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This is a long-term research installation that specifically supports designing of riparian management strategies and development of sustainability indicators (the Okanagan-Shuswap Land Resource Management Plan and FRPA), and provides critical information for forest resource management and watershed protection. The project has an extension component, has support from an aboriginal community, and can be used to study broad ecological implications of mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestations, wildfire disturbance and timber harvesting. It will also allow critical evaluation of the ecological differences in several key habitat indicators in riparian and aquatic environment between natural disturbance (i.e. MPB infestation) and timber harvesting so that riparian buffers are designed in a broad context.
In-stream wood or large woody debris (LWD) and its ecological significance are well recognized. It influences channel morphology, the composition of riparian vegetation, nutrient and organic matter dynamics, vertebrate communities and fish habitat. Because of its significance, many jurisdictions have identified LWD as an important aquatic habitat indicator for sustainable forest management practices and watershed protection. In the Okanagan-Shuswap Land Resource Management Plan (LRMP), it is clearly stated that a suitable loading level of LWD must be maintained for protection of aquatic habitat. However, how much LWD loading is a suitable threshold for a healthy stream is largely unexamined. It is widely accepted that suitable thresholds of habitat indicators must be assessed or defined in a disturbance or dynamics context (Lertzman and Fall, 1988). This is particularly relevant for LWD as it is highly variable in space and time in aquatic ecosystems.
With FSP funding support, a long-term experimental installation was established in 2005 to assess LWD recruitment, transport, and its interactions with aquatic habitat under wildfire disturbance and MPB infestation in the Southern Interior of BC. This experimental installation is composed of 12 stream reaches including 3 wildfire (the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire) sites and 3 control sites in the Interior Douglas-fir (IDF) biogeoclimatic zone, and 3 MPB infestation sites and 3 control sites in the Montane Spruce (MS) zone. Because the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire occurred in the IDF zone, the selected 3 wildfire sites and 3 control sites in the IDF are comparable. The same is true for the 3 MPB infestation sites and 3 control sites in the MS zone. In year 1(2008/09), we planned to add 3 MPB salvage-logging sites in the MS zone in order to compare the difference between harvesting and natural disturbance (MPB infestation). However, this task was not completed in 2008/09 due to significant delay in hiring of two graduate students and winter condition in MS zone in November. Based on consultation with TOLKO (Harold Waters), we carefully checked 6-7 sites and found that one site is suitable. We plan to complete this task in 2009/10. Thus, a total of 15 riparian sites and associated stream reaches will be included in this proposed project (see attached figure 1).
For establishment of the long-term experimental installation in 2005, riparian vegetation conditions and physical channel characteristic such as bankfull depth, width, slope, substrates, pool/riffle etc. were measured at each selected stream reach (100 m). For each LWD piece within the study reaches, the diameter, length, orientation, submersion, function, decay state and input mechanism were documented. The location of each piece of LWD was recorded by total station survey method. The tag method (Berg et al. 2002) was used to monitor LWD input and transport. That is, all LWD pieces within each reach were tagged in two places with numbered metal disks that uniquely identify each piece. The tagged disks will allow identification of the LWD over successive years to determine recruitment, transport and movement of LWD within ...
Goodwin, Adam, King, Leonora; Wei, Adam. 2011. Relations between riparian disturbance and habitat attributes in the Southern Interior of BC. Forest Investment Account (FIA) - Forest Science Program. Forest Investment Account Report. FIA2011MR016
Topic: FLNRORD Research Program
Keywords: Forest, Investment, Account, (FIA), British, Columbia
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