Andrews Forest LTER information managers have continued development of the HydroDB data harvester system to provide ready access to streamflow data via internet.
Andrews Forest LTER has scored a first in the Network with a major publication using HydroDB data. Appearing in the WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH VOL. 40 (2004), "Seasonal and successional streamflow response to forest cutting and regrowth in the northwest and eastern United States" compares trends in streamflow response to forest cutting and regrowth in experimental watersheds on the U.S. west coast (Andrews, Coyote Creek, and Caspar Creek) and east coast (Hubbard Brook, Fernow, and Coweeta) using more than 900 basin-years of record from 14 treatment/control watershed pairs. Differences between the sites reflect climate (especially roles of snow) and conifer vs. deciduous vegetation. In the first 5-year period after cutting, maximum daily increases in flow ranged from 2-3 mm at deciduous forest sites and 6-8 mm at conifer forest sites. Significant increases in spring flows persisted for up to 35 years in conifer sites. Streamflow increases in the first 25 years after cutting were significantly related to the age of the forest at the time of cutting, which ranged from as little as 12 years in an eastern site and as old as 450-plus years in several Pacific Northwest sites.
Information managers at Andrews LTER continue to develop the HydroDB data harvester system to provide ready access to streamflow data via the internet. Twenty-four LTER sites and 23 USDA Forest Service sites (six sites have both designations) now have metadata (descriptions of sites and methods) and streamflow data posted at www.fsl.orst.edu/climhy/. Funding for the development of HydroDB has come from the NSF/LTER and Forest Service Research.
(To read or download the pdf version of the report please visit www.lternet.edu).
Story courtesy of Andrews LTER