Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR05092
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 44(3)

Sediment sources and delivery following plantation harvesting in a weathered volcanic terrain, Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand

Michael Marden A C , Donna Rowan A and Chris Phillips B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd, PO Box 445, Gisborne, New Zealand.

B Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd, PO Box 69, Lincoln, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: mardenm@landcareresearch.co.nz

Australian Journal of Soil Research 44(3) 219-232 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR05092
Submitted: 8 July 2005  Accepted: 6 February 2006   Published: 5 May 2006

Abstract

Sediment generation and vegetation recovery was measured over a 2-year post-harvest period in a 36-ha catchment of exotic forest located in andesitic terrain, Whangapoua Forest (36.46°S, 175.36°E), Coromandel, New Zealand. Slopewash, soil scraping (on-slope removal of the regolith by the repeated dragging of logs), and storm-initiated landsliding were identified as the principal sediment-generating processes. Slopewash and vegetation recovery rates were measured using field-based plots located on sites of shallow- and deep-disturbance and a regression relationship was established between sedimentation rate (accumulation (g)/day.mm rain.m2) and per cent vegetation cover for both plot types. At the basin scale, slopewash was calculated using the plot-based rates times the total area of deep- and shallow-disturbance sites as identified from a ground-based, transect survey and using sequential aerial photography. Sediment production, by soil scraping and landsliding, was determined by multiplying mean scar depth by the total affected area. In the first post-harvest year deep-disturbance sites generated 92% of total slopewash produced from both disturbance classes combined, and in year 2, slopewash halved. Half of the first post-harvest year’s slopewash-derived sediment was generated within the first 7 months following the completion of harvesting and before the application of desiccant. Thereafter, on deep-disturbance sites, slopewash rates declined further as sites became hardened against the generation of new sediment (i.e. sites became sediment limited). In contrast, during both the initial post-harvest recovery period and the post-desiccation period, the decline in sediment production on shallow-disturbance sites was more a consequence of site recolonisation. Sediment generated and redistributed by scalping and by landsliding occurred at the time of the respective events and coincided with the early part of the first post-harvest year. Collectively, soil scraping, slopewash, and landslides generated 1864 t (52 t/ha) of sediment, 88% of which remained on-slope. Of the sediment delivered to streams (228 t), landslides contributed 72%, soil scraping 26%, and slopewash 2%. For this harvested basin a single, storm-initiated, landsliding event was the most important hillslope process responsible for the generation of sediment and its delivery to streams, and slopewash was the least important.

Additional keywords: slopewash, forest harvesting, sediment generation, slope-channel linkages, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand.


Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staff of Ernslaw One Limited for granting permission to undertake this study in Whangapoua Forest, and Mr Pieter Fransen for his assistance with the construction of sediment plots. Drs Les Basher and Barry Fahey provided constructive comments on various drafts of this manuscript. Figures were draughted by Janie Jansen, Anne Austin edited the script, and Guy Forrester provided statistical support. This research was supported by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (Contract No. CO4X0012).


References


Bishop DM , Stevens ME (1964) Landslides on logged areas in south-eastern Alaska. U.S. Forest Service Resources, NOR-1.

Braun-Blanquet J (1932) ‘Plant sociology; the study of plant communities.’ Translation of 1st edition of Pflanzensoziologie (1928) (McGraw-Hill: New York)

Braun-Blanquet J (1965) ‘Plant sociology; the study of plant communities.’ (Eds CD Fuller, HS Conrad) (Hafner: London)

Coker RJ (1988) Assessment of the environmental impacts of harvesting Whangapoua Forest. Contract Report prepared for Auckland District Office, N.Z. Timberlands.

