Logo
Login     Register     Shibboleth     Cart

pub-serv-ad

Advanced Search

Article

« Previous TOC Next »

Effects of riparian forest thinning by two types of mechanical harvest on stream fish and habitat in northern Minnesota

Nathaniel A. Hemstad,a, Eric C. Merten,a, Raymond M. Newmana,

aDepartment of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.

Corresponding author

Published on the web 8 February 2008.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2008, 38:(2) 247-256, 10.1139/X07-157

Abstract

The response of fish communities and stream habitat to four riparian harvest treatments was studied in north-central Minnesota to determine if riparian harvest with two different harvest systems degrades stream systems. Treatments included control (no harvest), riparian control, cut-to-length riparian thin, and tree length riparian thin. Fish and habitat data were collected from 50 m reaches above, within, and downstream of each treatment 1 year preharvest (1997) and 3 years postharvest (1998–2000). Repeated measures analysis revealed few effects due to treatment; however, there was a 6%–10% significant reduction in canopy cover. Percent fine sediments increased significantly (15%) system-wide following forest harvest and persisted through 2000. This increase in fine sediments was correlated with a decrease in fish biotic integrity (r = –0.31). Habitat and fish variables were influenced more by year-to-year variation than by harvest treatment, suggesting that factors operating at a broader basin-wide scale may influence fish and habitat or mask any site-level harvest effects in this low-gradient stream system. Residual riparian basal areas ≥12.3m2/ha along reaches ≤200 m in length may be adequate to protect fish and habitat in these low-gradient streams, but basin-wide effects of harvest deserve more scrutiny.

References

  • Bailey, P.A., Enblom, J.W., Hanson, S.K., Renard, P.A., and Schmidt, K.S. 1993. Fish community analysis in the Minnesota River basin. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul, Minn.
  • Barton DR, Taylor WD, Biette RM. 1985. Dimensions of riparian buffer strips required to maintain trout habitat in southern Ontario streams. N. Am. J. Fish. Manag. 5: 364-378 CrossRef.
  • Bilby RE, Ward JW. 1991. Characteristics and function of large woody debris in streams draining old-growth, clear-cut, and second-growth forests in southwestern Washington. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48: 2499-2508 Abstract, ISI.
  • Blinn CR, Kilgore MA. 2001. Riparian management practices: a summary of state guidelines. J. For. 99: 11-17 .
  • Bowlby JN, Roff JC. 1986. Trout biomass and habitat relationships in southern Ontario streams. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 115: 503-514 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Broadmeadow S, Nisbet TR. 2004. The effects of riparian forest management on the freshwater environment: a literature review of best management practice. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 8: 286-305 ISI.
  • Brooks, K.N., Folliott, P.F., Gregersen, H.M., and DeBano, L.F. 1997. Hydrology and the management of watersheds. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.
  • Campbell IC, Doeg TJ. 1989. Impact of timber harvesting and production on streams: a review. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 40: 519-539 CrossRef.
  • Carlson JY, Andrus CW, Froehlich HA. 1990. Woody debris, channel features, and macroinvertebrates of streams with logged and undisturbed riparian timber in northeastern Oregon, USA. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 47: 1103-1111 Abstract, ISI.
  • Clinnick PF. 1985. Buffer strip management in forest operations: a review. Aust. For. 48: 34-45 .
  • Davies PE, Nelson M. 1994. Relationships between riparian buffer widths and the effects of logging on stream habitat, invertebrate community composition and fish abundance. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 45: 1289-1305 CrossRef.
  • De Groot JD, Hinch SG, Richardson JS. 2007. Effects of logging second-growth forests on headwater populations of coastal cutthroat trout: a 6-year, multistream, before-and-after field experiment. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 136: 211-226 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Fox, M. 2000. Biomonitoring and best management practices in northern Minnesota: implications for riparian management. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.
  • Fredrick, K.E. 2003. Impacts of forestry best management practices on water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.
  • Frimpong EA, Sutton TM, Engel BA, Simon TP. 2005. Spatial-scale effects on relative importance of physical habitat predictors of stream health. Environ. Manag. 36: 899-917 CrossRef, Medline, ISI.
  • Fuchs SA, Hinch SG, Mellina E. 2003. Effects of streamside logging on stream macroinverebrate communities and habitat in the sub-boreal forests of British Columbia, Canada. Can. J. For. Res. 33: 1408-1415 Abstract, ISI.
  • Hemstad, N.A., and Newman, R.M. 2006. Local and landscape effects of past forest harvest on stream habitat and fish assemblages. In Influences of landscape on stream habitat and biological assemblages. Edited by R.M. Hughes, L. Wang, and P.W. Seelbach. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Md. pp. 413–427.
  • Hutchens JJ, Batzer DP, Reese E. 2004. Bioassessment of silvicultural impacts in streams and wetlands of the eastern United States. Water Air Soil Pollut.: Focus 4: 37-53 CrossRef.
  • Kiffney PM, Richardson JS, Bull JB. 2003. Responses of periphyton and insects to experimental manipulation of riparian buffer width along forest streams. J. Appl. Ecol. 40: 1060-1076 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Kreutzweiser DP, Capell SS. 2001. Fine sediment deposition in streams after selective forest harvesting without riparian buffers. Can. J. For. Res. 31: 2134-2142 Abstract, ISI.
  • Kreutzweiser DP, Capell SS. 2002. Erratum: Fine sediment deposition in streams after selective forest harvesting without riparian buffers. Can. J. For. Res. 32: 1108 Abstract.
  • Kreutzweiser DP, Capell SS, Beall FD. 2004. Effects of selective forest harvesting on organic matter inputs and accumulation in headwater streams. North. J. Appl. For. 21: 19-30 ISI.
  • Kreutzweiser DP, Capell SS, Good FP. 2005. Macroinvertebrate community responses to selection logging in riparian and upland areas of headwater catchments in a northern hardwood forest. J. North Am. Benthol. Soc. 24: 208-222 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Kwak TJ. 1992. Modular microcomputer software to estimate fish population parameters, production rates and associated variance. Ecol. Freshwat. Fish 1: 73-75 CrossRef.
  • Lemmon PE. 1957. A new instrument for measuring forest overstory density. J. For. 55: 667-668 .
  • Lenat DR, Penrose DL, Eagleson KW. 1981. Variable effects of sediment addition on stream benthos. Hydrobiologia 79: 187-194 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Lowrance, R. 1998. Riparian forest ecosystems as filters for nonpoint-source pollution. In Limitations and frontiers in ecosystem science. Edited by M.L. Pace and P.M. Groffman. Springer, New York. pp. 113–141.
  • Macdonald JS, MacIsaac EA, Hunter HE. 2003. The effect of variable-retention buffer width on water temperatures in small headwater streams in sub-boreal forest ecosystems of British Columbia. Can. J. For. Res. 33: 1371-1382 Abstract, ISI.
  • Mattson, J.A., Baumgras, J.E., Blinn, C.R., and Thompson, M.A. 2000. Harvesting options for riparian areas. In Riparian management in forests of the continental eastern United States. Edited by E.S. Verry, J.W. Hornbeck, and C.A. Dolloff. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Fla. pp. 255–272.
  • Meehan, W.R. 1991. Influences of forest and rangeland management on salmonid fishes and their habitats. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. No. 19.
  • Moring, J.R., Garman, G.C., and Mullen, D.M. 1994. Effects of logging practices on fishes in streams and techniques for protection: a review of four studies in the United States. In Rehabilitation of freshwater fisheries. Edited by I.G. Cowx. Fishing News Books, Oxford, U.K. pp. 194–207.
  • Mundahl, N.D., and Simon, T.P. 1998. Development and application of an index of biotic integrity for coldwater streams of the upper midwestern United States. In Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. Edited by T.P. Simon. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. pp. 383–415.
  • Murphy ML, Koski KV. 1989. Input and depletion of woody debris in Alaska streams and implications for streamside management. N. Am. J. Fish. Manag. 9: 427-436 CrossRef.
  • Newbold C, Erman DC, Roby KB. 1980. Effects of logging on macroinvertebrates in streams with and without buffer strips. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 1076-1085 Abstract, ISI.
  • Omernik, J.M., and Gallant, D.M. 1988. Ecoregions of the upper Midwest states. US Environ. Prot. Agency Rep. EPA/600/3–88/037.
  • Palik, B.J., Zasada, C., and Hedman, C.W. 2000. Ecological principles for riparian silviculture. In Riparian management in forests of the continental eastern United States. Edited by E.S. Verry, J.W. Hornbeck, and C.A. Dolloff. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Fla. pp. 233–254.
  • Palik B, Ceases K, Egeland L. 2003. Aspen regeneration in riparian management zones in northern Minnesota: effects of residual overstory and harvest method. North. J. Appl. For. 20: 79-84 ISI.
  • Phillips, M.J., Swift, L.W., and Blinn, C.R. 2000. Best management practices for riparian areas. In Riparian management in forests of the continental eastern United States. Edited by E.S. Verry, J.W. Hornbeck, and C.A. Dolloff. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Fla. pp. 273–286.
  • Poff NL, Allan JD. 1995. Functional organization of stream fish assemblages in relation to hydrological variability. Ecology 76: 606-627 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Richardson, R., and Makkonen, I. 1994. The performance of cut-to-length systems in eastern Canada. Tech. Rep. TR-109. Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada, Pointe-Claire, Que.
  • Rishel GB, Lynch JA, Corbet ES. 1982. Seasonal stream temperature changes following forest harvesting. J. Environ. Qual. 11: 112-116 ISI.
  • Rothwell RL. 1983. Erosion and sediment production at road-stream crossings. For. Chron. 23: 62-66 .
  • Scrivener JC, Andersen CC. 1984. Logging impacts and some mechanisms that determine the size of spring and summer populations of coho salmon fry (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in Carnation Creek, British Columbia. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 41: 1097-1105 Abstract, ISI.
  • Scrivener JC, Brownlee MJ. 1989. Effects of forest harvesting on spawning gravel and incubation survival of chum (Oncorhynchus keta) and coho salmon fry (Oncorhyncus kisutch) in Carnation Creek, British Columbia. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46: 681-696 Abstract, ISI.
  • SAS Institute Inc. 2001. Windows (version 8.2) computer software. SAS Institue Inc., Carey, N.C.
  • SPSS Inc. 2003. Windows (version 12.0) computer software. SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill.
  • Stone DM. 2002. Logging options to minimize soil disturbance in the northern Lake States. North. J. Appl. For. 19: 115-121 ISI.
  • Stone MK, Wallace JB. 1998. Long-term recovery of a mountain stream from clear-cut logging: the effects of forest succession on benthic invertebrate community structure. Freshw. Biol. 39: 151-169 CrossRef, ISI.
  • Taylor SE, Rummer RB, Yoo KH, Welch RA, Thompson JD. 1999. What we know and don’t know about water quality at stream crossing. J. For. 87: 12-17 .
  • Verry ES, Lewis JR, Brooks KN. 1983. Aspen clearcutting increases snowmelt and storm flow peaks in north central Minnesota. Water Resour. Bull. 19: 59-67 .
  • Verry, E.S., Hornbeck, J.W., and Dolloff, C.A. (Editors). 2000. Riparian management in forests of the continental eastern United States. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Fla.
  • Webster, J.R., Gurtz, M.E., Hains, J.J., Meyer, J.L., Swank, W.T., Waide, J.B., and Wallace, J.B. 1983. Stability of stream ecosystems. In Stream ecology: application and testing of general ecological theory. Edited by J.R. Barnes and G.W. Minshall. Plenum Press, New York. pp. 255–395.
  • Ziemer, R.R., and Lisle, T.E. 1998. Hydrology. In River ecology and management: lessons from the Pacific Coastal Ecoregion. Edited by R.J. Naiman and R.E. Bilby. Springer-Verlag, New York. pp. 43–68.

Cited by

View all 7 citing articles