Forest road erosion in New Zealand: overview

Fransen, Pieter J. B.; Phillips, Chris; Fahey, B. D.

doi:10.1002/1096-9837(200102)26:2<165::aid-esp170>3.0.co;2-#

Cited by 64 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Harvesting in steep hill country often increases sediment yields with most sediment reaching waterways via run-off from roading activities, landslides, and channel-bed scouring with minor contributions from slope erosion (Fahey and Marden 2006;Fransen et al 2001;Marden et al 2006). For example, there was an eight-fold increase in sediment yields from harvesting in a Hawke's Bay catchment ( Figure 3) and a five-fold increase in sediment yields in Separation Point Granites in Nelson (not graphed), compared with pre-harvest sediment yields (Basher et al 2011;Fahey and Marden 2006).…”

Section: Harvesting and The Post-harvest Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Water quality in New Zealand’s planted forests: a review

Baillie

Neary

2015

N.Z. j. of For. Sci.

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This paper reviewed the key physical, chemical and biological water quality attributes of surface waters in New Zealand's planted forests. The purpose was to: a) assess the changes in water quality throughout the planted forestry cycle from afforestation through to harvesting; b) compare water quality from planted forests with other land uses in New Zealand; and c) identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research. Afforestation of pasture land significantly improved a wide range of water quality attributes such as stream temperature, nutrient and sediment concentrations and microbial contamination within 4-6 years of planting. Water quality in mid-rotation to mature forests, a large proportion of the forestry cycle, was highly variable but characterised by cool water temperatures, low concentrations of sediment and nutrients, with aquatic invertebrate communities indicative of high water quality. Impacts of timber harvesting on water quality attributes were greatest when clear-cut harvesting up to the stream edge. Harvest impacts were mediated by the retention of intact riparian buffers and to a lesser extent by retention of moderate quantities of logging slash across small stream channels. Temporal and spatial factors influenced the magnitude of response to harvesting activities and duration of the recovery period. Land-use comparisons generally showed improving water quality from pasture to planted forest to indigenous forest. Continued research to identify management systems that mitigate impacts on water quality, particularly during harvesting, remains a priority. Consistent approaches to water quality monitoring will improve the ability to report on water quality in planted forests. Future water quality research in New Zealand's planted forests needs to encompass emerging contaminants of national and international concern such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. As New Zealand moves toward increasing productivity from planted forests, use of potential interventions such as intensified herbicide and fertiliser use, will need to be within sustainable freshwater limits. A future challenge is to quantify the economic value of freshwater ecosystems services provided by New Zealand's planted forests. This review showed that with continued prudent stewardship and ongoing improvements in management practices, particularly during harvesting, New Zealand's planted forests can provide a sustainable source of well-maintained and high quality water resources.

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Section: Harvesting and The Post-harvest Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Water quality in New Zealand’s planted forests: a review

Baillie

Neary

2015

N.Z. j. of For. Sci.

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“…Overall, the literature clearly indicates that erosion from skid trails can be a significant source of nonpoint source pollution from forestry operations [2,[46][47][48] and that rates of erosion for different types of skid trail BMPs are warranted in order to evaluate BMP efficacy. This aspect of the problem is addressed by a companion paper [49].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suitability of Soil Erosion Models for the Evaluation of Bladed Skid Trail BMPs in the Southern Appalachians

Vinson

Barrett

Aust

et al. 2017

Forests

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This project measured soil erosion rates from bladed skid trails in the mountains of Virginia following a timber harvest, and compared measured erosion to four erosion model predictions produced by Universal Soil Loss Equation-Forest (USLE-Forest), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, v.2 (RUSLE2), Water Erosion Prediction Project-Road (WEPP-Road) using default files, and WEPP-Road using modified files in order to assess the utility of the models for these conditions. Skid trails were segregated into six blocks where each block had similar trail slopes and soils. Each block contained four skid trail closure treatments: (1) bare soil (Control); (2) residual limbs and tops (Slash); (3) grass seed (Seed); and (4) fertilizer, seed, and straw mulch (Mulch). All treatments had waterbars, the minimum trail closure best management practice (BMP), to provide upslope and downslope borders of experimental units. Site cover characteristics on each experimental unit were collected quarterly as input parameters for erosion models. The suitability of soil erosion models were evaluated based upon statistical summaries, linear relationships with measured erosion rates, Nash-Sutcliffe Model Efficiency, and a nonparametric analysis. Treatments were measured to have erosion rates of 15.2 tonnes ha −1 year −1 (Control), 5.9 tonnes ha −1 year −1 (Seed), 1.1 tonnes ha −1 year −1 (Mulch), and 0.8 tonnes ha −1 year −1 (Slash). It was determined that WEPP-Road: Modified (p-value = 0.643) and USLE-Forest (p-value = 0.307) were the most suitable models given their accuracy; however USLE-Forest may be better for making management decisions given its practicality.

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“…It is then readily available to be washed off during the next high precipitation event, resulting in considerable amounts of sediment and other materials entering the stream [17][18][19]. Other major sources of erosion/runoff in plantation forests include roads (and their sidecast), landing sites, shallow landslides, and channel scouring/gullying [20][21][22]. Similar processes, but at a finer spatial scale, can take place with intensive grazing [23][24][25], particularly where rotational paddocks are cyclically grazed to bare ground and left to recover.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear Changes in Land Cover and Sediment Runoff in a New Zealand Catchment Dominated by Plantation Forestry and Livestock Grazing

Kamarinas

Julian

Hughes

et al. 2016

Water

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Land cover can change frequently on intensively managed landscapes, affecting water quality across different spatiotemporal scales. Multi-resolution datasets are necessary in order to assess the extent and trends of these changes, as well as potential cross-scale interactions. In this study, both spatial and temporal analyses of land disturbance (i.e., soil exposure from vegetation removal) and water quality were performed on datasets ranging from daily to yearly time scales. Time-series analyses of land disturbance were compared against the water quality variables of total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, and visual clarity for the Hoteo River catchment on the North Island of New Zealand for the 2000-2013 period. During forest harvest and recovery phases, exotic forests were the dominant disturbance, up to five times the area of grassland disturbance; while after recovery, grasslands assumed the dominant role, for up to 16 times the area of forest disturbance. Time-series of TSS from field sampling (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013) and TSS-event analyses (2012-2014) displayed distinct nonlinear patterns, suggesting that after major events, sediment that is stored in the landscape is exhausted and a period of sediment build-up follows until the next major event. Time-series analyses also showed a connection between trends in connected land disturbance and visual water clarity, with connected disturbance having the potential to be a water quality indicator. Future research should be conducted at even finer spatiotemporal scales over longer periods in order to identify effects of localized land disturbances on downstream water quality.

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Forest road erosion in New Zealand: overview

Cited by 64 publications

References 10 publications

Water quality in New Zealand’s planted forests: a review

Water quality in New Zealand’s planted forests: a review

Suitability of Soil Erosion Models for the Evaluation of Bladed Skid Trail BMPs in the Southern Appalachians

Nonlinear Changes in Land Cover and Sediment Runoff in a New Zealand Catchment Dominated by Plantation Forestry and Livestock Grazing

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