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Large Woody Debris and Land Management in California’s Hardwood-Dominated Watersheds

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Abstract

Although large woody debris (LWD) has been studied extensively in conifer-dominated watersheds, relatively little is known about LWD in hardwood-dominated watersheds. Field surveys of 32 hardwood-dominated stream reaches in northern coastal California revealed that levels of LWD varied with land ownership and that living trees strongly influenced debris jam formation. Almost half of the channel-spanning debris jams, which stored the most wood and were most likely to form a pool, were formed behind a key piece that was still living. These living key pieces might provide greater longevity and stability than would otherwise be expected from hardwood LWD. Compared to streams on private land, streams on public land had significantly greater LWD loading and debris-jam frequency. Land management practices that remove wood from streams might be contributing to the degradation of salmonid habitat in California’s hardwood-dominated watersheds.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to S. Nafici and M. Gerstein for field assistance, C. Brooks and Z. Young for help with GIS and database management, and A. Merenlender, M. Kelly, M. Kondolf, B. Coey, B. Collins, and P. Bernazzani for ideas for this article. Constructive suggestions from T. Beechie and an anonymous reviewer improved this article. I would also like to thank the Point Reyes National Seashore, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the East Bay Regional Parks, and numerous private landowners for granting access and providing information about creeks on their land. Financial support was provided by the California Department of Fish and Game, the University of California Center for Water Resources, and the National Science Foundation.

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  1. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720

    Jeff J. Opperman

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Correspondence to Jeff J. Opperman.

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Opperman, J.J. Large Woody Debris and Land Management in California’s Hardwood-Dominated Watersheds. Environmental Management 35, 266–277 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-0068-z

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