Protecting drinking water in a changing climate from forest to tap

7/5/2021

Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

The Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW), located about 60 km north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, has been home to long-term research since 1979. It continues to serve as a training ground for future scientists and researchers, while addressing emerging science issues.

Today, we meet six students who are working at TLW contributing to the Boreal Shield node in the forWater Network, an NSERC-funded network devoted to research to protect drinking water in a changing climate, from forest to tap.

As part of forWater, the TLW is one of many field sites being examined across Canada. The project is focused on understanding the climatic and biogeochemical differences in stream water across various forest types and how source water quality is affected by both climate change and forest management. Results from the TLW and elsewhere will improve our understanding of how forest management can improve drinking water quality and treatability for downstream users.

“There’s a great deal of insight into the hydrology at Turkey Lakes Watershed that can’t always be found in a peer-reviewed article – it’s one thing to read about research at a location, but it’s entirely different to have conversations with the people who have long had ‘boots on the ground’ in the watershed.” – Annie Gray

Characterizing cyanobacterial communities with Ellen Cameron

PhD graduate, University of Waterloo
Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

My research focused on characterizing the cyanobacteria communities (microscopic organisms found naturally in all types of water) in the Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW) using DNA sequencing. Exploring how environmental factors influence cyanobacteria communities in boreal lakes is providing new insights into the development of ecologically meaningful monitoring protocols for water quality.

Being able to study lakes that are interconnected within the same watershed has provided a unique setting to explore similarities and dissimilarities of cyanobacteria communities in different waterbodies of the same watershed. The research team at TLW has been of great assistance in helping us to gather seasonal samples even during the winter! Frequently, the winter is often excluded from seasonal studies due to the logistical challenges of sampling. With the help of NRCan and ECCC, we were able to get samples and characterize a full seasonal profile of cyanobacterial communities in the lakes including during ice cover.

TLW provides an incredible research platform due to the wealth of long-term data that has been collected at the sites. Ecological studies can often be challenging due to potential spontaneity in systems but being able to back up research with long-term data and trends helps to solidify conclusions.

“…being able to back up research with long-term data and trends helps to solidify conclusions.” – Ellen Cameron

Understanding the effects of forest disturbances with Matt Watkins

Master's candidate, Trent University
Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

My work examines the effects of forest disturbance on water quality and treatability in Boreal Shield catchments northeast of Sault Ste. Marie in the Algoma region. It is going to build upon the wealth of research done at Turkey Lakes by synoptically analysing stream chemistry, particularly dissolved organic carbon (DOC) across a range of disturbance types, such as fire, harvest, insect and mixed, at the landscape scale to understand the downstream implications on water treatability. High DOC levels in stream water resulting from forest disturbance are a major concern for municipal water supplies affecting quality (taste, odour) and potentially increasing treatment facility operating costs and disinfection byproduct formation (potentially harmful).

Looking at some of the numerous topics surrounding Turkey Lakes unveils an impressive amount of research conducted (e.g., aquatic biology, atmospheric deposition, water quality, soil characteristics, hydrologic modelling, etc.), which is invaluable to the greater scientific community abroad. Turkey Lakes should act as a foundational blueprint as we move forward with greater environmental challenges on the horizon.

I had always thought about being at the forefront of science relating to the processes of the natural world in some capacity. Now that I have had the opportunity to meet so many talented researchers and supportive organizations during the first year of my M.Sc., I feel humbled to be in such company. Opening this door allowed me to see all of the interconnected problem-solving going on across the country.

“Turkey Lakes should act as a foundational blueprint as we move forward with greater environmental challenges on the horizon.” – Matt Watkins

Examining drinking water quality in streams with Nan Qi

Master's candidate, Trent University
Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

My research examines dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and drinking water quality in forested headwater streams. My work examines how the Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW) harvesting experiment initiated in 1997 could affect legacy characteristics of DOC quality and quantity and what the implications are for drinking water quality. The TLW has 40+ years of hydrological and water chemistry records, which makes it a perfect study area for my research.

My research contributes to the forWater Network’s objective by improving our understanding of how DOC is affected by different kinds of forest harvesting strategies; how DOC quality and quantity change during forest regrowth following harvesting, how DOC is related to disinfection byproduct formation potential and other metrics of drinking water quality, and finally how to protect source water quality using different forest management methods.

