How much dead wood in channels is enough?

Abstract

Abstract - Private forest managers often seek guidelines on how much dead wood should be retained in streams in order to adequately fulfill ecosystem functions. There are three approaches to answering this question for a particular reach of channel. The first approach uses an understanding of ecologic functions of dead wood in streams to determine the amount needed to fulfill ecologic and geomorphic functions. This approach fails because the complexities of sizes, shapes, and arrangements of dead wood in a variety of lotic ecosystems overwhelm any scientific specification of target loadings. Another approach uses reference loadings to evaluate departures in amounts of dead wood in streams from reference amounts in unaltered systems.

Citation

Lisle, T. E. 2002. How much dead wood in channels is enough?. In: W. F. Laudenslayer, Jr., Shea, P. J., Valentive, B. E., Weatherspoon, C. P., Lisle, T. E., editor. Proceedings of the symposium on the ecology and management of dead wood in western forests, General Technical Report PSW-GTR-181. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Albany, CA. p. 85-93,