CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Alila, Y.; and Beckers, J.
Date : 2001.
Title : Using numerical modelling to address hydrological forest management issues in BC.
Publication : Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Geophysical Union. May 14-17, 2001, University of Ottawa, Ottawa.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
There are several paired watershed experiments in the interior and coastal regions of British Columbia designed to assess the consequences of forest management on watershed processes. These experiments have contributed significantly to our understanding of hydrologic processes affected by forest removal at the stand level but limitations such as lack of control and questions regarding the transferability of findings have long been recognized. Modeling of hydrologic processes is the most useful way of supplementing experimental data, for linking stand level processes to basin scale hydrology, and for forest management decision-support analysis. Any model is a simplification of nature and this is certainly true for watershed scale models suitable for use in cold regions as equations describing forest interactions with snow processes are often to some extent empirical. Measuring the model performance in simulating hydrologic processes is the only way by which the reasonableness of model assumptions can be tested. Paired watershed experiments and modeling must therefore be closely linked if cumulative watershed effects are to be understood. This paper describes our proposed methodology to address water quality and quantity aspects of forest management in British Columbia in combining computer simulation with data from watershed experiments to test the effectiveness of current Forest Practices Code guidelines. Examples will be drawn from a pilot project at Redfish Creek in southeastern British Columbia. Challenges that need to be overcome before hydrologic modeling can be used in site-specific forest management will also be addressed. It will be suggested that these challenges can in part be overcome by developing model applications of watershed experiments with high quality data such as Redfish Creek. An inter-comparison of model applications within biogeoclimatic zones would enable an assessment of the regional transferability of watershed model parameters for use in simulating forest management impacts at catchments with fewer data resources.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology