Hydrologic Effects of a Changing Forest Landscape (2008) / Chapter Skim
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5 Recommendations for Forests and Water in the Twenty-First Century
5 Recommendations for Forests and Water in the Twenty-First Century
Pages 95-112
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From page 95... ...
Recommendations for scientists to meet water and forest needs fall into three categories: maintaining and enhancing watershed studies, incorporating emerging technologies in research, and developing models for addressing management needs in an uncertain future. Maintaining and Enhancing Small Watershed Studies The combination of small watershed and process studies has built a solid foundation of forest hydrology science (Stednick et al., 2004)
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From page 96... ...
Maintaining existing small watershed studies and reestablishing data collection at abandoned sites could help address key questions about the long-term hydrologic effects of forest change and conversions. Resurrected monitoring and data collection activities could provide information on measurable hydrologic effects at abandoned experimental watersheds and monitoring stations that have experienced fires or insect infestations since data collection ceased.
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From page 97... ...
New analyses of the various data in this collective dataset could treat the entire collection of small watershed data as a "meta-experiment." This meta-experiment would require a new approach to data analysis and could be structured to address some of the research and management questions that span large spatial scales or long time periods. Using the data in this way could extend the familiar individual, small watershed studies to better understand connections between changing forest processes and watershed responses.
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From page 98... ...
distributed sensor networks, and (3) geographic information systems (GIS)
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From page 99... ...
Current efforts to establish and test sensor networks are focusing on the plot or small watershed scale, but they are not yet being implemented at larger spatial scales. Still, sensor networks hold promise and possibilities to greatly improve understanding of hydro-ecologic processes at fine scales.
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From page 100... ...
Recommendations for Emerging Technologies • Scientists should refine GIS, remote sensing, and sensor networks to increase understanding and prediction accuracy of hydrologic responses at large watershed scales. • Forest hydrologists should be trained to understand and use new GIS, remote sensing, and sensor network tools for forest hydrology applications or should develop effective collaborations with specialists.
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From page 101... ...
The research needs for advancing forest hydrology science include understanding longterm and landscape-scale hydrologic effects of fire and fire suppression, climate change, and cumulative watershed effects (see Chapter 4)
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From page 102... ...
require the management of nonpoint sources of water pollution from sources including forest-related activities. BMPs have been developed to guide forest landowners, other land managers and timber harvesters toward voluntary compliance with this act.
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From page 103... ...
Recommendations for Managers to Assist the Evolution of BMPs • Managers should catalogue individual or agency BMP use, design, and goals at the national level and make this information available to the public; • Managers should undertake monitoring to measure effectiveness of individual BMPs as well as cumulative effects of BMPs; and • Managers should coordinate these monitoring results with regional state, federal, or citizens groups to assist in the evolution of BMPs in an adaptive management framework. Adaptive Management Adaptive management is an approach to natural resources management that promotes carefully designed management actions, assessment of the impact of these actions, and subsequent policy adjustments.
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From page 104... ...
or to incorporate monitoring results into an adaptive management design. Recommendations for Managers in Adaptive Management • Managers should design adaptive management approaches for forested watersheds that coordinate management, research, monitoring, and modeling efforts; • Managers should work with scientists to formulate adaptive management experiments and strategies that assess the effectiveness of current forest management practices relative to contemporary issues at both the local project scale and the large watershed scale; and • Managers should establish rigorous, consistent monitoring programs, analyze the data collected, and use these data to adapt their management.
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From page 105... ...
Cumulative watershed effects, changes in land ownership, changing population and development patterns, and water supply concerns have spurred local efforts to reconnect watershed hydrology and land use from the community and grass-roots level. New community-level watershed councils and forest groups are proactive in watershedbased and locally driven restoration and management in some areas.
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From page 106... ...
The complex circumstances in this case illustrate the challenges of identifying and disentangling the direct effects of forest management on hydrologic processes from the indirect and interacting effects of storm size, precipitation, and wind speeds. problems; and (5)
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From page 107... ...
