Hydrological effects of clear-cutting in a boreal forest – Snowpack dynamics, snowmelt and streamflow responses

Schelker, Jakob; Kuglerová, Lenka; Eklöf, Karin; Bishop, Kevin; Laudon, Hjalmar

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.01.015

Cited by 75 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…The somewhat steeper slopes in C34 than the other two catchments could contribute to the increase in runoff after clear-cutting (Kreutzweiser et al 2008). Furthermore, in boreal catchments, where a considerable part of annual runoff takes place in spring, there are large interannual variations in snowmelt and streamflow responses after clear-cutting, with some years showing an increased runoff and others showing no effect (Ide et al 2013;Schelker et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussion Differences Between Catchmentsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Clear-cutting can considerably change water and nutrient fluxes of forested catchments (Kreutzweiser et al 2008). The removal of trees reduces interception and transpiration, which, in turn, increase ground water levels, runoff, and peak flows (Lundin 1979;Bosch and Hewlett 1982;Rosén et al 1996;Sørensen et al 2009;Schelker et al 2013). Nutrients are susceptible to leaching after clear-cutting because nutrient uptake by vegetation is minor Palviainen et al 2005), large amounts of nutrients are released from logging residues (Palviainen et al 2004) and nitrification and mineralization in the soil may increase (Paavolainen and Smolander 1998;Smolander et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Suspended Solids Loads from Forest Clear-Cutting and Site Preparation: Long-Term Paired Catchment Studies from Eastern Finland

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2013

AMBIO

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The long-term impacts of current forest management methods on surface water quality in Fennoscandia are largely unexplored. We studied the long-term effects of clear-cutting and site preparation on runoff and the export of total nitrogen (total N), total organic nitrogen (TON), ammonium (NH 4 -N), nitrate (NO 3 -N), total phosphorus (total P), phosphate (PO 4 -P), total organic carbon, and suspended solids (SS) in three paired-catchments in Eastern Finland. Clear-cutting and soil preparation were carried out on 34 % (C34), 11 % (C11), and 8 % (C8) of the area of the treated catchments and wide buffer zones were left along the streams. Clear-cutting and soil preparation increased annual runoff and total N, TON, NO 3 -N, PO 4 -P, and SS loads, except for SS, only in C34. Runoff increased by 16 % and the annual exports of total N, TON, NO 3 -N, and PO 4 -P by 18, 12, 270, and 12 %, respectively, during the 14-year period after clear-cutting. SS export increased by 291 % in C34, 134 % in C11, and 16 % in C8 during the 14, 6, and 11-year periods after clear-cutting. In the C11 catchment, NO 3 -N export decreased by 12 %. The results indicate that while current forest management practices can increase the export of N, P and SS from boreal catchments for many years ([10 years), the increases are only significant when the area of clear cutting exceeds 30 % of catchment area.

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Section: Discussion Differences Between Catchmentsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Suspended Solids Loads from Forest Clear-Cutting and Site Preparation: Long-Term Paired Catchment Studies from Eastern Finland

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2013

AMBIO

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“…The mentioned study also showed that burning and pine beetle impacts affect more peak flows than seasonal runoff volumes (by up to 25%). The effect of clear-cutting is documented by Schelker et al (2013) for a catchment in northern Sweden. They observed that the SWE increased after clear-cutting by 30%, snowmelt occurred earlier and spring flood runoff increased significantly in some years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canopy structure and topography effects on snow distribution at a catchment scale: Application of multivariate approaches

