Hydrologic Effects of a Changing Forest Landscape (2008) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Forests, Water, and People
1 Forests, Water, and People
Pages 13-22
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 13... ...
The impacted downstream residents filed a lawsuit that claimed timber harvesting, among other headwater land uses, caused or contributed to the devastating flood damage, and the stateappointed Flood Protection Task Force concluded that forest harvesting operations may have affected flood flows, and the major flood risk was associated with logging roads and culvert designs. In both of these cases, as well as many others across the United States, the science of forest hydrology may provide valuable inputs in understanding and resolving these tensions.
|
From page 14... ...
The forest products industry is an important element of the global economy, accounting for approximately $200 billion each year. In the United States, timber harvesting operations produce nearly 400 million cubic meters of wood annually.
|
From page 15... ...
In areas such the western United States that depend on snowpack for seasonal reservoir, the reduction of seasonal snow storage is expected to shift peak runoff earlier in the spring and reduce summer water availability to agriculture and cities. Climate change may increase favorable conditions for forest fires, outbreaks of insects and disease, and changes in forest structure and species composition, producing indirect hydrologic effects.
|
From page 16... ...
overland flow; 5 = subsurface flow, or lateral subsurface flow; 6 = groundwater recharge; 7 = groundwater flow; 8 = saturation excess overland flow; 9 = discharge or streamflow; 10 = evapotranspiration; 11 = precipitation intensity; 12 = peak flow or peak discharge. Although it is not shown, understory vegetation also contributes to these processes.
|
From page 17... ...
. An understanding of these flowpaths and constituents of water quality is needed to predict forest water quantity, quality, and delivery processes in the majestic redwood and Douglas fir forests in the Pacific Northwest, the taiga forests in Alaska, the snow-dominated spruce and pine forests in the Rocky Mountains, or the broad-leafed, deciduous forests in the eastern United States.
|
From page 18... ...
Temporal scales of forest hydrology studies range from days to multiple decades, but many studies examine periods from a single storm event to a few years. The first paired watershed experiment in North America to quantify the hydrologic effects of forest management was conducted by the USFS from 1909 to 1928 in southern central Colorado (Bates and Henry, 1928)
|
From page 19... ...
FORESTS, WATER, AND PEOPLE 19 FIGURE 1-4 Mass movement processes in the forest.
|
From page 20... ...
Bureau of Reclamation and the USFS requested that the WSTB convene a committee to produce a report on the comprehensive understanding of forest hydrology, connections between forest management and attendant quality and quantity of streamflow, and directions for future research and management needs. In early 2006, the WSTB formed the Committee on Hydrologic Impacts of Forest Management, a panel of 14 members with expertise in forest hydrology and ecology, fire ecology, watershed sciences, geomorphology, water quality, and forest management on public and private land ranging from small woodlots to extensive industrial holdings (see Appendix B)
|
From page 21... ...
ions around the United States to gather information and examples for this report and to hear perspectives from forest managers, water supply system managers, and water users on key issues related to forests and water. Scope of the NRC Study The committee produced this report to have maximum application and utility for a diverse audience of scientists, forest and water managers, and citizens in the community.
|
From page 22... ...
include the primary management objectives, ownership patterns, and historic and emerging issues in forests. The state of the science of forest hydrology and the understanding of how forest management activities affect streamflow quantity and quality are assessed and presented in Chapter 3, including general principles and basic processes that have been gleaned from the forest hydrology literature.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.