Faithin Omaha eBook Collection

Download or read book Contributions of Riparian Vegetation and Stream Morphology to Headwater Stream Temperature Patterns in the Oregon Coast Range written by Danielle D. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role of riparian forests in maintaining temperatures of headwater streams is well established and is a foundation of forest practice rules designed to protect streamwater quality. However, detailed investigation is still needed quantifying specific characteristics of stream systems that affect streamwater temperature including riparian features, stream morphology, and subsurface interactions. The objectives of this research were to investigate summertime streamwater temperature patterns and identify characteristics within headwater streams and riparian zones that influence stream temperature. This study was designed to evaluate these relationships prior to logging in 38 perennial headwater catchments of the Oregon Coast Range. Stream reaches of greater than 1000 m were instrumented with temperature probes and selected stream and riparian characteristics were measured at 60-m intervals within each study reach in 2002 and 2003. A subset of the streams was examined in 2003 to determine the potential influence of streamwater residence time on temperature patterns. Findings suggest that canopy cover is the driving factor controlling summer stream temperature in these small headwater streams, but other stream and riparian characteristics should not be discarded. Longitudinal stream temperature patterns were quite variable for these forested streams and results suggest a high degree of complexity in small headwater streams. Maximum 7-day moving average temperatures ranged from 11.4°C to 16.8°C, with three streams above the standard 16°C threshold. Effects of stream and riparian characteristics on stream temperature were strongest when average of the weekly high temperature was assessed, suggesting this may be a more sensitive index of stream temperature than the commonly used maximum 7-day moving average. Results of tracer dilution tests were inconclusive in that temperature was not consistently correlated to residence time in streams.