Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF04105
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(1)

Effects of progressive catchment harvesting on stream invertebrates in two contrasting regions of New Zealand's North Island

K. J. Collier A B C and B. J. Smith A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., PO Box 11-115, Hamilton, New Zealand.

B Present Address: Environment Waikato, PO Box 4010, Hamilton, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: kevin.collier@ew.govt.nz

Marine and Freshwater Research 56(1) 57-68 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04105
Submitted: 24 May 2004  Accepted: 25 November 2004   Published: 4 February 2005

Abstract

We examined changes in stream habitat and benthic invertebrate communities in two contrasting regions of New Zealand’s North Island over a 9–10-year period as pine forest harvesting progressed through the catchments. Increases in streambed cover by sand/silt, wood and macrophytes were recorded as harvesting progressed, but little change was observed in qualitative periphyton abundance. Despite similar high-level taxonomic structure of invertebrate communities between the two regions, differences in percentage and log-transformed abundance indicated an effect of landscape context that reflected different hydrologies and bed-substratum stabilities. Within regions, ordination plots indicated broadly distinct site clusters that persisted through time and reflected variations in stream size, substratum composition, periphyton abundance and degree of catchment harvesting. Generally, few of the invertebrate community metrics examined showed clear responses to progressive catchment or onsite harvesting relative to previous intra- and inter-annual variation. The most noticeable exceptions were percentage Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (excluding Hydroptilidae) abundance and percentage Elmidae abundance, which were negatively and positively correlated, respectively, with percentage catchment harvested. We identify three broad response categories to catchment harvesting that reflect subsidy–stress effects as logging progressed and discuss the relevance of these findings to potential pine forest harvesting effects in southern Australia.

Extra keywords: benthos, landscape context, logging, Pinus radiata, plantation forestry.


Acknowledgments

Thanks to John Quinn and Wayne Linklater for setting up the Taneatua study and John, Aslan Wright-Stow, Corina Kemp, Steph Parkyn, Kerry Costley, Eddie Bowman and Graham Timpany for assisting at various times with field work and provision of flow data. Clive Tozer, Dave Evans, Gavin Williamson and Glenn Sutton of Fletcher Challenge Forests and its various incarnations provided financial support for continued sampling. Michael Elix, Colin Maunder and Rex King provided estimates of catchment area harvested. The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology also helped fund the study and the write-up of results, as part of contract CO4X0012 under subcontract to Forest Research. Constructive comments on draft manuscripts were provided by John Quinn and Mark Meleason of NIWA, and two anonymous referees.


References

APHA (1989). ‘Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.’ 17th edn. (American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Pollution Control Federation: Washington, DC.)

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003). Yearbook Australia. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/ausstatshome.

Baillie, B. R. , Cummins, T. L. , and Kimberley, M. O. (1999). Harvesting effects on woody debris and bank disturbance in stream channels. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 29, 85–101.
Clarke K. R., and Warwick R. M. (2001). ‘Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation.’ 2nd edn. (Plymouth Marine Lab.: UK.)

Collier, K. J. , Rutherford, J. C. , Quinn, J. M. , and Davies-Colley, R. J. (2001). Forecasting rehabilitation outcomes for degraded New Zealand pastoral streams. Water Science and Technology 43, 175–184.
Harding J. S., Quinn J. M., and Hickey C. W. (2000). Effects of mining and production forestry. In ‘New Zealand Stream Invertebrates: Ecology and Implications for Management’. (Eds K. J. Collier and M. J. Winterbourn.) pp. 230–259. (New Zealand Limnological Society: Christchurch.)

Hawkins, C. P. , Murphy, M. L. , and Anderson, N. H. (1982). Effects of canopy, substrate composition, and gradient on the structure of macroinvertebrate communities in Cascade Range streams of Oregon. Ecology 63, 1840–1856.
Leathwick J., Wilson G., Rutledge D., Wardle P., Morgan F., Johnston K., McLeod M., and Kirkpatrick R. (2003). ‘Land Environments of New Zealand.’ (David Bateman: Auckland.)

Maitland P. S., Newson M. D., and Best G. A. (1990). The impact of afforestation and forestry practice on freshwater habitats. Nature Conservancy Council Report no. 23. Peterborough, UK.

Malmqvist, B. (2002). Aquatic invertebrates in riverine landscapes. Freshwater Biology 47, 679–694.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | McCune B., and Grace J. B. (2002). ‘Analysis of Ecological Communities.’ (MjM Software Design: Gleneden Beach, OR.)

Morris L. A., Bush P. B., and Clark J. S. (1992). Ecological impacts and risks associated with forest management. In ‘Predicting Ecosystem Risk’. (Eds J. Cairns Jr, B. R. Niederlehner and D. R. Orvos.) pp. 153–213. (Princeton Scientific Publishing Co. Inc.: Princeton, NJ.)

Noel, D. S. , Martin, C. W. , and Federer, C. A. (1986). Effects of forest clear-cutting in New England on stream macroinvertebrates and periphyton. Environmental Management 10, 661–670.
Pfankuch D. J. (1975). Stream reach inventory and channel stability evaluation. US Forest Service, Region 1, Missoula, MT.

Quinn J. M. (2000). Effects of pastoral development. In ‘New Zealand Stream Invertebrates: Ecology and Implications for Management’. (Eds K. J. Collier and M. J. Winterbourn.) pp. 208–229. (New Zealand Limnological Society: Christchurch.)

Quinn, J. M. , Steele, G. L. , Hickey, C. W. , and Vickers, M. L. (1994). Upper thermal tolerances of twelve New Zealand stream invertebrate species. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 28, 391–397.
Smith B. J. (2004). Addition to final report: a summary of over ten years’ data on the effects of plantation forestry on stream water clarity and temperatures at Wainui Forest. NIWA Client Report HAM2004–015, February 2004. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Stone, M. K. , and Wallace, J. B. (1998). Long-term recovery of a mountain stream from clear-cut logging: the effects of forest succession on benthic invertebrate community structure. Freshwater Biology 39, 151–169.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Winterbourn M. J. (1986). Forestry practices and stream communities with particular reference to New Zealand. In ‘Stream Protection. The Management of Rivers for Instream Uses’. (Ed. I. C. Campbell.) pp. 85–94. (Chisholm Institute of Technology: Melbourne.)

Wolman, M. G. (1954). A new method of sampling coarse river-bed material. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 35, 951–956.