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Impacts of Native Forest Management on Catchment Hydrology

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Book cover Forest Hydrology and Catchment Management

Abstract

Native forest management consists of either cutting to obtain regeneration or thinning of the forests. The chapter examines available Australian information that quantifies these effects. The most reliable information appears to come from paired catchment projects. For most eucalypts, runoff curves give a reasonable description of changes in hydrology associated with cutting. However the southern Australian mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) has a water yield which also depends on forest age. If the forest is logged then water yield increases, then declines, and then probably slowly increases to the pre-logging level. If the forest is burnt then water yield declines. Thinning may give modest increases in water yield for a few years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Creswick, Victoria, Australia

    Leon Bren

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  1. Leon Bren
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Bren, L. (2015). Impacts of Native Forest Management on Catchment Hydrology. In: Forest Hydrology and Catchment Management. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9337-7_6

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