Research Activities

Because research occurs in conjunction with operational activities at WADF, it is an ideal site for applying the most up-to-date information and testing new ideas. Through the application, testing, and demonstration of new forest management principles and practices, WADF will become a showcase for innovative forestry techniques, as well as a source of much new information about how to manage the full range of forest resource values.
Climate and Snow Monitoring

This project was initiated in 1992 to provide WADF researchers with a comprehensive climatic database. The specific objectives are to:
  1. Monitor the general climate and snow conditions from the valley bottom to the alpine zone.

  2. Provide climatological support for all researchers studying various aspects of the forest and protecting the environment.

  3. To provide detailed climate and snow information for developing and/or verifying hydrological models that evaluate the effects of forest operations on streamflow.
The climate stations are flexible enough to allow for the addition of instruments specific to individual research projects. The benefits associated with this approach are that data collection will be:
  • uniform,
  • centrally stored,
  • accessible by current and future researchers,
  • attractive for soliciting future research, and
  • available to a wide range of users.
nstalling a climate station.
Woodpecker and wildlife tree.
Wildlife Tree Research

Stand level effects of different silvicultural systems on wildlife tree habitat and cavity-nesting bird species was assessed both in the ICHdw and ICHmw2. Sixty-eight percent of all active nests were located in or around the perimeter of root disease centres. Preferred nesting habitat:
  • Large diameter trees, 15-20 m tall, of decay class 2-5.
  • Red-breasted nuthatches and chickadees prefer conifers.
  • Woodpeckers (sapsuckers, Hairy and Three-toed) prefer hardwoods.

Bat Research

At least nine bat species, including the blue-listed fringed bat, are found in WADF. Several studies in WADF have concluded that bats prefer:

  • whitepine with loose bark, in decay class
    4 or 5
  • tall trees in open-grown areas
  • abandoned woodpecker holes
  • natural cavities for roosting.
Harvesting has the greatest impact on bats in the ICHdw/mw2 where activity and species diversity are greatest. Prey abundance and roosting habitat are reduced, and disturbance to breeding individuals and off-spring may impact populations.
 Townsend's big-eared bat.

Water monitoring equipment

Sediment Research

A "Sediment Budget" is an accounting of where sediment comes from, how it is transported and stored, and where it goes. This study addresses:

  • What are the sources of sediment?
  • How much sediment comes from forest
  • development activities (logging and roads), and is it significant compared to natural sources?
  • Does development-related sediment have an impact on water quality?
  • What management practices are responsible for producing sediment?
  • What management practices minimize water quality impacts?
Conclusions from the WADF study comparing a developed to an undeveloped watershed:
  • Developed watershed has a higher suspended sediment yield by at least 50%.
  • Roads are by far the most important sediment source (surface erosion and risk of landslides).
  • Erosion from cutblocks is negligible.
  • It is doubtful whether increased sediment significantly impacts water quality in the developed watershed.
Turbidity meters are subject to large errors and tend to overestimate turbidity when used for sediment monitoring on small creeks.
A Hydrologic Model that Determines the Effects of various Harvesting Patterns on Streamflow.
Objective:To calculate the streamflow effects of 10 different logging patterns, without logging. Strategy:
  1. To choose and calibrate a hydrologic model that can calculate streamflow from climatic data and GIS data (topography, soils, vegetation). The model must be process based and distributed. Process based means it uses calculations of actual processes, and distributed means that it makes the calculations on pixels throughout the watershed.
  2. To calibrate and test the model. The area chosen must have climatic data, snow course data, soils information, and streamflow data.
  3. To run the model with various logging patterns using existing climatic data.

The DHSVM model (Distributed Soils Hydrology Vegetation Model) developed at the University of Washington was chosen. We linked the model to GIS so that we could use the detailed data we had on hand and link the spatial information we had to streamflow.

The Redfish Area was chosen because data is available. One must make sure the model is internally consistent. That is the model must melt the snow at the right time and in the right pattern to have confidence in the results.

Schematic of DHSVM A schematic showing the basic structure of the model. The model calculates evapotranspiration and snow accumulation by pixel and calculates the infiltration into the soil and emergence as streamflow.

Results