H123-04
Forest Restoration in Seasonally Dry Forests: Stakeholder Perspectives and Simulations of Impacts on Streamflow in the Pacific Northwest

Friday, 11 December 2020: 16:16
Virtual
Ryan J Niemeyer1, Christina (Naomi) Tague2, William Burke3, Janet Choate3, Jennifer C Adam4, Andrew B. Perleberg5 and Chris Schnepf6, (1)University of California Santa Barbara, Earth Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States, (2)University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States, (3)University of California Santa Barbara, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Santa Barbara, CA, United States, (4)Washington State University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pullman, WA, United States, (5)Washington State University, Pullman, United States, (6)University of Idaho, Moscow, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
In seasonally dry forests of the Pacific Northwest, where historically wildfire reduces biomass, fire suppression has resulted in uncharacteristically dense forests. Federal, state, and local managers as well as private stakeholders advocate for forest thinning to restore forests to their historical densities. Foresters often support forest thinning to reduce the impact of drought on tree vigor and health. Downstream water users claim that thinning may enhance streamflow. However, it is unknown to what degree stakeholders and managers across the region support thinning and believe it will reduce the impact of drought and augment downstream flow. Our first research objective is to evaluate where forest restoration will augment tree-drought resilience and downstream flow under current and future climates. Our second research objective is to evaluate forest owners and managers’ perspectives on forest restoration, drought, and streamflow. To accomplish our first research objective, we simulated forest restoration across dry forests in the Inland Pacific Northwest with the Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System (RHESSys), a hydro-ecological model that simulates carbon, water, and nutrient fluxes. Preliminary results reveal that forest thinning has a greater impact on augmenting downstream flow than the inverse impact of a warming climate. To accomplish our second research objective, we designed and distributed a survey via email, which indicated that forest owners and managers consider water resources as the primary reason to thin forests. The majority of respondents (68%) agreed that commercial thinning would increase streamflow. Respondents indicated that 70% (median) is the ideal percentage to thin a forest. In contrast, respondents indicated that with time, regulatory, and financial constraints, only 20% of a forest could be thinned. Results from our simulations and survey can guide forest owners and managers to ensure resilient forests in the future.
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