scholarly journals Hydrologic Response of a Montane Meadow from Conifer Removal and Upslope Forest Thinning

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Christopher Surfleet ◽  
Noel Fie ◽  
John Jasbinsek
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
First Year ◽  
Hydrologic Response ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Forest Thinning ◽  
Average Decrease ◽  
Hydrologic Change ◽  
Montane Meadow

This study evaluates the hydrologic response of restoration of a montane meadow by removal of encroached Pinus contorta and thinning of the adjacent forest. It is now a follow-up with four years of post-restoration data, on a previous analysis of a hydrologic response of the same meadow one year following restoration. A hydrologic change was evaluated through a statistical comparison of soil moisture and depth to groundwater between the restored Marian Meadow and a Control Meadow. Meadow water budgets and durations of water table depths during the growing season were evaluated. The four years following restoration of Marian Meadow had an increase in volumetric soil moisture during the wet season, but decreased soil moisture during the dry season. An average decrease in depth to groundwater of 0.15 m was found, which is consistent with the first-year post-restoration. The water budget confirms the first-year results that the hydrologic change following removal of encroached conifers was primarily due to a reduction of vegetation interception capture. There was no measurable difference in depth to groundwater or soil moisture following the upslope forest thinning likely due to the low level of forest removal with 2.8 m2/hectare reduction of the forest basal area. The cost of restoration to water gained was $0.69 USD/1000 L ($2.62 USD/1000 gal.).

scholarly journals Hydrologic Response of Meadow Restoration the First Year Following Removal of Encroached Conifers

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Surfleet ◽  
Thomas Sanford ◽  
Gregory VanOosbree ◽  
John Jasbinsek
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
First Year ◽  
Hydrologic Response ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Hydrologic Change ◽  
Montane Meadow

This study examines the hydrologic response of a montane meadow the first winter following restoration by removal of encroached conifers. Hydrologic change was evaluated through statistical comparison of soil moisture and water table depths between the restored meadow, Marian Meadow, and a Control Meadow before and after restoration. Meadow water budgets and durations of water table depths during the growing season were evaluated. Electrical resistivity tomography profiles were collected to improve the spatial interpretation of subsurface water beyond well measurements. The first year following restoration Marian Meadow had a statistically significant increase in volumetric soil moisture content of 4% with depth to the water table decreasing on average by 0.15 m. The water budget for the meadows demonstrated that the hydrologic change following removal of encroached conifers was primarily due to a reduction of vegetation interception capture. Soil evapotranspiration rates in both the Control and Marian Meadows were relatively stable ranging from 268–288 mm/yr with the exception of the year following conifer removal in Marian Meadow with 318 mm/yr. The increase in soil evapotranspiration in the first post restoration year is attributed to loss of vegetation cover and higher proportions of bare soil created from the harvest operations. The duration of post-restoration water table depths during the growing season at Marian Meadow were less than or equal to 0.7 m and 0.3 m for 85 days and 50 days, respectively, indicating hydrologic conditions conducive to meadow vegetation.

Effects of 1-Year vs. Annual Treatment of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) in Forests

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Loeb ◽  
Jesse Germeraad ◽  
Travis Treece ◽  
Daniel Wakefield ◽  
Steve Ward
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
First Year ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Natural Area ◽  
Amur Honeysuckle ◽  
Annual Treatment ◽  
Recovery Monitoring

AbstractAmur honeysuckle recovery following treatments annually and only in 1-year, during 2002 to 2009, was compared in the forests of Radnor Lake State Natural Area in Nashville, TN. Annual treatment areas had significantly lower mean Amur honeysuckle plant counts than 1-yr treatment areas for both ≤ 1 m (3.3 ft) and > 1 m plant heights and on both sloped and level areas, except for plants ≤ 1 m tall on level areas, which most likely indicated more soil moisture increasing seedling establishment and root sprouting in the first year after treatment. The significant, positive Pearson's product moment correlations for Amur honeysuckle counts of plants ≤ 1 m tall, with arboreal basal area and with canopy species diversity in the level areas of the annual treatment plots, were also most likely evidence for the importance of greater soil moisture during the first year after treatment for greater Amur honeysuckle recovery. For land managers interested in native vegetation restoration, guidance is provided to plan for long-term, invasive plant species treatment and recovery monitoring.

