Geographic Location of Project
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The project was initiated in 1999 to determine if riparian harvesting along
small fish-bearing and headwater streams in the Prince George Forest District
maintained the necessary ecological attributes for healthy fish habitat. The
question arose because Section 35(1) of the Fisheries Act requires the
maintenance of fish habitat and their riparian zone (as per legal precedent).
Currently, retention of riparian vegetation along small fish-bearing and
headwater streams is not mandatory. This contradiction in policies has raised
concerns about the potential harmful alteration to stream processes, aquatic
communities, and fish habitat in fish-bearing streams. Forest resource
practitioners and government agencies want quantification of natural stream and
riparian functions to increase their understanding of the critical components of
the ecology of small streams in the sub-boreal forests. The knowledge will in
turn lead to refinements in current forest practices and stewardship plans.
The partners in this co-operative research project are the B.C. Ministry of
Forests, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and P. Beaudry and Associates Ltd. The
objectives of the project are:
- to increase our understanding of natural functions of small streams in
different forest types in sub-boreal forests.
- to identify specific knowledge gaps in the management of small streams.
- to identify critical components of small streams and the adjacent
riparian areas in sub-boreal forests that maintain stream productivity and
protect other stream values.
- to contribute to the identification of key indicators of sustainable
riparian forest management.
- to assess the current riparian management practices.
- to provide resource practitioners with options/ recommendations
regarding forest management in the riparian zone.
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The project involves quantifying the temporal, geographic, and among-stream
variations of streams located in three geographically distinct areas. The
streams included in this project are small first-order steams (< 2.5 m bank-full
width), with low gradients (< 7%) and channel morphologies consisting primarily
of pool-riffle sequences. The experimental design is a
Before-After-Control-Impact Paired design (BACI-P) with two types of sampling
(before and after impact) in areas (treatment and a control) with biological and
environmental variables measured over time and space. For each stream (both
treatment and control) the following factors are measured:
- summer/fall temperatures,
- channel substrate, morphometrics, erosion sources, and woody debris,
- litterfall, shade, and solar radiation exposure,
- benthic invertebrates,
- periphyton accural,
- water chemistry,
- nutrients,
- downstream export of organic material and invertebrate drift, and
- fish community response.
Pre-harvest data were collected in 2001 and 2002 while post-harvest data were
collected between 2003 and 2006. A summary of project results and management
concern are provided in the following
results table.
The field program has been paused but will be re-initiated at 2-3 year intervals
to assess stream recovery from the riparian treatment. A 5-year synthesis
document is forthcoming.
Please direct questions regarding webpage to For.Prodres@gov.bc.ca
Updated March 2008 |
