The effect of forestry drainage operations on upland sediment yields: A case study

Robinson, Mark; Blyth, K.

doi:10.1002/esp.3290070111

Cited by 57 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Direct monitoring of outputs from eroding blanket peat catchments over a few seasons has produced sediment yield estimates of 0·7 to 122 t km −2 a −1 (Crisp, 1966;Imeson, 1974;Robinson and Blyth, 1982;McCahon et al, 1987;Francis, 1990;Labadz et al, 1991), whilst reservoir sedimentation studies have produced estimates ranging from 25 to 373 t km −2 a −1 (Table I). However, most of the reservoir sedimentation studies represent estimates of long-term average sediment yield over the life of the reservoir, and do not offer any clues as to the temporal variations in sediment flux occurring between survey dates.…”

Section: Method(s) †mentioning

confidence: 99%

Blanket peat erosion and sediment yield in an upland reservoir catchment in the southern Pennines, UK

Yeloff

Labadz

Hunt

et al. 2005

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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This paper investigates temporal variations in fluxes of peat and other sediment in the catchment of March Haigh Reservoir, West Yorkshire. Long‐term estimates of sediment yield were derived from a study of reservoir sediments. Magnetic properties were used to correlate ten cores to a master profile dated using 210Pb and 137Cs. A 14C date suggests that most of the organic component of the sediment is allochthonous and derived from peat eroded from the catchment. Organic sediment yields suggest low catchment erosion rates between 1838 and 1963. Blanket peat erosion increased significantly after 1963, and peaked between 1976 and 1984. Estimates of total sediment yield range between 2 and 28 t km−2 a−1. These yields are significantly lower than those from some previous studies examining reservoir sedimentation in other blanket peat‐covered catchments. The low yield estimates may be due to relatively low rates of erosion in the basin, but may also be partly explained by maintenance of silt traps during the early life of the reservoir and removal of sediment by scouring. Sedimentation within the reservoir is spatially variable, and bathymetry and sediment source appear to be the dominant controls on sedimentation patterns within the reservoir. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Method(s) †mentioning

confidence: 99%

Blanket peat erosion and sediment yield in an upland reservoir catchment in the southern Pennines, UK

Yeloff

Labadz

Hunt

et al. 2005

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…The main loss of material resulting from pre-afforestation drainage at Coalburn was thought have occurred in the first five years after the operations (Robinson and Blyth, 1982). If this were the case, and if the rate of carbon loss stabilised thereafter at 6 gC m 2 yr 1 , the total carbon loss for a 26-year period (equivalent to the measurements at Lochar Moss and Mindork Moss) would have been about 1.9 tC ha…”

Section: Particulate Organic Carbon (Poc)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assuming this material was peat with a carbon content of 50% (Harrison et al, 1997), the amount of carbon lost was approximately 0.6 tC ha 1 . The probable long-term effect of drainage was to increase sediment losses to c. 12 g m 2 yr 1 (Robinson and Blyth, 1982) equivalent to 6 gC m 2 yr 1 assuming a carbon content of 50% for the sediment.…”

Section: Particulate Organic Carbon (Poc)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of changing from grazed or semi-natural vegetation to forestry for carbon stores and fluxes in upland organo-mineral soils in the UK

Reynolds¹

2007

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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In the UK, as organo-mineral soils are a significant store of soil organic carbon (SOC), they may become increasingly favoured for the expansion of upland forestry. It is important, therefore, to assess the likely impacts on SOC of this potentially major land use change. Currently, these assessments rely on modelling approaches which assume that afforestation of organo-mineral soils is carbon neutral. This review evaluates this assumption in two ways. Firstly, UK information from the direct measurement of SOC change following afforestation is examined in the context of international studies. Secondly, UK data on the magnitude and direction of the major fluxes in the carbon cycle of semi-natural upland ecosystems are assessed to identify the likely responses of the fluxes to afforestation of organo-mineral soils. There are few directly relevant measurements of SOC change following afforestation of organo-mineral soils in the UK uplands but there are related studies on peat lands and agricultural soils. Overall, information on the magnitude and direction of change in SOC with afforestation is inconclusive. Data on the accumulation of litter beneath conifer stands have been identified but the extent to which the carbon held in this pool is incorporated into the stable soil carbon reservoir is uncertain. The effect of afforestation on most carbon fluxes is small because the fluxes are either relatively minor or of the same magnitude and direction irrespective of land use. Compared with undisturbed moorland, particulate organic carbon losses increase throughout the forest cycle but the data are exclusively from plantation conifer forests and in many cases pre-date current industry best practice guidelines which aim to reduce such losses. The biggest uncertainty in flux estimates is the relative magnitude of the sink for atmospheric carbon as trees grow and mature compared with that lost during site preparation and harvesting. Given the size of this flux relative to many of the others, this should be a focus for future carbon research on these systems.

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“…Planting of fast-growing non-indigenous conifers was the largest single land-use change in upland Britain during the 20th century (Robinson and Blyth, 1982). Land afforested prior to the 1990s was usually ploughed and drainage ditches were established (Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural recovery from accelerated forest ditch and stream bank erosion five years after harvesting of plantation forest on Plynlimon, mid‐Wales

Stott

2005

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Erosion rates surveyed using 230 erosion pins on 24 occasions over eight years (1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001) on forested stream banks, tributaries and forest ditches in the 0·89 km 2 Nant Tanllwyth catchment, part of the Hafren Forest on Plynlimon, mid-Wales, showed statistically significant increases of up to 40 mm a − − − − −1 in mean erosion rates during the two-year period in which environmentally sensitive plot-scale timber harvesting operations took place (1996-97). In the four years following timber harvesting mean erosion rates at all sites recovered to levels that were lower than before the harvesting operations began. This is attributed to increased light levels, following canopy removal, allowing vegetation to colonize exposed banks. There was a statistically significant relationship (p < < < < < 0·05) between mean erosion rate in 2000-01 (four years after harvesting) and percentage vegetation cover at erosion monitoring sites in the clearfelled (south tributaries) area though the same relationship did not hold for sites on the mainstream banks or for sites on the north (mature forest) ditch sites. The implications of natural vegetation colonization for management of such streams are discussed. Copyright

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The effect of forestry drainage operations on upland sediment yields: A case study

Cited by 57 publications

References 3 publications

Blanket peat erosion and sediment yield in an upland reservoir catchment in the southern Pennines, UK

Blanket peat erosion and sediment yield in an upland reservoir catchment in the southern Pennines, UK

Implications of changing from grazed or semi-natural vegetation to forestry for carbon stores and fluxes in upland organo-mineral soils in the UK

Natural recovery from accelerated forest ditch and stream bank erosion five years after harvesting of plantation forest on Plynlimon, mid‐Wales

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