The utility of stream habitat and biota for identifying potential conflicting forest land uses: Montane riparian areas

Rinne, J.N., 1990. The utility of stream habitat and biota for identifying potential conflicting forest land uses: Montane riparian areas. For. Ecol. Manage., 33/34: 363-383. Investigations since 1960 on the effects of land-management practices on riparian-stream systems often have produced contradictory results. Inconsistencies have occurred, in part, because of efforts that have not been totally comprehensive and, in part, because of poor study design and procedure. This paper reviews the literature on the use of fine sediment, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and fishes as indicators for identifying and describing the effects of various land-use practices on riparian-stream systems. Also, I present the results of my research on the effects of land-management activities on these three variables for several southwestern (U.S.A.) montane streams. The integration of these two sources of information (literature and empirical data) suggests it is valid to use these three variables in detecting the effects of multiple use activities on riparian-stream systems, although other variables (e.g., solar radiation, water quality, water temperature, riparian vegetation) cannot be ignored. More valid and reliable definition of the effects of land-use practices on this valuable, everdeclining forestedwetland resource will require collection of baseline data, study over an extended time-period on an ecosystem basis, and consideration of multiple physical and biotic features.