Impacts of major watershed perturbations on aquatic ecosystems

Abstract

This Supplement presents data syntheses and new evidence from temperate (primarily boreal) North American studies of aquatic ecosystem response to episodic watershed deforestation and acid rain. These studies confirm the dominant role of the watershed in modulating aquatic response to terrestrial disturbance and quantify important regional differences related to physiography, vegetation, and drainage patterns. Comparisons of watershed disturbance by wildfire and logging revealed both similarities and differences in aquatic impact and underscore the need for ongoing regional evaluation of forest management models based on simulation of natural disturbance patterns. General quantitative impact models are now available but tend to be regional in scope and relevant primarily to water yield and water quality, rather than to habitat and biota.