"The TLW has 40+ years of hydrological and water chemistry records, which makes it a perfect study area for my research.” – Nan Qi

Modeling forested watersheds with Tyler Hampton

PhD candidate, University of Waterloo
Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

I am developing a parsimonious modelling framework that can capture important characteristics of our forested watersheds including biomass regrowth after harvesting, changing carbon stocks in soil, and nitrogen and carbon export via hydrologic pathways. We use the word parsimonious to describe our method of modelling starting with simple mechanisms observed in nature, and only adding complexity (and model parameters) until model fit is balanced with simplicity.

Working with the team from the Turkey Lakes Watershed Study has allowed me to picture myself in the forest, the stream, or along the lakeshore and discuss the important processes in these watersheds with the researchers who have walked the forests. It’s extremely beneficial for me to picture the forest when I’m at my desk trying to capture meaningful abstractions of the real world in mathematical formulas. I’ve had the chance to discuss the behaviour of these watersheds with hydrologists, biogeochemists and foresters. All these conversations have informed my work and helped me apply an interdisciplinary lens to these complex systems.

I have completed my studies across the continent. There are only a handful of forest sites like TLW and HBES (the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in New Hampshire) where we can ask questions about a myriad of issues like climate change, harvesting of forests, the sources of our drinking water and species diversity.

"I’ve had the chance to discuss the behaviour of these watersheds with hydrologists, biogeochemists and foresters. All these conversations have informed my work and helped me apply an interdisciplinary lens to these complex systems."– Tyler Hampton

Impacts of legacy forest harvest on phosphorus with Will Fines

Master's candidate, University of Waterloo
Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

I am studying the legacy impacts of forest harvest on phosphorus transport at Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW). Specifically, I am looking at how phosphorus moves from forest soils to streams and how forest harvesting might increase the amount of phosphorus that is delivered to streams over the long term. As phosphorus is often a limiting nutrient in lakes and reservoirs, increased phosphorus loading increases the chance of harmful algal blooms and subsequently drinking water treatability. A better understanding of these transport processes will help inform forest management approaches to limit impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

Working at TLW has provided me with an excellent opportunity to explore some of the underlying processes that control water quality in forested streams on the Boreal Shield. Without the existing literature about the catchments, infrastructure and the experience from the scientists and technicians at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre, my work would not be possible.

Natural environments respond simultaneously to stressors such as changes in climate and anthropogenic disturbance with varying degrees of recovery through time. The existing scientific literature around forest disturbance typically focuses on one stressor and its immediate impacts (1–5 years). However, with the added impacts of climate change, the rates of recovery of these systems is uncertain. Therefore, understanding the processes and timescales associated with land disturbance is critical to making sound land-management decisions. Turkey Lakes Watershed is positioned perfectly to understand how forested and aquatic systems respond simultaneously to these stressors and provide reliable science that informs land-management decisions.

Image: Paul Hazlett, retired CFS soil scientist, left, and Will Fines, right.

“Without the existing literature about the catchments, infrastructure, and the experience from the scientists and technicians at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre, my work would not be possible.”– Will Fines

Legacy impacts of clearcuts on carbon transport with Annie Gray

Master's candidate, University of Waterloo
Reprinted with permission from Natural Resources Canada

My work is focused on the legacy impacts of clearcut harvesting on the dynamics and character of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW). This research will build upon the Harvesting Impacts Program at TLW and will contribute to forWater as a long-term case study of harvesting impacts. The concentration and character of DOC influences drinking water treatment methods such as coagulant dosing, making these variables, and their dynamics under differing hydrologic conditions, of great interest to water treatment engineers and forWater.

Contributing my research to a larger, ongoing effort seems much more meaningful than a standalone study, and TLW provides that chance. In addition to fieldwork at TLW, my research will also benefit from the lab resources and analytical capacity of the Great Lakes Forestry Centre. The water samples collected through my research will be analyzed at the centre, resulting in a detailed dataset that can be referenced and used by NRCan and partners in the future.

One of the most important aspects of TLW is its long-term set of streamflow and water chemistry data — any high-frequency data collection requires a broader context in which it can be interpreted. It is rare for an experimental watershed to have continuous data records as long as those at TLW.

"Contributing my research to a larger, ongoing effort seems much more meaningful than a standalone study, and TLW provides that chance." – Annie Gray

0 Comments

NEWS