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

• DOI: 10.1007/s13280-015-0751-8
• Publication Date: 2016-01-07T11:03:11Z
• Authors: Hjalmar Laudon; Lenka Kuglerová; Ryan A. Sponseller; Martyn Futter; Annika Nordin; Kevin Bishop; Tomas Lundmark; Gustaf Egnell; Anneli M. Ågren
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; Conservation of Natural Resources; Skogsvetenskap; Geography, Planning and Development; 01 natural sciences; Article; Minimizing forestry effects; Water Quality; Environmental Chemistry; Biomass; 14. Life underwater; Groundwater; Ekologi; Sweden; Ecology; Forest Science; Landscape heterogeneity; Forestry; 15. Life on land; Miljövetenskap; Hydrological connectivity; 6. Clean water; Biogeochemical hotspots; Environmental Policy; Water quality; 13. Climate action; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Monitoring

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.