Dietrich WE , Dunne T , Humphrey NF , Reid LM (1982) Construction of sediment budgets for drainage basins. In ‘Sediment budgets and routing in Forested Drainage Basins’. (Eds FJ Swanson, RJ Janda, T Dunne, DN Swanston) pp. 5–23. (United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, General Technical Report, PNW-141)

Dyrness CT (1965) Soil surface condition following tractor and high-lead logging in the Oregon Cascades. Journal of Forestry 63, 272–275. open url image1

Fahey BD, Coker RJ (1989) Forest road erosion in the granite terrain of southwest Nelson, New Zealand. Journal of Hydrology [NZ] 28, 123–141. open url image1

Fahey BD, Coker RJ (1992) Sediment production from forest roads in Queen Charlotte Forest and potential impact on marine water quality, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 26, 187–195. open url image1

Fahey BD, Marden M (2000) Sediment yields from a forested and a pasture catchment, coastal Hawke’s Bay, North Island, New Zealand. Journal of Hydrology [NZ] 39, 49–63. open url image1

Fahey BD, Marden M, Phillips CJ (2003) Sediment yields from plantation forestry and pastoral farming, coastal Hawke’s Bay, North Island, New Zealand. Journal of Hydrology [NZ] 42, 27–38. open url image1

Fransen P (1998) Erosion and revegetation of haul paths in cable logged settings-North Island, New Zealand. Project Report 67, LIRO Limited, 15 p.

Fransen PJB, Phillips CJ, Fahey BD (2001) Forest road erosion in New Zealand: overview. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26, 165–174.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Furbish DJ, Rice RM (1983) Predicting landslides related to clearcut logging, North-western California, U.S.A. Mountain Research and Development 3, 253–259. open url image1

Garrison GA, Rummell RS (1951) First-year effects of logging on ponderosa pine forest range lands of Oregon and Washington. Journal of Forestry 49, 708–713. open url image1

Genstat (2002) ‘GenStat Release 6.2.’ Reference manual, Parts 1–3. (VSN International: Oxford, UK)

Hewitt AE (1998) ‘New Zealand Soil Classification.’ Landcare Research Science Series No. 1, 2nd edn (Manaaki-Whenua Press: Lincoln, NZ)

Larsen MC, Torres-Sanchez AJ, Concepcion IM (1999) Slopewash, surface runoff and fine-litter transport in forests and landslide scars in humid-tropical steeplands, Luquillo experimental forest, Puerto Rico. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 24, 481–502.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Marden M , Phillips C , Rowan D (2002) Soil loss, vegetation recovery, and sediment yield following plantation harvesting, Coromandel-interim results. In ‘Soil quality and sustainable land management’. (Compiled by P Stephens, J Callaghan, A Austin) pp. 111–116. (Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln, New Zealand)

Marden M , Rowan D (1995 a) Assessment of storm damage to Whangapoua Forest and its immediate environs following the storm of March 1995. Landcare Research Contract Report: LC9495/172, 29 p.

Marden M , Rowan D (1995 b) Relationship between storm damage and forest management practices, Whangapoua Forest. Landcare Research Contract Report: LC9495/173, 34 p.

Marden M, Rowan D (1997) Vegetation recovery and indicative sediment generation rates by slopewash erosion from hauler-logged settings at Mangatu Forest. New Zealand Forestry 42, 29–34. open url image1

McCraw JD , Bell JL (1975) Soils of the Coromandel-Thames Counties. Land Inventory Survey of Coromandel-Thames Counties. Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

McMahon S (1995) Cable logging disturbance on an unstable slope: A case study. LIRO Report 20 (12).

Megahan WF, Monsen SB, Wilson MD (1991) Probability of sediment yields from surface erosion on granite road fills in Idaho. Journal of Environmental Quality 20, 53–60. open url image1

Megahan WF, Wilson M, Monsen SB (2001) Sediment production from granitic cutslopes on forest roads in Idaho, USA. Earth Surfaces Processes and Landforms 26, 153–163.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Mosley MP (1980) The impact of forest road erosion in the Dart Valley, Nelson, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 23, 184–198. open url image1

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) (2003) Extract from high intensity rainfall design system—Whangapoua Forest: latitude 36°46S, longitude 175°36E. Climate Research and Information Services, Wellington.

