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Using Threshold Methods to Assess Cumulative Effects in Watersheds Sunde, Ian
Abstract
This paper reviews the physical properties of water quality in watersheds, assesses how forest harvesting operations in watersheds affects water quality, and identifies ways land managers attempt to measure the potential impacts of further development on water quality and watershed function through the use of threshold assessments. Threshold assessments are popular methods of measuring the potential impacts of landscape level development plans. They use measurable watershed indicators in an attempt to quantify the complex interaction of water quality properties and cumulative effects imposed by forest operations on watersheds. This paper reviews past research to identify evidence and support for the use of thresholds such as Equivalent Clearcut Area assessments and Equivalent Roaded Area assessments. The literature review found that the properties of water quality rely on forested landscapes for their regulation, and that ground disturbance and removal of forest can lead to negative impacts on water quality. There is a correlation between the percentage of watershed area harvested and average annual water yields from watersheds that suggests thresholds exist for average annual yields. For peak flow events and other causes of degraded water quality, the relationship between the percentage of a watershed harvested and the likelihood of impacts occurring is unclear, and they may be more dependent on spatially explicit factors. Threshold assessments can be valuable to land managers as they provide a measurable means of quickly determining a watershed’s water regulating capabilities based on planned and historic developments. They are potentially limited by a lack of depth and detail that is necessary for a complete accounting and assessment of all water quality properties in a watershed.
Item Metadata
Title |
Using Threshold Methods to Assess Cumulative Effects in Watersheds
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Creator | |
Date Issued |
2016-04-10
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Description |
This paper reviews the physical properties of water quality in watersheds, assesses how forest harvesting operations in watersheds affects water quality, and identifies ways land managers attempt to measure the potential impacts of further development on water quality and watershed function through the use of threshold assessments. Threshold assessments are popular methods of measuring the potential impacts of landscape level development plans. They use measurable watershed indicators in an attempt to quantify the complex interaction of water quality properties and cumulative effects imposed by forest operations on watersheds. This paper reviews past research to identify evidence and support for the use of thresholds such as Equivalent Clearcut Area assessments and Equivalent Roaded Area assessments. The literature review found that the properties of water quality rely on forested landscapes for their regulation, and that ground disturbance and removal of forest can lead to negative impacts on water quality. There is a correlation between the percentage of watershed area harvested and average annual water yields from watersheds that suggests thresholds exist for average annual yields. For peak flow events and other causes of degraded water quality, the relationship between the percentage of a watershed harvested and the likelihood of impacts occurring is unclear, and they may be more dependent on spatially explicit factors. Threshold assessments can be valuable to land managers as they provide a measurable means of quickly determining a watershed’s water regulating capabilities based on planned and historic developments. They are potentially limited by a lack of depth and detail that is necessary for a complete accounting and assessment of all water quality properties in a watershed.
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Type | |
Language |
eng
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Series | |
Date Available |
2017-02-01
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0314383
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Campus | |
Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Undergraduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International