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Forest cover, landscape patterns, and water quality: a meta-analysis

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Abstract

Context

Forest disturbance and management can significantly affect water quality. The understanding of the quantitative relationships between forest change/forest landscape patterns and water quality is critical for designing forest management practices to ensure a sustainable clean water supply.

Objectives

We quantified the relationships between (1) forest cover and (2) forest landscape patterns and water quality parameters. We also assessed contributing factors (i.e., climate zones, seasonality, watershed properties, forest types, and watershed context) to the variations in the above-mentioned relationships.

Methods

A meta-analysis based on published case studies around the globe was conducted to address the stated objectives.

Results

(1) Forest cover significantly affects the selected water quality parameters with higher forest cover rates overall improving water quality. (2) Surprisingly, the forest-water quality relationship is more controlled by watershed properties (i.e., slope, watershed size) and forest characteristics than by climate, except dissolved oxygen. The mixtures of coniferous and broadleaved forests improve the positive effects of forest cover on TN and TP compared to monocultures, while natural forests have significantly positive effects on phosphorus parameters compared to planted forests. (3) Forest landscape fragmentation causes negative effects on all selected forms of nitrogen (i.e., TN, nitrate, and ammonia). (4) The regulating effects of forests are influenced by the land use contexts in a watershed where agricultural lands significantly degrade water quality.

Conclusions

Forests can have positive effects on water quality. Deforestation and forest landscape fragmentation lead to declines in water quality. However, there are large variations in water quality responses depending on the selected water quality parameters, watershed properties, forest types, climate, and land use contexts.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate Dr. Natasha Neumann from British Columbia Ministry of Forests for constructive comments and suggestions during the revision period. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions on this paper.

Funding

This work was jointly supported by MITACS and Regional District of North Okanagan for the project titled “Assessing cumulative hydrological impacts from forest disturbance and climate change in Duteau Creek community watershed” (Application Ref. IT23601) and University of British Columbia (Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation, Okanagan campus) Eminence Grant on “Watershed Ecosystems Cluster”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus), 1177 Research Road, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada

    Ming Qiu, Xiaohua Wei, Yiping Hou & Jinyu Hui

  2. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Government of British Columbia, Penticton, BC, V2A 7C8, Canada

    Sheena A. Spencer

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  1. Ming Qiu
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  2. Xiaohua Wei
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  3. Yiping Hou
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  4. Sheena A. Spencer
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  5. Jinyu Hui
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by MQ and YH. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MQ and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yiping Hou.

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Qiu, M., Wei, X., Hou, Y. et al. Forest cover, landscape patterns, and water quality: a meta-analysis. Landsc Ecol 38, 877–901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01593-2

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