growing forest plantation management regimes to understand how forest management practices can balance the provision of these services. The study was conducted at two catchments with a predominance of fast-growing forest plantations, namely, the mosaic management catchment (MMC) and the intensive management catchment (IMC). Rainfall and streamflow were monitored for three water years. Hydrological indexes were calculated to assess the hydrological regime of both catchments, and make inventories of the forest to assess forest growth rates. MMC had streamflow coefficients, baseflow index and baseflow stability higher than those of IMC. Mean annual wood increment was 32.73 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 in MMC, with a mean age of 15 years, and 44.40 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 in IMC at coppice in the second year. MMC hydrological indexes remained stable over the period studied, while in IMC the hydrological indexes were affected by climatic variations, mainly in drier years. MMC showed potential for supplying both water and wood. However, in IMC there was a trade-off between wood supply at the expense of the water supply. Thus, the intensity of fast-growing management can be adjusted to achieve a balance between water and wood supply on a catchment scale.

The medium‐term effects of forest operations on a mixed broadleaf forest: Changes in soil properties and loss of nutrients

“…This finding is consistent with Jourgholami and Labelle (2020), who reported that sediment yield was significantly higher in the skid trails as compared to unharvested stands, highlighting how the direct effects of the machinery traffic, leading to increased soil bulk density and lower porosity, is generally the most impactful component of forest management. Previous studies revealed that forest management activities such as timber harvesting and forest road construction contributed to increased sediment yield (Cassiano et al, 2022; Shah et al, 2022).…”