"This study examines the impact of mountain pine beetle infestation on forest canopy structure on the Nechako Plateau, and the resulting impacts on snow accumulation and ablation under varied climatic conditions. Stand-scale results were used to drive a physically-based, distributed hydrological model of the Van Tine Creek watershed and assess watershed-scale hydrologic response to four harvesting/infestation scenarios."--Document.
This document provides a synthesis of recently completed studies to assess the ecological consequences of forest management after attack by mountain pine beetle or other large-scale disturbances. Studies are assessed for their contributions to gaps in knowledge previously identified in the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative Working Paper "Evaluating effects of large scale salvage logging for mountain pine beetle on terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates," which was published in 2004. This report focuses on studies developed through the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative, the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program, and the complementary BC Forest Science Program. Relevant information from other jurisdictions is sometimes included to augment those studies. Topics examined are: the impacts of beetle kill and salvage operations on habitat attributes; the impacts of beetle kill and salvage operations on attendant processes, such as snag fall rates, light interception, and snow accumulation; and the wildlife response to large-scale beetle outbreaks and management strategies. For each of these three topics, we provide a summary of: research to date; pertinent findings to date; and gaps in research.
The current synthesis is a review of research examining the effects of large-scale mountain pine beetle (MPB)-related disturbance conducted predominantly over the past five years. The emphasis is on research that explicitly examines the impact of beetle kill (or biotic disturbance in general) and the cumulative effects of large scale salvage harvesting operations in response to beetle kill. In general, forest disturbance has been found to increase snow accumulation and melt, reduce interception loss and evaporation, and increase runoff and stream flow.--Document.
This paper presents the results of a project done to assess the potential for impacts and changes to the peak-flow regime throughout various sub-basins of the Fraser River Watershed. The vast size and the physical complexity of the Fraser River Basin make it extremely difficult to directly measure the hydrologic effects of beetle kill and salvage harvesting. As a result, a hydrology model has been used to assess the hydrologic consequences of the current outbreak. The project is part of a larger effort in quantifying the water resource impacts of the pine beetle and salvage harvesting across a range of watershed scales.--Includes text from document.
Over the last two decades, hydrologists and geomorphologists have often discussed the need to document the history, scientific discoveries, and field expertise gained in watershed management in British Columbia. Several years ago, a group of watershed scientists from FORREX, academia, government, and the private sector gathered at the University of British Columbia to discuss the idea of a provincially relevant summary of hydrology, geomorphology, and watershed management. Through this meeting, the Compendium of Forest Hydrology and Geomorphology was born. As a synthesis document, the Compendium consolidates current scientific knowledge and operational experience into 19 chapters. To ensure reliable, relevant, and scientifically sound information, all chapters were extensively peer reviewed employing the standard double-blind protocol common to most scholarly journals. Chapters in the Compendium summarize the basic scientific information necessary to manage water resources in forested environments, explaining watershed processes and the effects of disturbances across different regions of the province. In short, the Compendium is about British Columbia and is primarily intended for a British Columbian audience, giving it a uniquely regional focus compared to other hydrology texts. At over 800 pages, the Compendium showcases the rich history of forest hydrology, geomorphology, and aquatic ecology research and practice in British Columbia and sets forth the foundation for the future by showing us how much more we have yet to learn.
