What diameter?What height?Influence of measures of average tree size on area-based allometric volume relationships

Volume is an important attribute used in many forest management decisions.Data from 83 fixed-area plots located in central New Brunswick,Canada,are used to examine how different measures of stand-level diameter and height influence volume prediction using a stand-level variant of Honer's(1967)volume equation.When density was included in the models(Volume=f(Diameter,Height,Density))choice of diameter measure was more important than choice of height measure.When density was not included(Volume=f(Diameter,Height)),the opposite was true.For models with density included,moment-based estimators of stand diameter and height performed better than all other measures.For models without density,largest tree estimators of stand diameter and height performed better than other measures.The overall best equation used quadratic mean diameter,Lorey's height,and density(root mean square error=5.26 m^3·ha^(-1);1.9%relative error).The best equation without density used mean diameter of the largest trees needed to calculate a stand density index of 400 and the mean height of the tallest 400 trees per ha(root mean square error=32.08 m^(3)·ha^(-1);11.8%relative error).The results of this study have some important implications for height subsampling and LiDAR-derived forest inventory analyses.

Vulnerability of Water Resources and Its Spatial Heterogeneity in Haihe River Basin, China

To manage water resources effectively, a multiscale assessment of the vulnerability of water resources on the basis of political boundaries and watersheds is necessary. This study addressed issues on the vulnerability of water resources and provided a multiscale comparison of spatial heterogeneity under a climate change background. Using improved quantitative evaluation methods of vulnerability, the Theil index and the Shannon-Weaver index, we evaluated the vulnerability of water resources and its spatial heterogeneity in the Haihe River Basin in four scales, namely, second-class water resource regions(Class ⅡWRRs), third-class water resource regions(Class Ⅲ WRRs), Province-Class ⅡWRRs, and Province-Class Ⅲ WRRs. Results show that vulnerability enhances from the north to south in the different scales, and shows obvious spatial heterogeneity instead of moving toward convergence in multiscale assessment results. Among the Class Ⅱ WRRs, the Tuhai-Majia River is the most vulnerable area, and the vulnerability of the Luanhe River is lower than that of the north of the Haihe River Basin, which in turn is lower than that of the south of the Haihe River Basin. In the scales of Class Ⅲ WRRs and Province-Class Ⅲ WRRs, the vulnerability shows obvious spatial heterogeneity and diversity measured by the Theil index and the Shannon-Weaver index. Multiscale vulnerability assessment results based on political boundaries and the watersheds of the Haihe River Basin innovatively provided in this paper are important and useful to characterize the real spatial pattern of the vulnerability of water resources and improve water resource management.

Production, Application, and Field Performance of Abietiv^(TM),the Balsam Fir Sawfly Nucleopolyhedrovirus

Beginning in the early 1990s, the balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) became a significant defoliating insect of precommercially thinned balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stands in western Newfoundland, Canada. In 1997, a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeabNPV) was isolated from the balsam fir sawfly and, as no control measures were then available, NeabNPV was developed for the biological control of balsam fir sawfly. In order to register NeabNPV for operational use under the Canadian Pest Control Products Act, research was carried out in a number of areas including NeabNPV field efficacy, non-target organism toxicology, balsam fir sawfly ecology and impact on balsam fir trees, and NeabNPV genome sequencing and analysis. As part of the field efficacy trials, approximately 22 500 hectares of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest were aerially treated with NeabNPV between 2000 and 2005. NeabNPV was found to be safe, efficacious, and economical for the suppression of balsam fir sawfly outbreak populations. Conditional registration for the NeabNPV-based product, Abietiv?, was received from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (Health Canada) in April 2006. In July 2006, Abietiv was applied by spray airplanes to 15 000 ha of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest in western Newfoundland in an operational control program.

Alternative expressions for stand diameter in complex forests

Quadratic mean diameter is the most frequently reported descriptor of the diameter distribution of forests.As such,it is often used as an indicator of forest stand structure,developmental stage,and ecological and economic potential.However,quadratic mean diameter can be heavily influenced by the presence or absence of large numbers of small stems in lower canopy strata,and it is also sensitive to left-truncation of the diameter distribution,making its interpretation across inventories with different protocols challenging.Here,we examine three alternative expressions of stand diameter:the arithmetic and quadratic mean diameter of the thickest 100 trees per hectare,and the basal area-weighted mean diameter.Using data from the United States Forest Inventory and Analysis program for New York and New England,these alternative expressions showed closer correlation with multiple stand structural variables than did quadratic mean diameter,including merchantable cubic and board foot volume per hectare,aboveground live tree carbon per hectare,and total number of live and dead standing trees greater than 40 cm diameter at breast height per hectare(previously proposed as an index of old-growth structure).Arithmetic and quadratic mean diameter of the thickest 100 trees per hectare showed nearly identical performance,and the strongest correlations across the board.We develop closed-form expressions for these variables when the diameter distribution is a Weibull,and illustrate their behavior relative to quadratic mean diameter for that situation.While the reasons for prevalence of quadratic mean diameter as an indicator remain valid,we suggest that these alternative measures should be more widely reported and analyzed to give a more informative depiction of stand structure and development in complex forests.

