The Geomorphic Significance of Log Steps in Forest Streams 1
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8376296 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard A Marston (0000-0002-2974-7402, The University of Texas at El Paso, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1982 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 99-108 |
| Publication date | 1982-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annals of the Association of American Geographers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-5608 • E-ISSN: 1467-8306 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1982.tb01386.x |
| OpenAlex | W2092046993 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 6 |
A functional account of log steps in forest streams is provided by field surveys of 163 kilometers of streams in the central Oregon Coast Range. Natural treefall, rather than silvicultural activities, accounts for the majority of log steps. During low-flow conditions, dissipation of potential stream energy by log steps amounts to 6 percent, approximately equal to that by falls. There are no statistically significant differences regarding spatial distribution of log steps between study basins with contrasting silvicultural and natural stream inputs of large woody debris. However, significant spatial differences are revealed between streams of various orders, a finding that points to channel flushing capacity and stream-adjacent topography as dominant controls on log step development. Application of thermodynamic principles to stream systems demonstrates that neither falls nor log steps cause a statistically significant difference in equilibrium conditions of stream networks. The volume of sediment stored behind log steps in third-, fourth-, and fifth-order streams is 123 percent of the mean annual sediment discharge (suspended load and bed-load). Depriving some streams of log steps by stream clean-out or repeated harvest of stream-adjacent trees may initiate an episode of progressive erosion by not dissipating stream energy in excess of that needed to transport imposed sediment supplies. Addition of log steps to streams with energy already insufficient to balance sediment inputs and outputs may only serve to accentuate progressive deposition. Functions of instream large woody debris not incorporated as log steps must also be addressed in forest management decisions
Bed load · Channel (broadcasting) · Debris · Erosion · Geomorphology · Habitat · Hydrology (agriculture) · Large woody debris · Sediment · Sediment transport · Stream bed · STREAMS · Ecology · Environmental Science · Geology · Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes · Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies · Soil erosion and sediment transport
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,09 |
| Citation span | 1983 - 2011 (29) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |