Graduation Date
Spring 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources, option Forestry, Watershed, & Wildland Sciences
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Andrew Stubblefield
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Alison O'Dowd
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Conor Shea
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Log jams, Salmonid habitat, Salmon, Restoration, Long-term, Monitoring, Stream restoration, Residual pool depth, redwood, Pacific Northwest, Spawning, Gravel, Floodplain, Hydraulic complexity, Rearing habitat
Subject Categories
Watershed Management
Abstract
The conservation and recovery of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus sp.) depend on stream restoration and protection of freshwater habitats. In-stream large wood dictates channel morphology, increases retention of terrestrial inputs such as organic matter, nutrients and sediment, and enhances the quality of fish habitat. Historic land use/land cover changes have resulted in aquatic systems devoid of large wood. Restoration by placement of large wood jams is intended to restore physical and biological processes. An important question for scientists and restoration managers, in addition to the initial effectiveness of restoration, is the persistence and fate of large wood installations. In this study I compare channel change and large wood attributes on the East Fork of Mill Creek, a tributary of the Smith River in northern California, eight years after a major instream wood placement effort took place. I compared my results with previously published data from a few months before and one year after large wood installation.
Since the introduction of complex wood jams to East Fork Mill Creek in 2008, this study found an overall increase in floodplain connectivity, bankfull width, and lower channel gradient leading to an increase in hydraulic complexity. Key log jams designs were found to be self-sustaining; creating cover and resting habitat for adult and juvenile salmonids such as side channel access. Furthermore, self-sustaining log jams further improved rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids by trapping and sorting sediments exposing spawning gravel suitable for Chinook, Coho and coastal rainbow trout. The results observed in this study support several common long-term goals. Future restoration efforts in areas equivalent to East Fork Mill Creek with similar long-term goals may find complex log jams, comparable to the log jams installed in this study, benefiting their project area
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, Diedra L., "Persistence of stream restoration with large wood, Redwood National and State Parks, California" (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 153.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/153
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Forest Management Commons, Fresh Water Studies Commons, Geomorphology Commons, Hydrology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Other Earth Sciences Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Water Resource Management Commons