Debris dams as habitat for aquatic invertebrates in forested headwater streams: a large-scale field experiment

To evaluate the effects of debris dams on aquatic invertebrate communities, we sampled benthic invertebrates in debris dams and riffles in three forested headwater streams in New Zealand. As part of a large-scale field experiment, debris dams were subsequently removed from three treatment sections in each of the streams to assess effects on invertebrate communities. Prior to debris dam removal, total invertebrate densities in debris dams were not significantly different from those in riffles. However, densities of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa were significantly higher in debris dams than in riffles. Debris dams contained a higher number of less common taxa (defined as <1% of total catch) and significantly higher densities of shredders. Densities for Coleoptera, Diptera and Trichoptera taxa were significantly higher in the autumn than in the spring. Non-metric multidimensional scaling axis scores indicated that both habitat and season had a significant effect on aquatic invertebrate community composition. At the reach scale, the effects of debris dam removal on the aquatic invertebrate communities were not statistically detectable because debris dams comprised only a small proportion of total habitat. However, these data highlight the importance of debris dams in contributing to the diversity of aquatic invertebrates in forested headwater streams.

The Influence of an EPS Concrete Buffer Layer Thickness on Debris Dams Impacted by Massive Stones in the Debris Flow

The failure of debris dams impacted by the massive stones in a debris flow represents a difficult design problem. Reasonable materials selection and structural design can effectively improve the resistance impact performance of debris dams. Based on the cushioning properties of expanded polystyrene (EPS) concrete, EPS concrete as a buffer layer poured on the surface of a rigid debris dam was proposed. A three-dimensional numerical calculation model of an EPS concrete buffer layer/rigid debris dam was established. The single-factor theory revealed change rules for the thickness of the buffer layer concerning the maximal impact force of the rigid debris dam surface through numerical simulation. Moreover, the impact force-time/history curves under different calculation conditions for the rigid debris dam surface were compared. Simulation results showed that the EPS concrete buffer layer can not only effectively extend the impact time of massive stones affecting the debris dam but also reduce the impact force of the rigid debris dam caused by massive stones in the debris flow. The research results provide theoretical guidance for transferring the energy of the massive stone impact, creating a structural design and optimizing debris dams.

Flow permanence affects aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity and community structure in three headwater streams in a forested catchment

Drying can be a common disturbance affecting macroinvertebrate communities in headwater streams. Whether intermittent and ephemeral streams have a lower diversity and (or) unique assemblage structure relative to physically similar and nearby perennial streams is still debated. We investigated changes in the diversity and assemblage composition of aquatic macroinvertebrates occupying debris dams in three headwater streams with a gradient of flow permanence (perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral) during a dry period in the austral summer of 2007 and a wet period in the spring of 2008. In the dry period, mean taxon richness and abundance in debris dams were lower in the intermittent and ephemeral streams than in the perennial stream, and the length of time without connected surface flow appeared to produce different patterns in community composition. However, during the wet period, mean taxon richness, abundance, and community composition of macroinvertebrates were very similar among the three streams. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling showed evidence for a strong effect of permanence on taxon richness, abundance, and evenness within debris dams. Taxa from the perennial stream were extremely efficient at colonizing seasonally dry nearby streams. Differences in assemblage structure between these temporary and permanent headwater streams may only arise seasonally and also appear related to flow permanence.

Effects of catchment characteristics and disturbances on storage and export of dissolved organic carbon in a boreal headwater stream

The transportation of large amounts of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) down a stream within a 15.51-km2 catchment in Alberta, Canada, related directly to events, such as high rainfall and beaver (Castor canadensis) dam failures, that created major disturbances. A 2.3-km section of the stream was drastically altered in June 1994 when a flood wave resulting from a breached beaver dam deposited large amounts of debris and sediment within the section. Results from stream DOC-storage analyses, in which a difference method was used, suggest that the organic-debris dams created by the failed dam event served as both sources and sinks for DOC. Discharge and DOC measurements at hydrometric stations located at intervals along the stream indicated that storage of DOC on the catchment was strongly influenced by the presence of wetlands and beaver. In 1994 and 1995, disturbances occurring during periods totalling 17 days and 28 days accounted for 94% (1374 kg·km–2) and 84% (204 kg·km–2), respectively, of the amount of DOC exported from the catchment. DOC concentrations in the stream were greatest (77.0 mg·L–1) near the top of the catchment and decreased progressively downstream to the catchment outlet, where the mean concentration was 23.3 mg·L–1.