Ecological land units of Bear Creek watershed and their relationship to water quality

During 1975 and 1976 a sedimentation study was conducted in the Bear Creek watershed, located in the southeastern corner of central Oregon's Crook County. A Rocky Mountain infiltrometer was used to simulate high intensity rainfall over 468 sedimentation plots. Rainfall and runoff were measured and a sample of the runoff was collected to determine the sediment potentials. The Bear Creek watershed was divided into eight ecological land units which were further refined into 14 tentative habitat types and four unclassified communities. These divisions are based upon an association table developed from vegetation and soil field data. One- and two-factor analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences within habitat types, between habitat types within a unit, and when appropriate, between treatments or ecological condition within the habitat type or unit. Tractor logging in the mixed forest unit caused a significant increase in soil loss. Non-forest units exhibited a high natural variability in sediment production within the site tended to override any differences that may have resulted from a management treatment. Significant differences that did occur appeared to be closely related to differences in soils or ecologic condition. Wildland watershed managerial implications are explored in the summary section.KEY WORDS : Ecological Land Units, Bear Creek Watershed, Water Quality, Sediment Potential, Runoff, Watershed Management

Hydrologic outputs from woodland, shrubland, and grassland ecosystems in relation to grazing management strategies : an annotated bibliography

Published September 1981. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Wildland Watershed Management Short Course

Published July 1988. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Proceedings, Western juniper management short course, October 15-16, 1984, Bend, Oregon

Published 1984. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Review and Comparison

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management, the National Agricultural Library, and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

Water Quality Impact of Burning and Grazing on a Chained Pinyon-Juniper Site in Southeastern Utah

During 1973 and 1974 a water quality study was conducted in San Juan County, southeastern Utah. In 1973, baseline water quality data was collected from study locations which had been chained to remove pinyon-juniper vegetation six years earlier. The area had been chained under two different techniques: (1) doubled chained, with debris-left-in-place and (2) chained, with debris windrowed. An undisturbed, natural woodland was left between these two treatments in order to serve as a control area. In the fall of 1973 and spring of 1974 secondary treatments of burning and grazing were superimposed upon the debris-in-place and windrowed sites, respectively. All water collected and analyzed for the several water quality parameters was generated through use of a small plot Rocky Mountain infiltrometer which creates a simulated rainstorm. Resultant runoff was collected and analyzed for each of the parameters in question. No significant changes were noted from these point source measurements in terms of fecal and total coliform production (fecal pollution bacterial indicators). The point source approach was a technique for sampling a much larger land area through many small plots (0.23 m2). There is an element of risk involved whenever the data generated from such a small area is projected to the larger land area. Based on this small plot data it appears, however, that this level of livestock grazing (2 hectares/AUM) does not constitute a public health hazard in terms of fecal pollution indicators when grazed on similar semi-arid watershed areas. Some significant changes were noted following burning, however. Significant increases in potassium and phosphorus were noted. Apparently the fire released these nutrients which were tied up in the debris scattered across the site. Potassium registered an increase of about 4 ppm (400 percent) while phosphorus showed an increase of about 0.2 ppm (400 percent). No significant treatment changes were detected for sodium, calcium, or nitrate-nitrogen, however. Sediment production was also measured under the various treatment conditions. High natural variability is present among these sites, and no significant treatment effect was defected following our prescribed burning or grazing treatments. Infiltration rates were also monitored. No significant treatment differences were noted among the initial treatment means during 1973. Apparently any differences in infiltration rates due to chaining technique had been overcome by the passage of six years since the initial chaining had been completed. During 1974, however, secondary treatment was in effect. Infiltration rates on the grazed and burned watersheds were significantly depressed during certain time intervals in comparison to the undisturbed, natural woodland location. Apparently this level of secondary treatment could have an effect on the hydrology of the area, at least in terms of infiltration rates

An Investigations Progress Report: Vegetation and Soil Indicators to Hydrologic Potential

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management, the National Agricultural Library, and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

Effects of Range Plant Foliage Removal on Soil Moisture Regime at Two Elevations in Central Utah

During 1966 and 1967, a range plant clipping study was conducted at two locations in central Utah\u27s Ephraim Canyon. It was found that extreme clipping treatment resulted in a significant increase in soil moisture due to a presumed decrease in transpiration during 1967. At the lower location, 7,100 feet elevation, a difference of 5.4 inches over a 5 foot soil profile was noted between the extreme and control clipping treatments in 1967. At the upper location, 10,000 feet in elevation, a savings of 3.6 inches soil moisture was observed over the 5 foot soil profile in 1967. Other clipping intensities also showed water savings in terms of reduced depletion values over the control plots, although these differences were not in all cases statistically significant