Soil Disturbance Monitoring of Timber Harvest Operations in the USDA
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SOIL DISTURBANCE MONITORING OF TIMBER HARVEST OPERATIONS IN THE USDA FOREST SERVICE NORTHERN REGION A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science with a Major in Environmental Science in the College of Graduate Studies University of Idaho by Derrick Reeves May 2011 Major Professor: Mark Coleman, Ph.D. ii AUTHORIZATION TO SUBMIT THESIS This thesis of Derrick Reeves, submitted for the degree of Master of Science with a major in Environmental Science and titled “Soil Disturbance Monitoring of Timber Harvest Operations in the USDA Forest Service Northern Region”, has been reviewed in final form. Permission, as indicated by the signatures and dates given below, is now granted to submit final copies to the College of Graduate Studies for approval. Major Professor Date Mark Coleman Committee Members Date Deborah Page-Dumroese Date Jay O’Laughlin Date Ann Abbott Department Administrator Date Stephen Mulkey Discipline’s College Dean Date Kurt Pregitzer Final Approval and Acceptance by the College of Graduate Studies Date Nilsa A. Bosque-Pérez iii ABSTRACT Timber harvest may cause changes to soil physical, chemical, and biological properties that reduce site productivity. Determining which physical site factors control soil response to ground disturbing activities is difficult due to the heterogeneity of harvest sites and different soil disturbance monitoring methods used within the USDA Forest Service Northern Region. I used soil disturbance monitoring data from nine Northern Region National Forests to determine: 1) if soil disturbance monitoring data can link disturbance levels to site characteristics using monitoring data collected under disparate protocols, 2) if risk ratings can be developed to identify areas susceptible to high impact harvest techniques using a consistent soil disturbance monitoring protocol, 3) levels of detrimental soil disturbance resulting from helicopter, skyline, and ground-based harvest systems, and 4) how policies pertaining to soil and site sustainability affect management. Results indicate that a common soil monitoring protocol is necessary to determine how site characteristics affect soil resiliency to timber harvest operations. We were able to produce a soil risk rating system based on landtype and harvest season using a consistent soil disturbance monitoring protocol. There are significant differences in soil disturbance resulting from timber harvest systems with helicopter < skyline < ground-based. Policy revision should be considered to give managers the flexibility to meet management objectives while maintaining site productivity. Results suggest that site-specific characteristics control the impacts to soil resulting from timber harvest operations, which should be considered to minimize soil disturbance while meeting management objectives. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people had a significant impact on the success of this endeavor. Primary contributors are: my major professor Dr. Mark Coleman, committee members Dr. Deborah Page- Dumroese, Dr. Jay O’Laughlin, and Ann Abbott. I would like to thank the staff at the Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative; Dr. Mark Kimsey, Terry Shaw, Adam Robertson, and my fellow graduate students Kristin McElligott, Dan Smith, and Kevin White. I would like to thank Meredith Webster for her support and the Northern Region of the Forest Service for funding this project. I am also indebted to the many professionals of the Northern Region who answered countless questions and shared their time in the field. Above all, I am indebted to my wife Tera Reeves and my children Katelyn and Wyatt for the sacrifices they endured to allow me to pursue this endeavor. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................................i AUTHORIZATION TO SUBMIT THESIS ............................................................................ii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1 1.1 Project Justification ............................................................................................................2 1.2 Research Objectives ...........................................................................................................3 1.3 References ..........................................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................5 2.1 Types of Disturbance .........................................................................................................6 2.2 Effects of Disturbance on Nutrients/ Microbes ...............................................................13 2.3 Effects of Disturbance on Tree Growth ...........................................................................18 2.4 Legislation, Soil Quality Standards, and Monitoring Protocols ......................................21 2.5 References ........................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 3: EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE NEED FOR A COMMON SOIL MONITORING PROTOCOL ................................................................................................34 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................35 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................36 3.2 Methods............................................................................................................................40 vi 3.2.1 Data and harvest systems evaluated ..............................................................................40 3.2.2 Data collection and conversion from disparate databases ............................................42 3.2.3 Physical site characteristics...........................................................................................44 3.2.4 Analysis.........................................................................................................................45 3.3 Results ..............................................................................................................................46 3.4 Discussion ........................................................................................................................48 3.4.1 National Forest monitoring ...........................................................................................48 3.4.2 Harvest systems ............................................................................................................49 3.4.3 Season of harvest ..........................................................................................................50 3.4.4 Slope .............................................................................................................................51 3.4.5 Soil texture ....................................................................................................................52 3.4.6 Mean soil disturbance ...................................................................................................54 3.5 Management Implications ................................................................................................54 3.6 Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................55 3.7 References ........................................................................................................................56 CHAPTER 4: RISK RATINGS TO PREDICT POTENTIAL DETRIMENTAL SOIL DISTURBANCE FROM GROUND-BASED TIMBER HARVEST ON THE KOOTENAI NATIONAL FOREST .....................................................................59 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................60 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................61 4.2 Methods............................................................................................................................64 4.2.1 Data collection ..............................................................................................................64 4.2.2 Field collection of soil disturbance monitoring data.....................................................65 vii 4.2.3 Landtypes ......................................................................................................................66 4.2.4 Statistical analysis .........................................................................................................68 4.2.5