Tuesday, May 27, 2008
272

The influence of riparian forest composition and structure on leaf litter inputs to boreal shield streams

Elisa A. Muto1, David P. Kreutzweiser2, and Paul K. Sibley1. (1) Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada, (2) Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 1219 Queen St. East, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada

Leaf litter inputs were measured to characterize and describe litter input patterns to headwater streams in boreal mixedwood forests in relation to the surrounding riparian stand characteristics and to determine if selective logging of commercial tree species within riparian reserves has the potential to cause significant changes to litter inputs. Total leaf litter was comprised of 86% deciduous leaf litter and 13% conifer needle litter during peak litter production. Overstory (commercial) deciduous tree species were important to these small streams as they contributed about 53% to total deciduous litter inputs. Overstory deciduous basal area adjusted for distance was the best predictor of overstory deciduous litter inputs (r2=0.597, p=<0.001), which indicates that the number, size and distance of overstory deciduous trees to the stream are important to leaf litter inputs. Leaf litter inputs to boreal shield streams are strongly influenced by the surrounding riparian vegetation and can be effectively predicted by stem basal area. A predictive model based on stem basal area is presented that can be useful for forest managers to determine how many commercial trees to retain within a riparian area to maintain leaf litter inputs at an ecologically-sustainable level.


Web Page: Leaf Litter, Riparian, Boreal Mixedwood