College of Forestry
Nitrate Response
The Influence of Contemporary Forest Management on Stream Nutrient Concentrations in an Industrialized Forest in the Oregon Cascades
Apr-18-2013
Fertilizer was applied in 2004 and the response of the nutrient levels in the water was measured. Stream water samples were analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, sulfate, chloride, and silicon as well as specific conductance, pH, and alkalinity. All treatment watersheds showed a statistically significant increase in NO3 + NO2 concentrations after clearcutting (p < 0.001). The slope of the streambed through the disturbance was a stronger predictor of the magnitude of the response than was the magnitude of disturbance. Ammonia and organic nitrogen displayed notable increases after harvest treatment, but these increases were attributed to increases in the control watersheds. Phosphorus showed a response to timber harvest in one headwater stream. The remaining nutrients showed a small decrease in the control and treatment watersheds for the period after harvest. The storm response results showed that NO3 + NO2 concentrations in stream water increase with discharge during small storms that occur after periods of negligible precipitation.
Nutrient Dynamics
Apr-03-2013
Nutrients are one of the factors which limit primary production and can be a water pollutant. Fertilizer can be applied to increase the Nitrogen and therefore increase the growth. The Hinkle Creek Paired Watershed Study addresses concerns about the loss of essential plant nutrients in Douglas-fir plantations and assesses the impacts of forest management on stream water chemistry of fish-bearing streams. The objective is to determine the cumulative impacts to fish-bearing streams of non-fish-bearing streams which are not afforded the protection of un-harvested and unfertilized riparian strips and to compare those impacts with the local impacts of different treatments.
