Abstract
The distribution of coarse woody debris (CWD) was analyzed in three Appalachian watersheds in eastern Kentucky, eighteen years after harvest. The three watersheds included an unharvested control (Control), a second watershed with best management practices (BMPs) applied that included a 15.2 m unharvested zone near the stream (BMP watershed), and a third watershed that was harvested without strict BMPs with harvesting occurring up to the stream edge and slash left within the stream and riparian zones (No BMP watershed). We assessed the CWD occurring both within the riparian zone and stream in the three watersheds. Within both stream and riparian zones, the BMP and No BMP watersheds contained more CWD biomass than in the Control, however, the No BMP watershed CWD was in a more advanced state of decay than in either the BMP or Control watersheds. Nitrogen content in CWD was also greater in the No BMP watershed because of the more advanced state of the decay. The CWD present in the Control is the result of natural forest processes such as death and self-pruning. The CWD in the No BMP watershed is a result of the slash left behind after the harvest since little opportunity exists for new recruitment of CWD from the surrounding area. From our decay class data, it is apparent that at least some of the CWD in the BMP watershed has occurred since harvest, and, based on our biomass data, at a much greater rate of recruitment than in the Control watershed. We hypothesize that the harvest outside of the riparian zone in the BMP watershed may have led to greater windthrow and/or slumping than in the Control watershed. As such, our data suggest that riparian zones of 15.2 m may not be effective in maintaining the short-term integrity of the CWD pool within steep gradient Appalachian systems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arthur, M. A., Coltharp, G. B. and Brown, D. L.: 1998, ‘Effects of best management practices on forest streamwater quality in Eastern Kentucky’, J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc 34, 481–495.
Blinn, C. R. and Kilgore, M. A.: 2001, ‘Riparian management practices’, J. For. 99(4), 11–17.
Bragg, D. C.: 2000, ‘Simulating catastrophic and individualistic large woody debris recruitment for a small riparian system’, Ecology 81(5), 1383–1394.
Bragg, D. C. and Kershner, J. L.: 1999, ‘Coarse woody debris in riparian zones’, J. For. 97(4), 30–35.
Braun, E. L.: 1950, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America, Hafner Publishing, New York, 556 pp.
Bretz Guby, N. A. and Dobbertin M.: 1996, ‘Quantitative estimates of coarse woody debris and standing dead trees in selected Swiss forests’, Global Ecol. Biogeogr. Lett. 5, 327–341.
Brown, S., Mo, J., McPherson, J. K. and Bell, D. T.: 1995, ‘Decomposition of woody debris in Western Australian forests’, Can. J. For. Res. 26, 954–966.
Carey, A. B. and Johnson, M. L.: 1995, ‘Small mammals in managed, naturally young, and old-growth forests’, Ecol. Appl. 5, 336–352.
Dolloff, C. A.: 1993, ‘Large woody debris, fish habitat, and historical land use’, in J. W. McMinn and D. A. Crossley, Jr. (eds.), Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests, Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-94, pp. 120–138.
Goodburn, J. M. and Lorimer, C. G.: 1998, ‘Cavity trees and coarse woody debris in old-growth and managed northern hardwood forests in Wisconsin and Michigan’, Can. J. For. Res. 28, 427–438.
Graham, R. T., Harvey, A. E., Jurgensen, M. F., Jain, T. B., Tonn, J. R. and Page-Dumroese, D. S.: 1994, ‘Managing Coarse Woody Debris in Forests of the Rocky Mountains, USDA For. Ser., Res. Pap. INT-RP-477.
Hagan, J. M. and Grove, S. L.: 1999, ‘Coarse woody debris’, J. For. 97(1), 6–11.
Hairston-Strang, A. B. and Adams, P. A.: 1998, ‘Potential large woody debris sources in riparian buffers after harvesting in Oregon, U.S.A.’, For. Ecol. Manage 112, 67–77.
Hansen, A. J., Spies, T. A., Swanson, F. J. and Ohmann, J. L.: 1991, ‘Conserving biodiversity in managed forests: Lessons from natural forests’, Bioscience 49, 382–392.
Harmon, M. E., Franklin, J. F., Swanson, F. J., Sollins P., Gregory, S. V., Lattin, J. D., Anderson, N. H., Cline, S. P., Aumen, N. G., Sedell, J. R., Lienkaemper, G. W., Cromack, K., Jr. and Cummins, K. W.: 1986, ‘Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems’, Adv. Ecol. Res. 15, 133–302.
Hedman, C.W., Van Lear, D. H. and Swank, W. T.: 1996, ‘In-stream large woody debris loading and riparian forest seral stage associations in the southern Appalachian mountains’, Can. J. For. Res. 26, 1218–1227.
