Approach
Undisturbed forest floors with porous soils capture, absorb, and slowly release water to groundwater, and downstream sources, providing critical regulation of water quality, and quantity, including the attenuation of flood flows. Climate change is expected to cause more frequent and intense rain events, increasing rates of erosion, runoff and soil losses. This further increases the need to minimize soil exposure and to protect soil properties that enhance infiltration. Many existing guidelines and best management practices describe actions that can be used to enhance soil-water infiltration; and many of these actions are also likely to be beneficial in the context of climate adaptation, either in their current form or with modifications to address potential climate change impacts.
Tactics
- Leave dead and downed wood (coarse woody debris) in the uplands and riparian areas to enhance moisture, and soil.
- Modify forest operations techniques and equipment with pallets, debris mats, or float bridges, to minimize soil compaction, rutting, or other impacts to sensitive ecosystems, surface water bodies, soils and residual trees.
- Enhance soil structure in highly compacted areas with mechanical treatments such as tilling, soil ripping, or chisel plowing; promptly revegetate.
- Altering the timing of forest operations to reduce potential impacts on water, soils, and residual trees, especially in areas that rely on particular conditions for operations that may be affected by a changing climate (e.g. frozen soil, or dry conditions)
- In open spaces adjacent to wetlands, incorporate deep-rooted perennials to reduce runoff and improve infiltration.
Strategy
Strategy Text
This strategy seeks to sustain fundamental watershed functions, addressing the maintenance of and restoration of soil-water connections and hydrologic function. A shift in climate may amplify and exacerbate existing ecosystem challenges resulting from land-uses that have fragmented, altered or obstructed water flow pathways. Sustaining hydrologic and ecosystem functions into the future is likely to depend on management planning that seeks to maintain the long-term conveyance of water through unobstructed hydrologic pathways, most notably actions that promote the enhancement of water infiltration by porous forest soils.
Shannon, P.D.; Swanston, C.W.; Janowiak, M.K.; Handler, S.D.; Schmitt, K.M.; Brandt, L.A.; Butler-Leopold, P.R.; Ontl, T.A. (in review). Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Forested Watersheds. Ecological Applications.,