2016 Call - Source Stream Protection (SOSTPRO)

The SOSTPRO team is trying to determine the value of protection of small streams in forestry settings, in terms of sustaining water quality, quantity, habitat and other ecosystem services. In many countries, small source streams (headwaters) receive little to no protection during forestry operations, compared to larger, downstream water bodies. Alterations to source streams, including increased erosion, warmer water, higher nutrient concentrations, and reduced organic matter inputs have impacts on ecosystems and users downstream.  However, we know little about how much is enough to balance timber values with ecosystem services, one of the objectives of our project. Our project is trying to quantify the magnitude of the difference between harvested and reference streams, scale this up to catchments, and use variation in riparian protection practices in the post-harvest landscape to determine if we can quantify the relationship between amount of protection and the benefits accrued.

The consortium has held three workshops in the past years, the meetings have allowed the consortium members to discuss our research work, learn about the respective forestry practices and freshwater ecosystems, network with partners, and ensure mobility of the post-graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and research assistants engaged in the project; the last workshop was held in Vancouver in May 2019.

The consortium is beginning to wrap up ongoing field studies and finalising several research papers from its work. It has considered composition and functions of streams by measuring several attributes in source streams; considering whether riparian protection around small streams can help with carbon storage, maintenance of riparian biodiversity, and instream ecosystem services. Finally, the consortium is developing a report that is intended to provide guidance for riparian protection for streams anywhere in the world given a particular set of objectives.