Assessment of Streamside Management Zones for Conserving Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities Following Timber Harvest in Eastern Kentucky Headwater Catchments

Abstract

Headwater streams generally comprise the majority of stream area in a watershed and can have a strong influence on downstream food webs. Our objective was to determine the effect of altering streamside management zone (SMZ) configurations on headwater aquatic insect communities. Timber harvests were implemented within six watersheds in eastern Kentucky. The SMZ configurations varied in width, canopy retention and best management practice (BMP) utilization at the watershed scale. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples collected one year before and four years after harvest indicated few differences among treatments, although post-treatment abundance was elevated in some of the treatment streams relative to the unharvested controls. Jaccard index values were similar across SMZ treatments after logging, indicating strong community overlap. These findings suggest that stream invertebrate communities did respond to the timber harvest, though not negatively. Results also suggest that SMZ criteria for aquatic habitats in steeply sloping topography, including at least 50 percent canopy retention and widths of at least 16.8 m, appear to be adequate for protecting benthic macroinvertebrate communities from logging impacts.

The Robinson Forest environmental monitoring network: Long‐term evaluation of streamflow and precipitation quantity and stream‐water and bulk deposition chemistry in eastern Kentucky watersheds

“…Understanding the impacts of surface mining on aquatic ecology, streamwater chemistry and hydrology has also been a major focus of work at Robinson Forest (Agouridis et al, 2017; Burke et al, 2014; Fritz et al, 2011; Hutton et al, 2020; Mastin et al, 2012; Muncy et al, 2014; Pond et al, 2016; Price et al, 2016; Price et al, 2018; Strohm, 2014; Williamson & Barton, 2020). The network has been utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of forestry best management practices for protecting water resources (Adkins et al, 2016; Barton et al, 2017; Bowker et al, 2020; Maigret et al, 2014; Witt et al, 2013; Witt et al, 2016). Moreover, several projects have been performed to examine aquatic ecosystem function in headwater streams (Adkins & Rieske, 2013; Fritz et al, 2019; Nelson et al, 2014).…”

Environmental effects of short‐rotation woody crops for bioenergy: What is and isn't known

“…Because of the duration that aquatic macroinvertebrate immature stages are exposed to the environmental conditions in a waterbody, they are excellent organisms to assess ecosystem health and water quality at the stream reach scale (Barbour, Gerritsen, Snyder, & Stribling, ; Bonada, Prat, Resh, & Statzner, ; Karr, ). Aquatic macroinvertebrates have been used to determine the effectiveness of forestry BMPs (Adams, Hook, & Floyd, ; Adkins, Barton, Grubbs, Stringer, & Kolka, ; Boggs et al, ; Carroll, Schoenholtz, Young, & Dibble, ; Holmes, Armanini, & Yates, ; Vowell & Frydenborg, ) and would be an ideal indicator to assess SRWC BMP effectiveness. Overall, there is currently limited understanding of the effects of SRWCs on biodiversity, particularly for aquatic organisms.…”