Webinar: Long-term impacts of forest harvesting on dissolved organic carbon

Annie Gray, MSc Graduate, University of Waterloo
​Webinar: June 20th @ 12:30pm

​Detailed title: Dissolved organic carbon concentration and character in northern hardwood-dominated headwater catchments: A paired-catchment investigation of long-term clearcutting impacts

Webinar description: Forest harvesting is an important primary industry in Canada and a proposed source water protection (SWP) strategy for landscape disturbances such as wildfire. The benefits of forest harvesting as a SWP strategy must be weighed against the potential impacts it may have on water quality and treatability. Most studies of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) take place less than 10 years post-harvesting. Accordingly, less is known about the long-term (decadal-scale) impacts of forest harvesting on stream DOC. Understanding forest harvesting impacts on stream DOC is key to the sustainable management of forested source watersheds.

This study evaluated the decadal-scale impacts of clearcut harvesting on stream DOC concentrations and export using a paired catchment approach (unharvested reference vs legacy clearcut) at the Turkey Lakes Watershed. The concentrations, spatial distribution, and hydrologic connectivity of hillslope solute pool DOC were evaluated. Additionally, stream DOC character was evaluated at event-scales using Liquid Chromatography-Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD).

Key findings to be discussed include inter-catchment difference in stream DOC concentrations and character and the relevance of wetland position in a paired-catchment context.

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Bio
Annie Gray recently defended her Master’s thesis in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. Her field-based research focused on evaluating the decadal-scale impacts of clear-cut harvesting on the dynamics of stream and hillslope dissolved organic carbon to better understand forest harvesting in the context of source water protection. Previously a research assistant for the Global Water Futures project, Annie received her B.Sc. in Geography and Geomatics from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2020. Her work for Global Water Futures entailed the creation of open-source web applications in the contexts of flood hazard mitigation and community-based water quality monitoring. Annie has previously worked as an IT technician for the Rouge National Urban Park, as a broadcast technician for Rogers TV, and as a sports broadcast and theatre technician for Wilfrid Laurier University.