Surface water runoff response to forest management: Low-intensity forest restoration does not increase surface water yields
Surface water runoff response to forest management: Low-intensity forest restoration does not increase surface water yields
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DOI：
10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119387
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发表时间：
2021-09
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Jake R. Kurzweil;K. Metlen;R. Abdi;Robert T Strahan;T. Hogue
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Jake R. Kurzweil;K. Metlen;R. Abdi;Robert T Strahan;T. Hogue
美国西部的生态水文学面临着两个相互关联的问题：积雪的减少减少了地表水的可用性和时间，以及森林火灾的频率和严重程度的增加。先前的研究普遍认为，由于截流、渗透和蒸散的减少，严重的大火和砍伐木材增加了地表水径流。因此，人们假设，通过生态引导的林分密度降低和规定的干燥森林欠烧来减少火灾风险的森林恢复也将增加地表水径流。本研究在俄勒冈州西南部阿什兰溪流域的两个子流域评估了这一主张，在2012年至2019年期间，该地区实施了森林恢复和燃料缓解处理，包括商业密度管理、地面和阶梯燃料减少以及规定燃烧。尽管在两个流域累积处理了大约15%和20%的面积，但流域尺度上的冠层覆盖仅减少了3%和4%。研究发现，在处理后，西部和东部流域的年平均产水量分别下降了26%和24%，其中66%（西部）和72%（东部）的产水量变化归因于降水的年变化。我们的研究结果表明，在这种规模和强度下，气候驱动因素可能会压倒森林恢复处理预期增加的地表水径流。
Ecohydrology of the Western United States faces two interconnected, issues: a decline in snowpack reducing surface water availability and timing, and an increase in the frequency and severity of forest fires. Prior research generally agrees that large severe fires and clearcut timber harvest increase surface water runoff due to reductions in interception, infiltration, and evapotranspiration. It has thus been postulated that forest restoration with ecologically guided stand density reduction and prescribed underburning in dry forests to reduce fire risk, will also increasing surface water runoff. This study evaluates this proposition in two subbasins of the Ashland Creek watershed in southwest Oregon where forest restoration and fuel mitigation treatments, including commercial density management, surface and ladder fuel reduction, and prescribed burning, were implemented from 2012 to 2019. Despite cumulatively treating roughly 15% and 20% of the area in two basins, canopy cover at the watershed scale was decreased just 3% and 4%,. We found that in the post treatment period, the West and East basins experienced an average annual water yield decline of 26% and 24% respectively with 66% (West) and 72% (East) of the changes in water yield attributed to annual variations in precipitation. Our results demonstrate that climatic drivers may overwhelm anticipated increased surface water runoff from forest restoration treatments at this scale and intensity.