Estimated Sediment Protection Efficiences for Increasing Levels of Best Management Practices on Forest Harvests in the Piedmont, USA

In-stream watershed level evaluations confirm that application of recommended forestry best management practices (BMPs) can minimize sedimentation following management, while on-site erosion research shows that BMPs reduce erosion from individual forest operations, thus implying watershed-level sediment reductions. Assessments of forest operations and sediment have developed very few sediment delivery ratios (SDR). Linking BMP levels (low, standard recommendation, high) within specific forest operations to sedimentation could enable managers to evaluate BMP effects. Reported data regarding forest operations, erosion rates and SDR by forest operation, and BMP implementation levels were sufficient within the Piedmont region to allow approximations of sediment delivery and BMP efficiency. Existing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service reports and published erosion and sediment research were used to comprise the following method. For regional annual harvests, estimated sediment deliveries (Mg year−1) = annual harvest area (ha year−1) × weighted average erosion rate from all forest operations (Mg ha−1 year−1) × SDR (unitless ratio). Weighted average erosion rates for all forest operations were determined by applying areas in each operational activity (%) × estimated erosion per operation (Mg ha−1 year−1). In comparing published data, standard BMPs reduced estimated sedimentation by 75% compared to low BMP implementation levels. This supports forestry BMP efficiency findings reported for sediment removals in watershed studies. Higher levels of BMP implementation were estimated to potentially remove nearly all forest operation-produced sediment. Values of this pilot study should be viewed cautiously, as estimates were based on limited data, estimated operations, and limited SDRs; are based on BMP categories that vary between states; and address only one year following harvests. However, the approach provided approximations that facilitate BMP evaluations and can be improved with additional data. This methodology highlights the importance of accurate estimates of erosion rates, SDRs, sediment masses, and area for operations. This supports the importance of state programs, which have increased BMP implementation rates and compliance options with BMP program maturation.

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Implementation of Forestry Best Management Practices and Sediment Delivery in Three Regions of North Carolina and Virginia

Forest Science ◽

10.1093/forsci/fxab057 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Brent S Hawks ◽

M Chad Bolding ◽

W Michael Aust ◽

Scott M Barrett ◽

Erik Schilling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North Carolina ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Forest Operations ◽

Sediment Delivery ◽

Management Zones ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Best Management ◽

Streamside Management Zones ◽

Sediment Mass

Abstract Forestry best management practices (BMPs) were created in response to the Clean Water Act of 1972 to protect water quality from nonpoint source pollutants such as sediment. The objectives of this study were to quantify the relationship between BMP implementation and sediment delivery on 58 recently harvested sites across three physiographic regions and five forest operational features. BMP implementation rates, erosion rates, sediment delivery ratios, and sediment masses were calculated at 183 silt fences functioning as sediment traps adjacent to streams in Virginia and North Carolina. Major access system features, including stream crossings, skid trails, and haul roads, typically delivered the greatest sediment mass to streams and had the highest sediment delivery ratios on a per feature basis. When accounting for sediment mass delivered and area in each feature, harvest area accounted for approximately 70% of sediment delivered to streams for all regions. Most features had proportionally higher erosion rates than sediment masses collected at silt fences, indicating that most erosion generated by forest operations is being trapped by either harvest areas or streamside management zones. For most features and regions, as BMP implementation increased, erosion rates and the sediment masses delivered to streams decreased. Study Implications Forestry best management practices (BMPs) are designed to mitigate the amount of sediment entering streams and affecting other aquatic features as a result of forest operations. In this study, a significant inverse relationship between BMP implementation and the amount of sediment delivered to streams was found, indicating that increasing levels of BMP implementation reduces sediment delivery. Most of the erosion caused by forest operations is being trapped before it is delivered to streams. This research highlights the importance of leaving streamside management zones along streams and minimizing the extent of bare soil and area in temporary and permanent roads.

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Best Management Practices Influence Sediment Delivery from Road Stream Crossings to Mountain and Piedmont Streams

Forest Science ◽

10.1093/forsci/fxy019 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (6) ◽

pp. 682-695 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A J Lang ◽

W Michael Aust ◽

M Chad Bolding ◽

Kevin J McGuire ◽

Erik B Schilling

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Sediment Delivery ◽

Best Management

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Benefits and Costs of Forestry Best Management Practices in Virginia

Southern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/sjaf/20.1.23 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 23-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

W. M. Aust ◽

R. M. Shaffer ◽

J. A. Burger

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Coastal Plain ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Best Management ◽

Water Quality Protection ◽

Program Compliance ◽

Plain Region ◽

Benefits And Costs

Abstract Benefits and costs of Virginia's forestry best management practices (BMPs) were estimated for the Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain regions using three actual nonregulatory phases and one theoretical regulatory phase of forest water quality protection. The four phases ranged from passive, nonregulatory to regulatory BMPs with increasingly restrictive provisions. As the level of regulation increased, the benefit:cost ratio decreased, indicating that costs were accruing at a proportionately greater rate than benefits. This pattern was most pronounced in the Coastal Plain region where average erosion rates were low, and substantial acreages were harvested. Results suggested that an aggressive, nonregulatory BMP program is the most efficient approach to forest water quality protection assuming that overall program compliance levels are sufficient to satisfy society's needs. South. J. Appl. For 20(1):23-29.

