Technology transfer from small watersheds to managed watersheds in the Canadian Boreal Forest: application of watershed disturbance models to an industrial landscape

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We propose to develop a process whereby hydrologic elements within watersheds can be embedded in forecast and planning tools used by the Forest Industry and can also be used jointly in an Integrated Resource Management context by the Energy Sector, Forest Industry and other land users throughout all areas in Canada. Our goal is to apply the hydrologic modelling framework developed for first-order watersheds during the FORWARD I project to the industry-relevant scale, namely regional and sub-regional analysis and forest management areas of our Industry Partners operating in the western Boreal Plain (Swan Hills, Alberta) and the central Boreal Shield (Legacy Forest, northwestern Ontario). During this process, we will develop an appropriate hybrid model from the existing framework, incorporating aspects of both deterministic and stochastic approaches. We will use existing extensive field infrastructure and refined protocols to collect input data on weather, soils, soil microbial communities, groundwater, wetlands, vegetation, riparian and aquatic bioindicators, streamflow and water quality from first- through fourth-order watersheds. Project outcomes will permit our Industry Partners to determine the optimal land disturbance levels by watershed and plan their Integrated Land Management activities for up to a 200-year horizon, based on protocols that balance land disturbance with water quality values. In addition, this work will facilitate fewer data needs, judicious monitoring, system learning capability for all watershed scenarios, and better post-harvest total biomass predictions. It will link riparian vegetation connectivity and integrity and wetlands into planning based on patterns and processes, recognizing the importance of these watershed features in moderating losses and maintaining, within the range of natural variation, the flora and fauna associated with these sites.