Huston, M. A.: 1993, ‘Models and management implications of coarse woody debris impacts on biodiversity’, in J. W. McMinn and D. A. Crossley, Jr. (eds.), Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests, Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-94. pp. 139–143.
Idol, T. W., Figler, R. A., Pope, P. E. and Ponder G., Jr.: 2001, ‘Characterization of coarse woody debris across a 100 year chronosequence of upland oak-hickory forests’, For. Ecol. Manage 149, 153–161.
Ilhardt, B. L., Verrt, E. S. and Palik, B. J.: 2000, ‘Defining riparian areas’, in E. S. Verry, J. W. Hornbeck and C. A. Dolloff (eds.), Riparian Management in Forests of the Continental Eastern United States, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 23–41.
Lambert, R. L., Lang, G. E. and Reiners, W. A.: 1980, ‘Loss of mass and chemical change in decaying boles of a subalpine balsam fir forest’, Ecology 61, 1460–1473.
MacMillan, P. C.: 1988, ‘Decomposition of coarse woody debris in an old-growth Indiana forest’, Can. J. For. Res 18, 1353–1362.
Maser, C. M, Cline, S. P., Cormack, K., Jr., Trappe, J. M. and Hansen, E.: 1988, ‘What we know about large trees that fall to the forest floor’, in C. M. Maser, R. F. Tarrant, J. M. Trappe and J. F. Franklin (eds.), From the Forest to the Sea: A Story of Fallen Trees, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-229. pp. 25–47.
McCarthy, B. C. and Bailey, R. R.: 1994, ‘Distribution and abundance of coarse woody debris in a managed forest landscape of the central Appalachians’, Can. J. For. Res. 24, 1317–1329.
McGee, G. G., Leopold, D. J. and Nyland, R. D.: 1999, ‘Structural characteristics of old-growth, maturing, and partially cut northern hardwood forests’, Ecol. Appl. 9, 1316–1329.
Muller, R. N. and Liu, Y.: 1991, ‘Coarse wood debris in an old-growth deciduous forest on the Cumberland plateau, southeastern Kentucky’, Can. J. For. Res. 21, 1567–1572.
Overstreet, J. C.: 1984, Robinson Forest Inventory, 1980–1982, Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky, 52 pp.
Robinson, E. G. and Beschta, R. L.: 1990, ‘Identifying trees in riparian areas that can provide coarse woody debris to streams’, For. Sci. 36, 790–801.
Sanders, B.M. and Van Lear, D. H.: 1988, Photos for Estimating Residue Loadings Before and After Burning in Southern Appalachian Mixed Pine-Hardwood Clearcuts, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-49.
Sharitz, R. R.: 1993, ‘Coarse Woody Debris and Woody Seedling Recruitment in Southeastern Forests’, in J. W. McMinn and D. A. Crossley, Jr. (eds.), Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests, Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-94. pp. 29–34.
Spetich, M. A., Shifley, S. R. and Parker, G. R.: 1999, ‘Regional distribution and dynamics of coarse woody debris in midwestern old-growth forests’, For. Sci. 45, 302–313.
Spies, T. A., Franklin, J. F. and Thomas, T. B.: 1988, ‘Coarse woody debris in douglas-fir forests of western Oregon and Washington’, Ecology 69, 1689–1702.
Swanson, F. J. and Franklin, J. F.: 1992, ‘New forestry principles from ecosystem analysis of Pacific Northwest forests’, Ecol. Appl. 2, 262–274.
Triska, F. J. and Cromack K., Jr.: 1980, ‘The roles of wood debris in forests and streams’, in R. H. Waring (ed.), Forests: Fresh Perspectives from Ecosystem Analysis, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR. pp. 171–190.
Tyrell, L. E. and Crow, T. R.: 1994, ‘Structural characteristics of old-growth hemlock-hardwood forests in relation to age’, Ecology 75(2), 370–386.
Van Lear, D. H.: 1993, ‘Dynamics of coarse woody debris in southern forest ecosystems’, in Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests, Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-94. pp. 10–17.
Van Sickle, J. and Gregory, S. V.: 1990, ‘Modeling inputs of large woody debris to streams from falling trees’, Can. J. For. Res. 20, 1593–1601.
Waldrop, T. A.: 1993, ‘Dynamics of coarse woody debris — a simulation study for two southeastern forest ecosystems’, in Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests, Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-94. pp. 18–24.
Wallace, J. B., Grubaugh, J. W. and Whiles, M. R.: 1993, ‘Influences of coarse woody debris on stream habitats and invertebrate biodiversity’, in Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests, Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, USDA For. Ser. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-94. pp. 119–129.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McClure, J., Kolka, R.K. & White, A. Effect of forest harvesting best management practices on coarse woody debris distribution in stream and riparian zones in three Appalachian watersheds. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus 4, 245–261 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:WAFO.0000012815.30596.97
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:WAFO.0000012815.30596.97