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Compliance with Forestry Best Management Practices in Maine

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/njaf/15.2.57 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 57-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Russell D. Briggs ◽

Janet Cormier ◽

Alan Kimball

Keyword(s):

Surface Waters ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Water Diversion ◽

Sediment Delivery ◽

Sediment Movement ◽

The Road ◽

Best Management ◽

Road Systems ◽

Negative Impacts

Abstract Compliance with 60 forestry best management practices (BMPs) in Maine was evaluated from a sample of 120 sites randomly selected from areas harvested during the period January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1994. The forestry BMPs were organized into six groups [haul roads, stream crossings, skid roads/trails, putting trails/roads to bed, log yards/landings, and streamside management zones (SMZs)]. Applicability of each practice was assessed at each site and compliance with applicable BMPs rated. Evidence of sediment movement was used as a measure of BMP effectiveness. Compliance with the various BMPs within each of the six groups ranged as follows: haul roads 34%-100%; stream crossings 31%-94%; skid roads/trails 49%-95%; putting trails/roads to bed 25%-88%; log yards/landings 53%-96%; and SMZs 42%-78%. Low levels of compliance per se may overstate the negative impacts in those cases where BMPs are applicable on a small number of sites. For example, compliance with the recommendation that water courses be forded only on hard bottoms and banks was low (54%) but was applicable to only 39 sites, affecting 21 of the 120 sites examined. Overall compliance was greatest for the BMPs related to yards and landings (81%) and was lowest for putting trails/roads to bed (54%). Compliance levels in Maine were similar to those reported in Vermont and Minnesota. Compliance tended to be higher for those BMPs associated with planning and layout of haul roads and skid trails, compared to those dealing with water diversion from long, unobstructed surfaces. Old roads pose a challenge. Many road systems in use today were constructed a decade or more ago by scraping surface soil down to the basal till generating low road surfaces bounded by high banks. Ditches slowly eroded and became ineffective in diverting water from the road surface. Corrective measures are expensive, and new water diversion ditches will disturb more of the area. This study supports the utility and effectiveness of commonly recommended BMPs in reducing erosion and sedimentation in Maine. When BMPs were used, sediment movement was eliminated completely or was largely restricted from surface waters. Numbers of sites at which appreciable sediment delivery to surface waters was associated with noncompliance of individual BMPs within each of the six categories are summarized as follows: haul roads 1-17 sites; stream crossings 0-17 sites; skid roads/trails 0-20 sites; putting trails/roads to bed 9-14 sites; log yards/landings 1-14 sites; and SMZs 1-9 sites. In total, noncompliance with at least one BMP was associated with a downstream sediment trail at 34 sites. North. J. Appl. For. 15(2):57-68.

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MULTI-METHOD MODEL FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction ◽

10.14455/isec.res.2018.40 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gregory J. Fitch ◽

Ibrahim Odeh ◽

Frederick Kautz

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Cost Of Capital ◽

Credit Rating ◽

Weighted Average ◽

Management Plan ◽

Facilities Management ◽

Best Management ◽

Method Model ◽

New Infrastructure

Management practices have a direct impact on the cost of capital used for financing the operations and maintenance of existing infrastructure on a concurrent basis with planning and constructing new projects. This paper identifies best management practices that can improve credit rating, which in-turn theoretically lowers the interest paid on debt. As a result, these best management practices lower the weighted average cost of capital used to maintain existing assets on a concurrent basis with the construction of new infrastructure. As a practical example, this paper identifies the best management practices from the perspective of municipal credit rating agencies in the United States. The current research then constructs a deterministic integer programming model based on these best management practices. The deterministic model is part of multi-method model that will be mathematically embedded into a system dynamics model that can then be used as a facilities management plan. The facilities management plan aims at lowering the weighted average cost of capital for maintaining existing assets while planning and constructing new infrastructure. While the multi-method model is based on municipal credit rating in the U.S., the research goal is to nevertheless show how a system dynamics model is used to implement best management practices that are generally accepted as economically sustainable worldwide.

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Differing Levels of Forestry Best Management Practices at Stream Crossing Structures Affect Sediment Delivery and Installation Costs

Water ◽

10.3390/w8030092 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 92 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Brian Morris ◽

M. Bolding ◽

W. Aust ◽

Kevin McGuire ◽

Erik Schilling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Sediment Delivery ◽

Best Management ◽

Crossing Structures

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Evaluation of Different Best Management Practices for Erosion Control on Machine Operating Trails

Croatian journal of forest engineering ◽

10.5552/crojfe.2019.532 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 319-326

Author(s):

Ahmad Solgi ◽

Ramin Naghdi ◽

Eric R. Labelle ◽

Farshad Keivan Behjou ◽

Vahid Hemmati

Keyword(s):

Best Management Practices ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Management Practices ◽

Management Practice ◽

Erosion Control ◽

Forest Operations ◽

Best Management ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Runoff And Soil Loss ◽

Final Selection

Ground-based mechanized forest operations often lead to increased runoff and soil loss on unbound forest roads and machine operating trails, which in turn can impede the technical trafficability of machines and cause negative impacts on the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three Best Management Practice (BMP) treatments used to control erosion occurring on machine operating trails. The treatments included water bar, water bar and hardwood brush (H-brush), and water bar and softwood brush (S-brush). For a more comprehensive assessment of both brush treatments, two levels of brush thickness were tested; 0.5 m and 1.0 m. Results indicate that the most effective BMP treatments were the water bar and softwood brush followed by the water bar and hardwood brush and finally the least effective was the water bar. The average runoff rates and soil loss from the machine operating trails with the water bar treatment (52.64 l per plot, 8.49 g m-2) were higher than runoff and soil loss at the trails protected with hardwood brush (23.75 l per plot, 4.5 g m-2), and the trails protected by the hardwood brush had higher runoff and soil loss compared to trails covered by softwood brush (15.83 l per plot, 2.98 g m-2). Furthermore, results of this study showed that regardless of the treatment, the amount of runoff and soil loss decreased consistently as the thickness of the brush mat increased. Overall, erosion control techniques similar to either H-brush or S-brush that provide direct soil coverage should be used for erosion control, and final selection should be based on costs, availability of material, or landowner objectives.

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