Effects of clear-cutting on streamwater quality in forest catchments in central Sweden

Rosén, Kaj; Aronson, Jan-Anders; Eriksson, Hillevi

doi:10.1016/0378-1127(96)03718-8

Cited by 77 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Possibly clear-cutting increase stream water nutrient concentrations less in northern than in southern Fennoscandia due to slower mineralization rates and lower deposition fluxes (Akselsson et al 2004;Kortelainen et al 2006;Futter et al 2010;Palviainen et al 2014), and in the northern catchments the observed rise in nutrient loading is largely due to the increased runoff (Ahtiainen and Huttunen 1999;Palviainen et al 2014). The increase in total N, NO 3 -N, NH 4 -N and PO 4 -P concentrations after clear-cutting is in accordance with the results from other boreal catchments (Grip 1982;Rosén et al 1996;Lamontagne et al 2000;Kreutzweiser et al 2008). The increases in the concentrations of N fractions in stream water could result from higher deposition loads due to the lack of N retention by tree canopy (Piirainen et al 2002), reduced nutrient uptake by trees and understory vegetation (Palviainen et al 2007), and increased nitrification in litter layer and soil (Paavolainen and Smolander 1998).…”

Section: Specific Concentrationssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…In most other studies, stream water chemistry has returned to pre-harvest levels within 5 years (Feller and Kimmins 1984;Reynolds et al 1995;Gundersen et al 2006), whereas nutrient export has remained elevated for a longer time (Rosén et al 1996;Ahtiainen and Huttunen 1999;Palviainen et al 2014), mostly because it takes up to 20 years until the runoff returns to the pre-cutting level (Idé et al 2013). There can be a time lag before stream water N concentrations start to rise, because N is immobilized in logging residues during the first years of decomposition (Palviainen et al 2004) and there is a delay in nitrification response (Vitousek et al 1979;Ring 2007).…”

Section: Specific Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increases in the concentrations of N fractions in stream water could result from higher deposition loads due to the lack of N retention by tree canopy (Piirainen et al 2002), reduced nutrient uptake by trees and understory vegetation (Palviainen et al 2007), and increased nitrification in litter layer and soil (Paavolainen and Smolander 1998). Nitrate is poorly retained in the soil by sorption and can be easily leached to surface waters (Rosén et al 1996;Kreutzweiser et al 2008). The increases in NO 3 -N concentrations (maximum 190 lg l -1 for the 100 % clear-cut) were considerable smaller than those reported for temperate streams in high N deposition areas, where mean annual NO 3 -N concentrations have been shown to increase by 500-3800 lg l -1 after clear-cutting (Adamson et al 1987;Wiklander et al 1991;Reynolds et al 1995;Feller 2005;Gundersen et al 2006).…”

Section: Specific Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clear-cutting may also increase total or dissolved organic carbon (TOC, DOC) export (Lamontagne et al 2000;Schelker et al 2012Schelker et al , 2014, which have implications for catchment carbon budgets (Schelker et al 2012), the structure of aquatic food webs (Jansson et al 2000), the acid-base chemistry of surface waters (Buffam et al 2008), and the mobility, toxicity, and bioavailability of trace metals and organic pollutants (Porvari et al 2003;Bergknut et al 2011). The impacts on water quality are long-term and they are generally at its greatest during the first years after clear-cutting (Rosén et al 1996;Ahtiainen and Huttunen 1999;Palviainen et al 2014). The negative effects are reduced by using buffer zones along the streams which are obligatory according to the current forest management guidelines and certification systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2015

Ambio

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Large-scale forestry operations, like clearcutting, may impair surface water quality if not done with environmental considerations in mind. Catchment and country level estimates of nutrient loads from forestry are generally based on specific export values, i.e., changes in annual exports due to the implemented forestry operations expressed in kg ha -1 . We introduce here a specific concentration approach as a method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations and export in headwater streams. This new method is potentially a more dynamic and flexible tool to estimate nutrient loads caused by forestry, because variation in annual runoff can be taken into account in load assessments. We combined water quality data from eight boreal headwater catchment pairs located in Finland and Sweden, where the effect of clear-cutting on stream water quality has been studied experimentally. Statistically significant specific concentration values could be produced for total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate. The significant increases in the concentrations of these nutrients occurred between 2 and 6 years after clearcutting. Significant specific concentration values could not be produced for total phosphorus and total organic carbon with the whole dataset, although in some single studies significant increases in their concentrations after clear-cutting were observed. The presented method enables taking into account variation in runoff, temporal dynamics of effects, and the proportional size of the treated area in load calculations. The number of existing studies considering large site-specific variation in responses to clear-cutting is small, and therefore further empirical studies are needed to improve predictive capabilities of the specific concentration values.

