The effects of silvicultural practices and stand development on surface water storage in forested wetland flats / by Paul M. Farley.
| Author/creator | Farley, Paul M. author. |
| Other author | Brinson, Mark M., degree supervisor. |
| Other author | East Carolina University. Department of Biology. |
| Format | Theses and dissertations |
| Production | 1995. |
| Description | viii, 84 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm |
| Supplemental Content | Access via ScholarShip |
| Subjects |
| Summary | Wetland flats are a geomorphic setting for wetlands that receive precipitation as the sole source of water. These sites can be easily manipulated for silvicultural uses. The removal and redistribution of surface water is a key element to silvicultural intensification. The properties of surface water storage in wet pine flats were examined to determine how surface water storage might vary with silvicultural practices in the coastal plain of North Carolina. Microtopography, physical soil properties, litter properties, inundation, and leaf area were compared in a relatively natural pine flat (60-yr old stand) with four loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation stands: a 26-yr old non-thinned stand, a 26-yr old thinned stand, a 12-yr old stand, and a 4-yr old stand. It was hypothesized that pine plantations would have a greater surface water storage capacity than unaltered flats and that younger plantations would have a greater capacity to store surface water than older plantations. The 60-yr old stand generally had less potential surface water storage than the plantation stands as estimated from cumulative elevational frequency and cross sectional area measurements. The 60-yr old stand and the 26-yr old non-thinned stand had lower soil bulk densities and higher soil organic matter contents and porosities than the remaining stands. Water level data indicated that the 4-yr old stand and the 26-yr old thinned stand had higher realized surface water storage than the remaining stands and that the 26-yr old stand did not store surface water during the study. Measurement of free standing water showed no surface water storage in the 60-yr old stand and nearly identical realized surface water storage in the 26-yr old thinned stand and the 4-yr old stand. It was concluded that more recently impacted pine plantations have a greater capacity to store surface water than less recently impacted stands and relatively undisturbed pine flats. These conclusions are drawn from analysis of data on relatively small plots of less than 80m². The effect of drainage by ditching at landscape scales was not addressed. |
| General note | Submitted to the faculty of the Department of Biology. |
| General note | Advisor: Mark M. Brinson |
| Dissertation note | M.S. East Carolina University 1995 |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-84). |
| Genre/form | dissertations. |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Thèses et écrits académiques. |
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