These new community groups can provide a basis for integrated watershed management that involves a variety of existing institutions responsible for water supply and land management. Community groups would not replace the technical expertise represented by agencies, but they could help initiate and direct management and restoration actions within watersheds.
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From page 108... ...
• Citizens should participate in management and restoration actions within watersheds. Community Engagement with Industry and Federal Agencies "Green certification" for sustainable forest management provides another incentive for forest managers to address water quantity and quality issues.
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From page 109... ...
The current forest landscape is dynamic due to changing demographics, climate patterns, land use and ownership, and the increased demand for water. Forest science and management are adapting as the land uses and land ownership within forested watersheds become more heterogeneous, changes in climate and its effects are becoming more evident, and it is easier to visualize cumulative watershed effects over larger spatial scales and longer periods of time.
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From page 110... ...
TABLE 5-1 Current Understanding, Research Needs, and Recommendations for Sustaining Water Supplies from Forests 110 Information Gaps and Research Current Understanding Recommended Actions Needs Science The body of forest hydrology science Hydrologic effects of past Enhance, maintain, and reestablish derives from almost 100 years of management, such as fire abandoned small watershed studies at small spatial and time suppression, clear-cutting, roads studies scales Ways to quantify hydrologic Combine existing data from the large Forest hydrology science has responses at larger spatial and body of small watershed studies established general principles that temporal scales and analyze them for large-scale are understood with a high degree Ways to scale up findings from small trends as a meta-experiment of certainty describing direct spatial and short time scales to Use new technologies, including hydrologic effects of forest larger spatial and longer time sensor networks and remote management and disturbance scales sensing, to improve understanding Effects can be understood through Use general principles to predict of forest hydrology in changing changes in indirect hydrologic responses to landscapes • Forest structure changes in forest landscapes and Engage in adaptive management to • Magnitudes, rates, and flowpaths interacting responses to forest help managers and community • Erosion, nutrient cycling, and soil management and disturbance groups design monitoring chemistry strategies, develop and test models, and conduct studies Reduced forest cover results in relevant to management increased water yield that is • Generally short-lived • Greatest during times of water excess rather than water scarcity • Small or undetectable in water scarce areas • May be associated with a decline in water quality Management Forests in the United States are Assessment of BMP effectiveness Advance BMP evolution by managed for a wide range of goals Principles and practices of adaptive rigorously assessing and and objectives: timber harvesting, management developing new BMPs and
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From page 111... ...
road networks and road measuring their effectiveness construction, high-severity At the federal level, provide wildfires, and exurban sprawl sustained support for adaptive modify forest hydrology management activities, enabling Forest management practices are managers to partner with scientists evolving in response to to design and implement environmental change, social and monitoring, develop and test economic forces, and technological models, and conduct studies developments relevant to management issues BMPs are used to mitigate impacts Increase role of agency technical on water resources from forest expertise in watershed councils management activities Community Integrated watershed management How watershed councils and their Use watershed councils to meet is a viable vehicle for both stakeholders view and utilize forest multiple goals of integrated community groups and state and hydrology science and scientific watershed management at the federal agencies to help manage expertise from federal agencies community level water and forest resources at the How industry-sponsored green Expand the number and influence of community scale certification and federal forest watershed councils. Citizens groups can influence local stewardship contracts affect water Engage in adaptive management and integrated watershed quantity and quality from forests with scientists and managers management Community watershed groups benefit from state and federal agency technical expertise Existing laws can be used to strengthen the standing and influence of watershed councils New laws offer increased opportunities for community involvement 111
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From page 112... ...
Citizen groups can participate in this community-based coordination by using existing regulations to provide input (public comment) about timber harvest plans and practices affecting land use, water quality, endangered species, fire prevention, wetlands, and forest chemicals, on both private and public lands.
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