Table 1. Core Indicators by ecologic process with preferred measures and data fields used in the decision support model.
GENERAL PROCESS |
KEY PROCESS |
INDICATOR |
PROTOCOL |
DATA USED IN DECISION SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vegetative succession, growth and mortality |
Wood production and transport |
Vegetation seral stage and series |
Cover by composition and structure class (Hemstrom et al. 1998) |
Proportion of watershed in early, mid, and late seral |
Soil cycle |
Sediment production and transport |
Stream crossing density |
Density of stream crossings per square mile |
Density of stream crossings per square mile (Furniss 1998) |
Soil cycle |
Sediment production and transport |
Road density |
Length and proportion of road network hydrologically connected to the stream channel |
Miles of road per square mile within 300 m of streams |
Soil cycle |
Sediment production and transport |
Landslides |
Protocol from Swanson addressing frequency, type, and location |
Frequency by type, size and location of landslide |
GENERAL PROCESS |
KEY PROCESS |
INDICATOR |
PROTOCOL |
DATA USED IN DECISION SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vegetative succession, growth and mortality |
Wood delivery, community structural development |
Vegetation seral stage and association |
Cover by vegetation age class and type categories (Hemstrom 1997) |
Proportion of watershed in early, mid, and late seral |
Soil cycle |
Sediment production and transport |
Stream crossing density |
Density of stream crossings per square mile |
Density of stream crossings per square mile (Furniss 1998) |
Soil cycle |
Sediment production and transport |
Road density |
Length and proportion of road network hydrologically connected to the stream channel |
Miles of road per square mile by maintenance category |
Soil cycle |
Sediment production and transport |
Landslides |
Protocol from Swanson addressing frequency, type, and location |
Frequency and size of landslide |
Hydrologic cycle |
Water storage and yield |
Channel connectivity with floodplain in unconstrained reaches |
Entrenchment ratio measured in conjunction with channel cross section and profile (Rosgen 1998) |
Entrenchment ratio (valley width divided by channel width) |
GENERAL PROCESS |
KEY PROCESS |
INDICATOR |
PROTOCOL |
DATA USED IN DECISION SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Channel structural dynamics |
Sediment and wood delivery |
Channel cross-section |
Monumented cross-sectional profile |
Bankfull width and mean depth |
Channel structural dynamics |
Sediment and wood delivery |
Channel movement |
Monumented longitudinal channel profile |
Water surface slope |
Channel structural dynamics |
Sediment and wood delivery |
Channel sinuosity |
Stream length/valley length off aerial photos |
SL/VL |
Channel structural dynamics |
Sediment and wood delivery |
Channel pools |
Survey of residual pool volume, depth, frequency in unconstrained reach |
Pool depth, volume, and frequency |
Channel structural dynamics |
Sediment and wood delivery |
Structural complexity |
Survey of LWD, boulder counts in unconstrained reaches |
LWD counts per lineal measure |
Channel structural dynamics |
Sediment and wood delivery |
Substrate composition |
Wolman pebble count or Overton et al 1997. |
Percent fines and D50 |
Channel structural dynamics |
Floodplain connectivity |
Off-channel habitat |
Monumented cross-sectional profile |
Entrenchment ratio |
Energy exchange |
Heat delivery |
Water temperature |
Water temperature |
C at outlet |
Chemical/nutrient turnover |
Chemical/nutrient delivery |
Water quality |
Specific parameter exceedance thresholds – nitrate, phosphorus, etc. |
Measure specific attributes |
Hydrologic cycle |
Water delivery |
Water quantity |
Gauge data, water withdrawals, changes in hydrology from historic conditions |
Degree of alteration of flow regime (Richter et al.1996) |
Biotic community dynamics |
Biotic integrity |
Biotic indices |
Fish, amphib macroinvertebrates, community, multimetric indices |
Numbers of fish, amphibians, and relative abundance of macroinvertebrates, |