Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Influence of harvesting on biogeochemical exchange in sheetflow and soil processes in a eutrophic floodplain forest

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): B.G. Lockaby; R.G. Clawson; K. Flynn; Robert Rummer; S. Meadows; B Stokes; John A. Stanturf
    Date: 1997
    Source: Forest Ecology and Management 90 (1997) 187-194
    Publication Series: Miscellaneous Publication
    PDF: View PDF  (177 KB)

    Description

    Floodplain forests contribute to the maintenance of water quality as a result of various biogeochemical transformations which occur within them. In particular, they can serve as sinks for nutrient run-off from adjacent uplands or as nutrient transformers as water moves downstream. However, little is known about the potential that land management activities may have for alteration of these biogeochemical functions. This paper examines the effects of three harvesting regimes (unharvested control, clearcut, and partial cut) on the physical and chemical parameters within the Flint River floodplain located in southwestern Georgia, USA. Data presented in this paper were collected during the year following initiation of the harvesting treatments which occurred in September of 1993. Sheetflow water chemistry (total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrate (NO-3), phosphate (PO3-4), sulfate (SO2-4). calcium ((Ca), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), ammonium (NH+4), total phosphorous (P), total nitrogen (N), total carbon (C), dissolved organic carbon (DOC)), sedimentation rates, depth of soil oxidation after flooding, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and bulk density were measured. During the year immediately after treatment installation, alterations in some of the physical and chemical properties (TDS, NO-3, total P, and K+) of floodwaters crossing harvest plots were detected. Soil oxidation depths, saturated hydraulic conductivity and bulk density also changed with treatment. The meaning of the changes detected is uncertain but they suggest the nature of potential changes in nutrient spiralling and non-point source cumulative effects that may occur within a managed watershed. Second-year data may offer an interesting comparison of sheetflow chemistry and sedimentation changes between vegetated and non-vegetated conditions.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to pubrequest@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Lockaby, B.G.; Clawson, R.G.; Flynn, K.; Rummer, Robert; Meadows, S.; Stokes, B; Stanturf, John A. 1997. Influence of harvesting on biogeochemical exchange in sheetflow and soil processes in a eutrophic floodplain forest. Forest Ecology and Management 90 (1997) 187-194

    Keywords

    Wetland forests, Silvicullure, Water chemistry

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/3263