Using foliar variables to predict the response of lodgepole pine to nitrogen and sulphur fertilization

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1389-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
R P Brockley
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Screening Method ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
First Year ◽  
Foliar N ◽  
Treatment Measures ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Area Response

Six-year basal area responses to nitrogen (N) fertilizer, alone and in combination with sulphur (S), in 31 lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) stands in the interior of British Columbia were compared with pre-treatment measures of foliar N and S and first-year increases in fascicle mass to determine the utility of these variables for predicting growth response and for determining appropriate fertilizer prescriptions. Results indicate that pre-fertilization levels of foliar N or inorganic sulphate-S (SO4) may be more reliable than the fascicle mass screening method for predicting whether or not a significant stemwood response will occur following N fertilization. When combined, N and SO4 levels in unfertilized foliage explained 68% of the variation in relative basal area response to fertilization with N alone. Foliar nutrients were also useful for determining whether or not lodgepole pine would respond incrementally to S when added in combination with N. Stands in which pre-fertilization foliar SO4 was [Formula: see text]60 mg/kg and N/S ratio was [Formula: see text]13 did not respond significantly to N alone but always responded significantly to N + S. Conversely, a foliar SO4 level >60 mg/kg combined with a N/S ratio of [Formula: see text]12 always resulted in a favourable response to N with no incremental benefit of added S.

scholarly journals Microarthropod population dynamics in a subtropical deciduous forest of the Eastern-Ghat hill range in India in response to variation in edaphic factors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratik Acharya ◽  
Suryasikha Samal ◽  
C.S.K. Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Edaphic Factors ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Nutrient Pool ◽  
Soil Microarthropods

Abstract Background: Soil microarthropods are considered as major groups of soil fauna which facilitate the decomposition of organics in soil. In forests, the sustenance of nutrient pool is dependent on the density and diversity of these animals. Edaphic factors of habitat play vital role in species distribution of any region. Any changes in population structure of microarthropod may affect the ecosystem adversely. This study reports the seasonal variation of microarthropod population of the orders Collembola, Acari and Hymenoptera in five sampling zones, degraded (DF), dense mixed (DMF), open mixed (OMF), bamboo (BF) and wet land (WL) in a subtropical deciduous forest (Chandaka-Dampara) of Eastern India. Results: Seven species of Collembola and four species each of Acari and Hymenoptera were identified. Ecological indices did not show noticeable species diversity in different sampling zones of the forest. Heatmap analysis indicated high relative abundance of Collembola in WL irrespective of season. The abundance of Acari was high in OMF and DF, Hymenoptera in DMF and OMF for dry and wet season respectively. Wet season indicated significantly higher microarthropod population irrespective of species. The correlation colour matrix and principal component analysis (PCA) showed significant positive correlation of arthropod population with soil moisture and organic carbon. Significant population variation in the animal population were observed between dry and wet seasons. Conclusion: The forest floor was dominated by Collembola order of microarthropod species irrespective of sampling zone and season. Soil moisture and carbon contents in different seasons were found to be most sensitive growth regulators of microarthropod populations In Chandaka forest of Eastern India.