Jeníček

Pevná

Matějka

2017

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

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Abstract:The knowledge of snowpack distribution at a catchment scale is important to predict the snowmelt runoff. The objective of this study is to select and quantify the most important factors governing the snowpack distribution, with special interest in the role of different canopy structure. We applied a simple distributed sampling design with measurement of snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) at a catchment scale. We selected eleven predictors related to character of specific localities (such as elevation, slope orientation and leaf area index) and to winter meteorological conditions (such as irradiance, sum of positive air temperature and sum of new snow depth). The forest canopy structure was described using parameters calculated from hemispherical photographs. A degree-day approach was used to calculate melt factors. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis and Spearman rank correlation were applied to reduce the number of predictors and to analyze measured data. The SWE in forest sites was by 40% lower than in open areas, but this value depended on the canopy structure. The snow ablation in large openings was on average almost two times faster compared to forest sites. The snow ablation in the forest was by 18% faster after forest defoliation (due to the bark beetle). The results from multivariate analyses showed that the leaf area index was a better predictor to explain the SWE distribution during accumulation period, while irradiance was better predictor during snowmelt period. Despite some uncertainty, parameters derived from hemispherical photographs may replace measured incoming solar radiation if this meteorological variable is not available.

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“…Most of these studies have identified immediate increases in runoff and sediment production (Bosch and Hewlett, 1982;Brown et al, 2005;Hibbert, 1983;Hornbeck et al, 1993;Sahin and Hall, 1996). However, in basins where water yield depends mainly on snow accumulation and melt, researchers have reported high variability and uncertainty tied to site-specific topography, forest structure and microclimatic conditions (Cline et al, 1977;Lundquist et al, 2013;Schelker et al, 2013;Stottlemyer and Troendle, 2001;Troendle and Reuss, 1997;Venkatarama, 2014;Woods et al, 2006). Multiple authors have found a direct relationship between thinning, snow interception reduction and ablation increase (Link and Marks, 1999;Lundquist et al, 2013;Varhola et al, 2010;Venkatarama, 2014).…”

Section: H a Moreno Et Al: Hydrologic Effects Of Forest Thinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the distributed effects of forest thinning on the long-term water balance and streamflow extremes for a semi-arid basin in the southwestern US

Moreno

Gupta

White

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. To achieve water resource sustainability in the water-limited southwestern US, it is critical to understand the potential effects of proposed forest thinning on the hydrology of semi-arid basins, where disturbances to headwater catchments can cause significant changes in the local water balance components and basinwise streamflows. In Arizona, the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) is being developed with the goal of restoring 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine along the Mogollon Rim. Using the physically based, spatially distributed triangulated irregular network (TIN)-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator (tRIBS) model, we examine the potential impacts of the 4FRI on the hydrology of Tonto Creek, a basin in the Verde-Tonto-Salt (VTS) system, which provides much of the water supply for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Long-term (20-year) simulations indicate that forest removal can trigger significant shifts in the spatiotemporal patterns of various hydrological components, causing increases in net radiation, surface temperature, wind speed, soil evaporation, groundwater recharge and runoff, at the expense of reductions in interception and shading, transpiration, vadose zone moisture and snow water equivalent, with south-facing slopes being more susceptible to enhanced atmospheric losses. The net effect will likely be increases in mean and maximum streamflow, particularly during El Niño events and the winter months, and chiefly for those scenarios in which soil hydraulic conductivity has been significantly reduced due to thinning operations. In this particular climate, forest thinning can lead to net loss of surface water storage by vegetation and snowpack, increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems and populations to larger and more frequent hydrologic extreme conditions on these semi-arid systems.

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Hydrological effects of clear-cutting in a boreal forest – Snowpack dynamics, snowmelt and streamflow responses

Cited by 75 publications

References 72 publications

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Suspended Solids Loads from Forest Clear-Cutting and Site Preparation: Long-Term Paired Catchment Studies from Eastern Finland

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Suspended Solids Loads from Forest Clear-Cutting and Site Preparation: Long-Term Paired Catchment Studies from Eastern Finland

Canopy structure and topography effects on snow distribution at a catchment scale: Application of multivariate approaches

Modeling the distributed effects of forest thinning on the long-term water balance and streamflow extremes for a semi-arid basin in the southwestern US

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