| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
Lambly Creek is the water source for the Lakeview Service Area of the District of West Kelowna; supplying water for domestic, commercial and irrigation uses to over 3,300 service connections servicing a population of 11,000 residents. The hydrological effects of MPB and salvage harvest forest cover disturbance were analysed using recent research findings on snow accumulation and melt effects under different forest canopy conditions; including the effects of the dead pine trees, non-pine overstory, and understory seedlings, saplings and poles in MPB-attacked stands (Huggard and Lewis, 2008), Canopy change effects are expressed as equivalent clearcut area (ECA). Stand structure data for ECA modelling was collected in 245 random plots in 30 accessible pine-leading stands in the hydrologically sensitive upper watershed snow zone, in seven South Okanagan watersheds near and including Lambly Creek. Over 70% of these VRI labelled pine-leading stands had a non-pine overstory averaging 25 to 69% of total overstory basal area, and healthy understory averaging 560 to 1000 well-spaced stems/ha >1.3m tall. These stands will continue to have a significant hydrological function, even after all pine in the stand is dead. cumulative effects, mountain pine beetle, forest harvest, watershed management, water supply, water quality |
