Hydrology, ecology & disturbance in the Western Boreal Forest phase 2 ( HEAD 2 ) : Forest harvest impacts and hydrologic recovery

水文学、生态学

• 批准号: 337273-2006
• 负责人: Devito, Kevin
• 金额: $ 25.68万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=399130
• 关键词: Hydrology; ecology; disturbance; Western; Boreal

Forest harvesting and oil sands development are major components of the Albertan and Canadian economies. Collectively, they have a large potential to impact the Western Boreal Forest (WBF). A fundamental understanding of the interaction of water and energy pathways and forest succession (primary or secondary) and hydrologic recovery is the cornerstone to developing best forestry management practices and to establishing design criteria and benchmarks to which successful reclamation efforts will be built. Our research uses a combination of a) paired catchment forest harvest experiments at fine (10ha) and coarser (>10km2) scales, and b) hydrologic modelling to develop a management framework. This framework will be used to predict the influence of forest harvest practices and vegetation succession on water cycling as influenced by the geology and sub-humid climate of the WBF. We will develop landscape indices that provide information on an area's response to particular disturbances and allow non-hydrologists to predict and assess the hydrologic impacts of Forest Management Practices (FMP's) on harvested sites and forest succession on reclaimed landscapes. Specific deliverables of benefit to the Canadian forestry and oil sands industries arising from the project include: 1) new or refined landscape hydrologic models to describe the current and predict the future behaviour of existing and reclaimed landscapes characteristic of the Western Boreal Forest; 2) effective planning tools that can be used to develop rigorous and objective scientific criteria and recommendations for cumulative risk assessment of the hydrologic consequences of FMP at a given scale, and appropriate reclamation procedures and landscape configuration of oil sands leases; and 3) appropriate and defensible soil and hydrologic indicators for monitoring and assessing success of FMP and oil sands reclamation. We anticipate that the management framework will allow results of our research to be applied to provincial water strategies and to serve as guidelines for integrated land managers at the provincial level. The framework can also be applied at the national scale, facilitating the transfer of research knowledge among different regions.

森林采伐和油砂开发是艾伯塔省和加拿大经济的主要组成部分。总的来说，它们对影响西部北方森林 (WBF) 具有巨大的潜力。对水和能源途径以及森林演替（初级或次级）和水文恢复之间相互作用的基本了解是制定最佳林业管理实践和建立成功开垦工作的设计标准和基准的基石。我们的研究结合了a）精细（10公顷）和粗略（>10平方公里）规模的配对流域森林采伐实验，以及b）水文模型来开发管理框架。该框架将用于预测森林采伐实践和植被演替对受 WBF 地质和半湿润气候影响的水循环的影响。我们将开发景观指数，提供有关地区对特定干扰的反应的信息，并允许非水文学家预测和评估森林管理实践（FMP）对采伐地和森林演替对开垦景观的水文影响。该项目为加拿大林业和油砂工业带来的具体效益包括：1）新的或完善的景观水文模型，用于描述西部北方森林现有和开垦景观特征的当前和预测未来行为； 2) 有效的规划工具，可用于制定严格和客观的科学标准和建议，以对给定规模的 FMP 水文后果进行累积风险评估，以及油砂租地的适当复垦程序和景观配置； 3) 适当且可靠的土壤和水文指标，用于监测和评估 FMP 和油砂回收的成功。我们预计管理框架将使我们的研究成果能够应用于省级水资源战略，并作为省级综合土地管理者的指导方针。该框架还可以在全国范围内应用，促进不同地区之间研究知识的转移。