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Section: Specific Concentrationssupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Specific Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Specific Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2015

Ambio

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“…Clear-cutting can considerably change water and nutrient fluxes of forested catchments (Kreutzweiser et al 2008). The removal of trees reduces interception and transpiration, which, in turn, increase ground water levels, runoff, and peak flows (Lundin 1979;Bosch and Hewlett 1982;Rosén et al 1996;Sørensen et al 2009;Schelker et al 2013). Nutrients are susceptible to leaching after clear-cutting because nutrient uptake by vegetation is minor Palviainen et al 2005), large amounts of nutrients are released from logging residues (Palviainen et al 2004) and nitrification and mineralization in the soil may increase (Paavolainen and Smolander 1998;Smolander et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Suspended Solids Loads from Forest Clear-Cutting and Site Preparation: Long-Term Paired Catchment Studies from Eastern Finland

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2013

AMBIO

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The long-term impacts of current forest management methods on surface water quality in Fennoscandia are largely unexplored. We studied the long-term effects of clear-cutting and site preparation on runoff and the export of total nitrogen (total N), total organic nitrogen (TON), ammonium (NH 4 -N), nitrate (NO 3 -N), total phosphorus (total P), phosphate (PO 4 -P), total organic carbon, and suspended solids (SS) in three paired-catchments in Eastern Finland. Clear-cutting and soil preparation were carried out on 34 % (C34), 11 % (C11), and 8 % (C8) of the area of the treated catchments and wide buffer zones were left along the streams. Clear-cutting and soil preparation increased annual runoff and total N, TON, NO 3 -N, PO 4 -P, and SS loads, except for SS, only in C34. Runoff increased by 16 % and the annual exports of total N, TON, NO 3 -N, and PO 4 -P by 18, 12, 270, and 12 %, respectively, during the 14-year period after clear-cutting. SS export increased by 291 % in C34, 134 % in C11, and 16 % in C8 during the 14, 6, and 11-year periods after clear-cutting. In the C11 catchment, NO 3 -N export decreased by 12 %. The results indicate that while current forest management practices can increase the export of N, P and SS from boreal catchments for many years ([10 years), the increases are only significant when the area of clear cutting exceeds 30 % of catchment area.

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Forest harvest contribution to Boreal freshwater methyl mercury load

Kronberg

Drott

Jiskra

et al. 2016

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Effects of Boreal forest harvest on mercury (Hg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) soil pools and export by stream runoff were quantified by comparing 10 reference watersheds (REFs) covered by >80 year old Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) forests with 10 similar watersheds subjected to clear-cutting (CCs). While total Hg soil storage did not change, MeHg pools increased seven times (p = 0.006) in the organic topsoil 2 years after clear-cutting. In undulating terrain, situated above the postglacial marine limit (ML) of the ancient Baltic Sea, the mass ratio between flux-weighted MeHg and dissolved organic carbon (MeHg/DOC) in stream runoff increased 1.8 times (p < 0.004) as a consequence of forest harvest. When recalculated to 100% clear-cutting of the watershed, the annual MeHg stream export increased 3.8 times (p = 0.047). Below the ML, where the terrain was flatter, neither the MeHg/DOC ratio nor the annual export of MeHg differed between REFs and CCs, likely because of the larger contribution of MeHg exported from peaty soils and small wetlands. The most robust measure, MeHg/DOC, was used to calculate MeHg loadings to Boreal headwaters. If the forest harvest effect lasts 10 years, clear-cutting increases MeHg runoff by 12-20% in Sweden and 2% in the Boreal zone as a whole. In Sweden, having intensely managed forests, 37% and 56% of MeHg are exported from peatlands and forest soils, respectively, and forest clear-cutting is adding another 6.6%. In the Boreal zone as a whole peatlands and forests soils contribute with 53% and 46%, respectively, and clearcutting is estimated to add another 1.0%. An expected rapid increase in Boreal forest harvest and disturbance urge for inclusion of land use effects in mercury biogeochemical cycling models at different scales.

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Effects of clear-cutting on streamwater quality in forest catchments in central Sweden

Cited by 77 publications

References 5 publications

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Carbon, and Suspended Solids Loads from Forest Clear-Cutting and Site Preparation: Long-Term Paired Catchment Studies from Eastern Finland

Forest harvest contribution to Boreal freshwater methyl mercury load

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