The role of biogeochemical hotspots, landscape heterogeneity, and hydrological connectivity for minimizing forestry effects on water quality

Abstract

Protecting water quality in forested regions is increasingly important as pressures from land-use, long-range transport of air pollutants, and climate change intensify. Maintaining forest industry without jeopardizing sustainability of surface water quality therefore requires new tools and approaches. Here, we show how forest management can be optimized by incorporating landscape sensitivity and hydrological connectivity into a framework that promotes the protection of water quality. We discuss how this approach can be operationalized into a hydromapping tool to support forestry operations that minimize water quality impacts. We specifically focus on how hydromapping can be used to support three fundamental aspects of land management planning including how to (i) locate areas where different forestry practices can be conducted with minimal water quality impact; (ii) guide the off-road driving of forestry machines to minimize soil damage; and (iii) optimize the design of riparian buffer zones. While this work has a boreal perspective, these concepts and approaches have broad-scale applicability.

Keywords

Biogeochemical hotspots; Hydrological connectivity; Landscape heterogeneity; Minimizing forestry effects; Water quality

Published in

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
2016, volume: 45, number: Suppl. 2, pages: S152-S162

SLU Authors

• Laudon, Hjalmar

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Kuglerová, Lenka

  • University of British Columbia

• Sponseller, Ryan

  • Umeå University

• Futter, Martyn

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Nordin, Annika

  • Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Bishop, Kevin

  • Uppsala University

• Lundmark, Tomas

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Egnell, Gustaf

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Ågren, Anneli

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLU Future Forests

Global goals (SDG)

SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG13 Climate action

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-015-0751-8

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/69708