Hydrological and Biological Responses to Forest Practices: The Alsea Watershed Study(199 Ecological Studies)

The Alsea Logging and Aquatic Resources Study, commissioned by the Oregon Legislature in 1959, marked the beginning of four decades of research in the Pacific Northwest devoted to understanding the impacts of forest practices on water quality, water quantity, aquatic habitat, and aquatic organism popu- tions. While earlier watershed research examined changes in runoff and erosion from various land uses, this study was the first watershed experiment to focus so heavily on aquatic habitat and organism response to forest practices. The Alsea Watershed Study, as it came to be known, extended over 15 years with seven years of pretreatment calibration measurements, a year of treatment, and seven years of post-treatment monitoring. The research was a cooperative effort with scientists from Oregon State University, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cooperating landowners included the Georgia-Pacific Corporation, the U.S. Forest Service, and a local rancher. It was a remarkable 15-year partnership marked by excellent cooperation among the participants and outstanding coordination among the scientists, many of whom participated actively for the entire period.

Table of Contents:
The Alsea Watershed Study.- Effects of Timber Harvesting on Streamflow in the Alsea Watershed Study.- Stream Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen.- Forest Practices and Sediment Production in the Alsea Watershed Study.- Salmonid Populations and Habitat.- The Oregon Forest Practices Act and Forest Research.- The New Alsea Watershed Study.- Flynn Creek: Research Natural Area.- Long-term Streamflow Changes Following Timber Harvesting.- Long-term Water Quality Changes Following Timber Harvesting.- Risk Assessment for Salmon from Water Quality Changes Following Timber Harvesting.- Sedimentation Studies Following the Alsea Watershed Study.- Woody Debris from the Streamside Forest and its Influence on Fish Habitat.- Long-term Trends in Habitat and Fish Populations in the Alsea Basin.- The Alsea Watershed Study: A Comparison with Other Multi-year Investigations in the Pacific Northwest.- Watershed Management.- Research Opportunities in Hydrology and Biology in Future Watershed Studies.

Review :
From the reviews: "This work, volume 199 in the ‘Ecological Studies’ series, includes 15 years of research, 20 years of monitoring data, and a research renewal focusing on the Alsea watershed habitat and organism responses to four decades of forest practices. … Chapters contain graphs, figures, and tables to emphasize and illustrate important concepts. Suitable for soil scientists, biologists (wildlife, fishery), limnologists, foresters, hydrologists, conservationists, and professionals involved with forestland use policy and problems. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (S. G. Shetron, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (11), 2008)