Serotiny and life history of Pinus contorta var. latifolia

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 938-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia S. Muir ◽  
James E. Lotan
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Area Growth ◽  
History Of

Mature serotinous and nonserotinous trees of Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm. in the Bitterroot Watershed of western Montana do not differ in most life-history characteristics (reproductive or vegetative). No differences between trees of the two cone types were found in height, basal area, basal area growth rates over the lives of the trees, or crown ratio. Cone number, weights of individual cones and seeds, and estimates of reproductive effort were similar in serotinous and non-serotinous trees. Reproductive characteristics were either independent of tree age, or related similarly in trees of the two cone types. Nonserotinous trees may, however, have more seeds per cone than serotinous trees. This difference in seed numbers may be adaptive if serotinous trees invest relatively heavily in cone materials to protect seeds (which are retained in cones for many years), while nonserotinous trees (which shed seeds each year) invest relatively heavily in seeds. Trees of the two cone types differ mainly in the particular types of disturbance favoring their regeneration, but they often grow in the same stands where there are similar selective pressures on most aspects of their biology. Gene flow between them probably homogenizes all but those differences maintained by strong selective pressures.

scholarly journals Short-Term Effects of Silvicultural Treatments on Microsite Heterogeneity and Plant Diversity in Mature Tennessee Oak-Hickory Forests

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel W. Jackson ◽  
Craig A. Harper ◽  
David S. Buckley ◽  
Bradley F. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Canopy Trees ◽  
Microsite Heterogeneity

Abstract Growing emphasis on sustainability has increased the demand for information on effects of forest management on species diversity. We investigated the hypothesis that plant diversity is a function of microsite heterogeneity by documenting plant diversity and heterogeneity in canopy cover, light, and soil moisture produced by four silvicultural treatments during the first growing season following treatment: prescribed burning, wildlife retention cut with prescribed burning, wildlife retention cut, and shelterwood cutting. Treatments and controls were randomly assigned within four relatively undisturbed, 70–90-year-old oak-hickory stands. Heterogeneity in canopy cover and photosynthetically active radiation was greatest after shelterwood cutting, whereas the wildlife retention cut resulted in less removal of canopy trees and a smaller increase in heterogeneity of these factors. The addition of prescribed burning enhanced the effects of the wildlife retention cut. Prescribed burning alone had the least impact on heterogeneity of these factors. Soil moisture variability appeared to be independent of treatments. Shelterwood cutting increased first-year herbaceous plant diversity, and this increase was likely due, in part, to increased heterogeneity in canopy cover, light, and seedbed condition. These first-year results partially support the hypothesis that plant diversity is a function of microsite diversity in these forests. Long-term monitoring is underway.

scholarly journals Early Height Growth and Site Index of Lodgepole Pine Under Wet and Dry Soil Moisture Regimes in British Columbia

1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-8
Author(s):  
Gordon D. Nigh
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Moisture Regimes ◽  
Indicator Variables ◽  
Soil Moisture Availability ◽  
A Site ◽  
Growth Intercept

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine whether the relationship between site index and early height growth of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) is the same on wet and dry sites. If the height growth/site index relationship is the same for different site types, then only one growth intercept model is required to estimate site index. Indicator variables in nonlinear regression were used to incorporate soil moisture availability into a growth intercept model. One set of parameters in a site index/early height growth model was adequate for both wet and dry sites. This result was supported graphically. Therefore, only one growth intercept model is necessary for the sites examined in this study. West. J. Appl. For. 12(1):5-8.

scholarly journals Localized basal area affects soil respiration temperature sensitivity in a coastal deciduous forest

