Sustainability Of Wetland Forest Management

James P. Shepard (Presenter), National Council for Air and
Stream Improvement

NCASI sponsored a 10-year research program in collaboration with universities, forest products companies, and government agencies to evaluate sustainability of timber management in wetland forests.  Sixteen studies in 11 states examined the effects of forest management activities such as fertilization, timber harvesting, and site preparation on biogeochemical, hydrologic, and wildlife wetland functions.  Most studies monitored conditions prior to treatment and for one to several years after treatment.  Some studies also conducted remeasurements of older studies to provide a long-term assessment.  A synthesis of these studies concluded that forest wetland water quality functions are not degraded by timber harvesting.  These studies also confirmed that timber harvesting, especially clearcutting, usually (but not always) results in a rise in water tables, due to a temporary reduction in evapotranspiration.  Effects lasted from one to several years. Timber harvesting activities immediately altered forest characteristics, reducing habitat features associated with overstory structure, creating logging slash, increasing sunlight, soil temperatures, and wetland hydroperiods.  The structure and composition of wildlife communities usually changed in response to these changes.  Some species reached peak densities following treatments.  Therefore, both disturbed and undisturbed forested wetlands sampled in these studies were important habitats.  Short-term responses of wildlife communities to harvesting were influenced by site-specific considerations such as pre-harvest stand structure, landscape characteristics, soils, hydrology, the amount and character of logging slash, and other considerations.

Workshop V: Forested Wetlands

Online presentation

Sustaining
Southern
Forests

a conference sponsored by the Southern Forest Resource Assessment