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STREAM TEMPERATURE INCREASES AND LAND USE IN A FORESTED OREGON WATERSHED 1
Author(s) -
Beschta Robert L.,
Taylor R. Lynn
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1988.tb00875.x
Subject(s) - riparian zone , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , watershed , logging , period (music) , terrain , streams , riparian forest , geography , forestry , geology , ecology , habitat , computer network , physics , geotechnical engineering , cartography , machine learning , computer science , acoustics , biology
The Salmon Creek Watershed drains 325 km 2 of forested terrain in the Cascade Mountains of western Oregon. Over a 30–year period (from 1955 to 1984) average daily maximum and minimum stream temperatures, calculated from the 10 warmest days of each year, have risen 6°C and 2°C, respectively. In contrast, a small decrease in maximum air temperatures was found over the same period. Regression analysis indicated a highly significant (p < 0.01) relationship between a cumulative index of forest harvesting and maximum stream temperatures. Maximum temperatures also tended to increase for several years following major peak flow events. The interaction between harvest activity (logging and road construction), changing forest and riparian management practices and the occurrence of natural hydrologic events (peak flows and associated mass soil movements) tend to obscure specific cause‐and‐effect relationships regarding long‐term changes in maximum stream temperature.