The Potential for Water Yield Augmentation From Forest Management in the Eastern United States1

Abstract

Generally high rainfall and extensive forests in the East combine to produce excellent potential for managing forests for increased water yield. Models are presented that allow prediction of streamflow increase from hardwood and pine forests on a year-by-year basis. They are being routinely applied in land management planning on National Forests in the Southeast. A recent, independent test indicates that cumulative water yield increases can be predicted within about 14 percent of the actual value. However, because of the diverse land ownership patterns and the economic objectives of owners, r e alizing the potential will be difficult at best. The opportunity for r e alizing the full potential appears greatest where the land is publicly owned, but demand for water in the East has not reached the point where need for water dictates management prescriptions. (KEY TERMS: water yield improvement; Eastern United States; forest management; vegetative effects; pine; hardwood.) 'Paper No. 83076 of the Water Resources Bulletin.2Principal Hydrologist,

Analyzing Trade-Offs, Synergies, and Drivers among Timber Production, Carbon Sequestration, and Water Yield in Pinus elliotii Forests in Southeastern USA

“…The results suggested that higher stand age is associated with lower water yield. This can be explained by basal area and LAI, which affect water yield, since both increase as a forest becomes older [17,21,49,51]. Our findings also show that slash pine stands managed under private ownership tended to have higher water yield than their counterparts managed under public land tenure.…”

Streamflow responses to vegetation manipulations along a gradient of precipitation in the Colorado River Basin

“…These vegetative communities are situated on sites with ''favorable precipitation regimes'' and, in the case of the chaparral shrublands, found close to downstream points of water consumption; therefore, in this latter case, en-route transmission losses are lessened DeBano et al, 2004;Stednick and Troendle, 2004). However, estimates of increases in streamflow following implementation of vegetative management practices in the Colorado River Basin and elsewhere generally refer to on-site responses at the outlet of the upland watersheds (Bosch and Hewlett, 1982;Douglas, 1983;Hibbert, 1979Hibbert, , 1983Hornbeck et al, 1993;Whitehead and Robinson, 1993). It is important to point out that the area of such vegetation is less than 9 million ha or about 14% of the total area of the basin.…”

Forest operations, extreme flooding events, and considerations for hydrologic modeling in the Appalachians—A review

“…Historically, the more common goal of forest management has been for the purpose of increasing water yield rather than flood control (Hursh, 1951;Douglass and Swank, 1972;Douglass, 1983;Hibbert, 1983;Krutilla et al, 1983;Ponce and Meiman, 1983). The lack of emphasis on flooding is not due to a lack of interest, but rather opportunity and the complexity of the issue.…”