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie C. Pennington ◽  
Nate G. McDowell ◽  
J. Patrick Megonigal ◽  
James C. Stegen ◽  
Ben Bond-Lamberty
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Temperature Sensitivity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract. Soil respiration (Rs), the flow of CO2 from the soil surface to the atmosphere, is one of the largest carbon fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere. The spatial variability of Rs is both large and poorly understood, limiting our ability to robustly scale it in space. One factor in Rs spatial variability is the autotrophic contribution from plant roots, but it is uncertain how the presence of plants affects the magnitude and temperature sensitivity of Rs. This study used 1 year of Rs measurements to examine the effect of localized basal area on Rs in the growing and dormant seasons, as well as during moisture-limited times, in a temperate, coastal, deciduous forest in eastern Maryland, USA. In a linear mixed-effects model, tree basal area within a 5 m radius (BA5) exerted a significant positive effect on the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. Soil moisture was the dominant control on Rs during the dry portions of the year, while soil moisture, temperature, and BA5 all exerted significant effects on Rs in wetter periods. Our results suggest that autotrophic respiration is more sensitive to temperature than heterotrophic respiration at these sites, although we did not measure these source fluxes directly, and that soil respiration is highly moisture sensitive, even in a record-rainfall year. The Rs flux magnitudes (0.46–15.0 µmol m−2 s−1) and variability (coefficient of variability 10 %–23 % across plots) observed in this study were comparable to values observed in similar forests. Six Rs observations would be required in order to estimate the mean across all study sites to within 50 %, and 518 would be required in order to estimate it to within 5 %, with 95 % confidence. A better understanding of the spatial interactions between plants and microbes, as well as the strength and speed of above- and belowground coupling, is necessary to link these processes with large-scale soil-to-atmosphere C fluxes.

scholarly journals Process-based flood frequency analysis in an agricultural watershed exhibiting nonstationary flood seasonality

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 2225-2243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo Yu ◽  
Daniel B. Wright ◽  
Zhihua Zhu ◽  
Cassia Smith ◽  
Kathleen D. Holman
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Frequency Analysis ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Flood Frequency Analysis ◽  
Antecedent Conditions ◽  
Hydrologic Change

Abstract. Floods are the product of complex interactions among processes including precipitation, soil moisture, and watershed morphology. Conventional flood frequency analysis (FFA) methods such as design storms and discharge-based statistical methods offer few insights into these process interactions and how they “shape” the probability distributions of floods. Understanding and projecting flood frequency in conditions of nonstationary hydroclimate and land use require deeper understanding of these processes, some or all of which may be changing in ways that will be undersampled in observational records. This study presents an alternative “process-based” FFA approach that uses stochastic storm transposition to generate large numbers of realistic rainstorm “scenarios” based on relatively short rainfall remote sensing records. Long-term continuous hydrologic model simulations are used to derive seasonally varying distributions of watershed antecedent conditions. We couple rainstorm scenarios with seasonally appropriate antecedent conditions to simulate flood frequency. The methodology is applied to the 4002 km2 Turkey River watershed in the Midwestern United States, which is undergoing significant climatic and hydrologic change. We show that, using only 15 years of rainfall records, our methodology can produce accurate estimates of “present-day” flood frequency. We found that shifts in the seasonality of soil moisture, snow, and extreme rainfall in the Turkey River exert important controls on flood frequency. We also demonstrate that process-based techniques may be prone to errors due to inadequate representation of specific seasonal processes within hydrologic models. If such mistakes are avoided, however, process-based approaches can provide a useful pathway toward understanding current and future flood frequency in nonstationary conditions and thus be valuable for supplementing existing FFA practices.

YIELD TRENDS AND APPARENT NUTRIENT BALANCES IN INTENSIFIED AND DIVERSIFIED RICE-BASED CROPPING SYSTEMS

1999 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. PASCUA JR ◽  
W. VENTURA ◽  
E. O. AGUSTIN ◽  
A. T. PADRE ◽  
D. A. VALENCIA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rice Yield ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Sweet Pepper ◽  
First Year ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Crop Residue Incorporation ◽  
Yield Trends ◽  
Term Field

A long-term field trial was conducted to determine yield trends in relation to nutrient uptake and efficiency in different rice-based cropping systems. The cropping systems had a significant effect on wet season rice yield when residues were not recycled but had no effect otherwise. Rice yield decreased after the first year of crop residue incorporation but increased every year thereafter. Rice yield was significantly affected by residual nutrients applied to dry season crops. The highest residual effect was observed in tomato and sweet pepper to which the highest nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) rates were applied. Maize, sweet pepper, and tomato responded well to NPK application, garlic had a low response and mungbean had no response. A relay crop served as a catch crop for excess nutrients and as shade to minimize sunscald effects for tomato and sweet pepper fruits.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document