Geomorphic changes of headwater systems 3–23 years after forest harvesting by clearcutting

Forest harvesting directly affects headwater systems, causing changes in catchment hydrology and riparian habitats. We investigated geomorphological impacts of clearcut harvesting on headwater systems and their recovery in the boreal mixedwood forests of northwestern Ontario, Canada. We studied 30 headwater streams (width <3 m), 24 in previously clearcut sites and six in undisturbed mature forests as reference. Each sampled stream had two segments, i) in clearcut 10 m away from the cut edge and ii) in riparian buffer of the larger stream to which it flows. Using MANOVA and discriminant function analysis, we examined harvesting impacts on stream width, depth, number of stream channels, riparian width, ground exposure, canopy exposure and organic matter depths as disturbance index in clearcut chronosequence…