Comparing hydrologic responses to tractor-yarded selection and cable-yarded clearcut logging in a coast redwood forest
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Initial increases in dry-season flow after selective logging of second-growth coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the 424 ha South Fork Caspar Creek watershed disappeared by 7 years after logging ended, and low flows then dropped to below expected values for the next 20 years. During the16 years after clearcut logging in the 473 ha North Fork watershed, late summer flows increased to nearly twice those expected and then declined to pre-treatment levels on a trajectory that suggests further decline is likely. This contrast in dry-season flow responses is consistent with expected differences in post-logging recovery rates for transpiration after selective and clearcut logging. The South Fork showed a delayed peakflow response relative to that in the North Fork, and a maximum 3 year increase (per unit area of clearcut equivalent) about 40 percent lower. South Fork peaks remained slightly elevated for more than 20 years after logging ended, and North Fork peaks remained elevated for at least 12 years after logging.