Leo Heikurainen. (1970). The effect of thinning, clear cutting, and fertilization on the hydrology of peatland drained for forestry. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 104 article id 7538. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7538

Keywords: fertilization; thinning; drained peatlands; throughfall; clear-cutting; hydrology; ground water table; snow cover; runoff

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of cutting of different intensities on the hydrology of drained peatland. The study concerned with measuring changes in the ground water level, throughfall, and snow cover, and specially runoff. This study focused on the phenomena that occur during the growing season. Seven sample plots were measured in an area in Central Finland which had been drained about 50 years earlier and had Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand of uniform age.

To survey the hydrological effects of cuttings, 20%, 40% and 60% of the stand volume was removed in thinnings. In addition, one sample plot was clear-cut. During the first two years after cutting the interception diminished, and throughfall increased by 7% for the 20% thinning, by 8% for the 40% thinning and by 12% for the 60% thinning. Clear cutting increased the throughfall by 29%. The thinnings increased the depth of the snow cover the more the heavier the thinning.

Even the lightest thinning raised the ground water table, but the difference between 20% and 40% thinning was not marked. Cuttings increased runoff the greater the heavier the cutting. The hydrological changes of fellings were detrimental for the site. However, there was a marked change only between the 40% and 60% thinnings. Fertilization had a favourable effect on the hydrology of the peatland by increasing the depth of ground water table, and decreasing the throughfall.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

Heikurainen, E-mail: lh@mm.unknown

Category : Research article

article id 106, category Research article

Hannu Hökkä, Heli Hyttinen, Hannu Marttila, Juha Jämsen, Bjørn Kløve. (2011). Effect of peak runoff control method on growth of Scots pine stands on drained peatlands in central Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 3 article id 106. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.106

Keywords: peatland; forest drainage; stand growth; runoff control; water quality

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

In drained peatland forests ditch networks need regular maintenance operations in order to sustain their drainage capacity. These operations however have a significant impact on the quality of the runoff water from the ditched areas. Peak runoff control (PRC) method has been proposed as a possible method to diminish the load to water courses through retention of the runoff temporarily in the ditch network during maximum runoff events using dams with a plastic control pipe. However, blocking water into the ditched area for periods of varying length during the growing season may have a negative impact on the growth of the tree stands. In this study past stand growth was investigated in Central Finland in altogether 10 sample Scots pine thinning stands in which the PRC method has been applied 5 growing seasons earlier. In each stand, a pair of sample plots was established: one plot next to the dam within the influence of periodic flooding and the other one outside the effect of periodic flooding. For determining stand growth, field measurements were made in August 2009. Stand growth near the dam was on average 0.54 m³ ha^-1 a^-1 lower than farther away from the dam but the analysis of covariance showed that the dam effect was not significant. The results of this study suggest that the PCR method does not decrease Scots pine stand growth during the first five year growth period after ditch cleaning.

Hökkä, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Rovaniemi Research Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: hannu.hokka@metla.fi
Hyttinen, Metsänhoitoyhdistys Keski-Suomi, Viitasaari, Finland E-mail: hh@nn.fi
Marttila, University of Oulu, Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Lab, Oulu, Finland E-mail: hm@nn.fi
Jämsen, Forestry Centre Keski-Suomi, Pihtipudas, Finland E-mail: jj@nn.fi
Kløve, University of Oulu, Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Lab, Oulu, Finland E-mail: bk@nn.fi

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