Effect of timber removal on the total nutrient fluxes from a freshwater‐supplying forested watershed

• Published in: Water environment research 2022-07, Vol.94 (7), p.e10764-n/a
• Main Authors: Yurtseven, Ibrahim, Gökbulak, Ferhat, Serengil, Yusuf, Erdoğan, Betül Uygur, Demir, Reyhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic organisms; Aquatic populations; Bed load; Biodiversity; Calcium; Calcium ions; Calibration; Colour; Fluxes; forest harvesting; Forest watersheds; Hydroxyapatite; Inland water environment; Iron; Magnesium; management option; nutrient flux; Nutrient loss; Nutrient removal; Odour; Outflow; Potassium; Removal; Rivers; Runoff; Sediment deposits; Sediment samplers; Sediment samples; Sediment transport; Sediments; Sodium; Stream discharge; Stream flow; Stream water; Streams; Sulfur; Sulphur; Suspended sediments; Thinning; Timber; Turbidity; Water analysis; Water management; Water quality; Water sampling; Weirs
• ISSN: 1061-4303; 1554-7531
• DOI: 10.1002/wer.10764

Effects of 18% thinning on nutrient fluxes were investigated in a broadleaf forest. Streamflow and suspended sediment were sampled during the calibration and treatment periods for the treatment and control watersheds to determine total nutrient fluxes through bedload sediment and runoff. Streamflow was measured, and water samples were collected from the streams of the watersheds. The volume of the bedload deposited in both weirs' pools was measured, and sediment deposits were sampled at the ends of the calibration and treatment periods. Water and sediment samples were analyzed for calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), Kjeldahl nitrogen (KN), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), iron (Fe3+), and sulfur (S2−). Results showed that there was only a significant increase in KN loss from 0.01 kg/ha to 0.10 kg/ha and from 0.04 kg/ha to 2.41 kg/ha in the second and the third post‐treatment years, respectively (P