New Zealand Meteorological Service (1980) Depth-duration-frequency tables based on daily rainfalls. New Zealand Meteorological Service Miscellaneous Publication 162 (Suppl. 1), Wellington.

O’Loughlin CL (1985) Influences of exotic plantation forest on slope stability-implications for exotic forest management in the Marlborough Sounds. In ‘Proceedings of the Soil Dynamics and Land-Use Seminar’. Blenheim, May 1985. pp. 313–328. (New Zealand Society of Soil Science and New Zealand Soil Conservators Association)

Pearce AJ , O’Loughlin C (1976) Effects of forest management on water and soil conservation, Auckland Conservancy. New Zealand Forest Service Internal Report, Auckland.

Pearce AJ, Hodgkiss PD (1987) Erosion and sediment yield from a landing failure after a moderate rainstorm, Tairua Forest. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 32, 19–22. open url image1

Phillips C , Marden M (1999) Review of vegetation-slope stability in plantation forests and risk assessment of Ohui Forest to landsliding. Landcare Research Contract Report: LC9899/66.

Phillips C, Marden M, Rowan D (2005) Sediment yield following plantation forest harvesting, Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand. Journal of Hydrology [NZ] 44, 29–44. open url image1

Quinn JM , Stroud M , Parkyn S , Burrell G (1995) Impacts of an intense rainstorm on 3–4 March 1995 on Whangapoua Forest Landscape and Streams. NIWA Contract Report (unpubl.).

Reid LM, Dunne T, Cederholm CJ (1981) Application of sediment budget studies to the evaluation of logging road impact. Journal of Hydrology [NZ] 20, 49–62. open url image1

Rowe LK , Marden M (1998) Sedimentation processes and water yield study, Northern Boundary, Kaingaroa Forest: Report 6: Summary of rainfall, streamflow and sediment data collected until March 1998 and the field inspection of May 1998. Landcare Research Contract Report, LC9899/024.

Siegel S , Castellan NJ (1988) ‘Nonparametric statistics for the behavioural sciences.’ 2nd edn (McGraw-Hill: New York)

Skinner DNB (1976) Geological map of New Zealand 1 : 633 60 Sheets N40 and part sheets N35, N36 and N39 Northern Coromandel. New Zealand Geological Survey.

Varnes DJ (1978) Slope movement types and processes. In ‘Landslides, analysis and control’. Special Report 176. (Eds RL Schuster, RJ Krizek) pp. 11–33. (Transportation Research Board, National Academy of Sciences: Washington, DC)

Walling DE (1988) Measuring sediment yield from river basins. In ‘Soil erosion research methods’. (Ed. R Lal) pp. 39–74. (Soil and Water Conservation Society: Ankeny, IA)

Wemple BC, Swanson FJ, Jones JA (2001) Forest roads and geomorphic process interactions, Cascade Range, Oregon. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26, 191–204.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wooldridge DD (1960) Watershed disturbance from tractor and skyline crane logging. Journal of Forestry 58, 369–372. open url image1

Ziemer RR (1981 a) Roots and the stability of forested slopes. In ‘Proceedings of the International Symposium on Erosion and Sediment Transport in Pacific Rim Steeplands’. Christchurch, New Zealand, 25–31 January. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 132, pp. 343–361. (IAHS: Wallingford, UK)

Ziemer RR (1981 b) The role of vegetation in the stability of forested slopes. In ‘Proceedings of the International Union of Forestry Research Organisations. XVII World Forestry Congress’. Kyoto, Japan, 6–17 September, pp. 297–308.

Ziemer RR (1981c) Management of steepland erosion: An overview. Keynote address, Theme 4 Journal of Hydrology [NZ] 20, 8–16. open url image1