Relationships Among Stressors, Forests, and Aquatic Systems
*As Number and Severity of Stressors Increase,
The Impacts to Forests and Associated Aquatic Systems Increase
STRESSORS
-Air Pollutants
-Altered Fire Regimes
-Changes in Land Use--Urbanization
-Exotic Species (Insects and Plants)
FOREST SYSTEMS
-Growth
-Reproduction
-Mortality
-Species Diversity
-Tree Condition
AQUATIC SYSTEMS
-Chemistry
-Sedimentation
-Species Diversity
-High and Low Flows
Nitrogen Deposition
Primary Effects on Forest Ecosystems
Nitrogen
Fertilization
Tree
Growth
Stimulus
Forest Degradation
-Reduced Growth
-Deteriorated Crowns
-Increased Tree Mortality
-Increased Sensitivity to Stressors
Change ing
Understory
Species
Diversity
Stream Degradation
-Increased Cations
-Decreased Water Quality
-Decreased Aquatic Life
Changes in
Lichen
Diversity
Acidification Of Soil
Loss of Nutrient Cations
Mobilization of Toxic Cations
Nitrogen
Saturation
Relationships between Cations in Streams and Forest Health Indicators
Crown
Condition
Nutrient
Cations in
Streams
Understory
Species
Tree Growth,
Mortality, &
Regeneration
Illustration of Multi-tier Concept
Example
Variable
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Remote
Sensing
Extensive
Inventory
Condition
Sample
Intensive
Site
Land cover
X
X
X
X
Leaf area
X
X
X
X
Disturbance
X
X
X
X*
X
X
X
Litterfall
X
X
Soil CO2 flux
X
X
Methane flux
X
X
DOC
X
X
Live biomass
NEE
X
* Designed experiments
Tier 2 Surve
USFS Forest
and Analysis
Plots measure
year panel sys
characterize f
the Delaware
Basin.
Added 3 soil
3 depths to ea
plot, + stream
Focus on App
Plateau (Nort
Fragmentation estimates from low-altitude CIR aerial photography
Neversink
Delaware
Water Gap
French
Creek
Stream survey preliminary results
N release typically happens with C/N below 23– all of Neversink is low C/N in
streamwater. I need to have Kevin re-work this with a break at 25.
Headwaters are very low in Ca. Tree data could
be correlated.
Ca (cmol c Kg-1 )
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
Mineral Soil Ca
Ridgetop
Upper
Mid
Lower
ELEVATION
Putrescine (nmol/g)
120
100
Neversink Watershed
80
Calcium in Soil and Foliage of
Yellow Birch and Sugar Maple, and
levels of Putresine in Foliage
60
40
20
0
Ridgetop
Upper Slope
Mid-Slope
Lower Slope
Phase 4 Plots
--probability estimate for entire watershed
Neversink ISEM
Intensification sche
Phase 5 Plots
--deliberately co-located with process
studies
P4 Tree Data (25%)
Neversink Watershed
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
STANDAGE
CULL_PCT
LENGTH_T
DBH
CRWNDEN
CRWNDBK
FOLTRAN
TRDAM1
TRDAM2
Phase 4 Plots
Neversink Watershed--2001
0-10 cm Mineral Soils
9
8
7
6
pH
5
Cmolc/
kg
or
4
%
3
2
1
0
pH (water)
Percent Total Carbon
Percent Total Nitrogen
ECEC
Hypothetical Relationships
among P4 + P5 Indicators
and Steam Condition
70
60
50
Biscuit Brook
Winnesok
Lawrence Falls
Murdoch Draw
40
30
20
10
Stream Ca
CEC
Soil pH
Transparency
Dieback
0
Since Thresholds for Water Quality,
for Human Consumption and Aquatic Life,
have been Established, they can be used to
Determine Thresholds for P4 and P5 Indicators.
By use of GIS and Analytical Models, the Indicator Values
observed on P2 and P3 Plots can be
Analyzed using Ecologically-Meaningful Thresholds