Modeling and Mapping Forest Floor Distributions of Common Bryophytes Using a LiDAR-Derived Depth-to-Water Index

This article describes how the cartographic depth-to-water (DTW) index in combination with other variables can be used to quantify, model and map the distribution of common forest floor bryophytes, at 1 m resolution. This was done by way of a case study, using 12 terrain and climate representative locations across New Brunswick, Canada. The presence/absence by moss species was determined at each location along upland-to-wetland transects within >10-m spaced 1-m2 forest floor plots. It was found that Bazzania trilobata, Dicranum polysetum, Polytrichum commune, Hylocomium splendens, and Pleurozium schreberi had greater probabilities of occurrence in well-drained forested areas, whereas Sphagnum fuscum and Sphagnum girgensohnii dominated in low-lying wet areas. The presence/absence of each species was quantified by way of logistic regression analyses, using DTW, slope, canopy closure, forest litter depth, ecosite type (8 classes), nutrient regime (4 classes, poor to rich);vegetation type (deciduous, coniferous, mixed, and shrubs), and macro- and micro-topography (upland, wetland;mounds, pits) as predictor variables. Among these, log10DTW and forest litter depth were the most consistent predictor variables, followed by mound versus pit. For the mapping purpose, only log10DTW and already mapped classifications for upland versus wetland and vegetation type were used to predict the probability of occurrences for the most frequent moss species, namely, D. polysetum, P. schreberi and Sphagnum spp. The overall accuracy for doing this ranged from 67% to 83%, with false positives and negatives amounting to 18% to 42%. The overall classification accuracy exceeded the probability by chance alone at 76.8%, with the significance level reached at 75.3%. The average level of probability by chance alone was 60.3%.

Evaluating and quantifying the effect of various spruce budworm intervention strategies on forest carbon dynamics in Atlantic Canada

Spruce budworm (SBW) outbreaks are one of the most devastating natural disturbances in spruce-balsam fir forests of eastern North America. Both early intervention strategy (EIS) and foliage protection strategy (FP) are being tested to limit forest losses, but the quantitative impact on forest carbon (C) dynamics is still unclear. In this study, we designed 19 separate scenarios of no intervention or varying success of EIS, FP, and their combination on SBW caused defoliation and mortality. We then used the TRIPLEX-Insect model to quantify their effects on forest C dynamics in the forests of the four provinces of Atlantic Canada. A scenario applying FP to 10%of the area with the greatest potential C losses of living biomass, protecting foliage in 10%of the forests is more realistic than higher proportion of FP given the high cost and large areas involved, resulted in reducing average cumulative net ecosystem productivity (NEP) from 2020 to 2039 by 56%–127%compared to a no outbreak scenario.Our results showed that FP would have to be applied everywhere to reduce tree mortality and increase NEP more than 8 years of successful EIS applied. However, if EIS can be successfully implemented for 12 years, it will maintain more forest C than FP applied everywhere during a moderate outbreak. We also found that the combination of EIS followed by FP in 10%of the areas disturbed by the SBW could maintain average cumulative NEP at similar levels to no defoliation in every province of Atlantic Canada. Black/red spruce forests younger than 60years old underwent the smallest changes in C dynamics whether using EIS, FP, or both. This highlights the importance of forest species, forest age, and their interactions on the effectiveness of a treatment during SBW outbreak. Overall, 31%–76%of the study area in Atlantic Canada could convert from a C sink to a source by 2039,if no protective measures are used under the worst-case scenarios, thus contributing to future climate warming.

Mechanical properties of flax fibres treated by alkaline,enzyme and steam-heat

In recent years there has been interest in using flax fibres to produce composites because of a number of attributes, including low density, biodegradability and high mechanical properties. It was found that treatment of flax fibres may be required to improve the bond quality with a resin. These treatments also have an impact on the properties of the fibres themselves. The objective of this project was to evaluate the impact of three treatment methods on the mechanical properties of flax fibres. The three treatment methods were alkaline, enzyme and steam-heat. After treatment, flax fibres were tested in tension using a universal test machine. Results showed that tensile strength and Young's modulus of flax fibre can be enhanced significantly by the three treatment methods, compared with untreated flax fibres. Enzyme treatment was shown to be the best approach to improve mechanical properties of flax fibre than alkaline and steam-heat treatment.

Spatiotemporal Modeling of Monthly Precipitation in the Upper Shiyang River Watershed in West Central Gansu,Northwest China

This paper outlines a methodology to estimate monthly precipitation surfaces at 1-kin resolution for the Upper Shiyang River watershed （USRW） in northwest China. Generation of precipitation maps is based on the application of a four-variable genetic algorithm （GA） trained on 10 years of weather and ancillary data, i.e., surface air temperature, relative humidity, Digital Elevation Model-derived estimates of elevation, and time of year collected at 29 weather stations in west-central Gansu and northern Qinghai province. An observed-to-GA predicted data comparison of 10 years of precipitation collected at the 29 weather stations showed that about 84% of the variability in observed values could be explained by the trained GA, including variability in two independent datasets. Point-comparisons of observed and modeled precipitation along an elevation-rainfall gradient demonstrated near-similar spatiotemporal patterns. A precipitation surface for USRW for July, 2005, was developed with the trained GA and input surfaces of surface air temperature and relative humidity generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer sensor （MODIS） products of land surface temperature. Spatial tendencies in predicted maximum and minimum values of surface air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation within a 2-kin radius circle around selected weather stations were in close agreement with the values measured at the weather stations.

Heat-stress-induced sprouting and differential gene expression in growing potato tubers: Comparative transcriptomics with that induced by postharvest sprouting

Crops face increased risk from heat stress due to climate change.Potato(Solanum tuberosum L.)tubers grown in hot summers often have defects including pre-harvest sprouting(“heat sprouts”).We have used 18 potato cultivars to investigate whether heat stress(HS)conditions alone could cause heat sprouting and dormancy changes in tubers.We also examined transcriptomic responses of potato to HS and whether these responses are like those induced by postharvest sprouting.We demonstrated that HS alone caused heat sprouts and shortened postharvest dormancy period,heat-sprouted tubers became dormant after harvest,and cultivars varied substantially for producing heat spouts but there was no clear association with cultivar maturity earliness.Cultivar Innovator did not show any heat sprouts and still had long dormancy.Dormancy-associated genes(DOG1 and SLP)were downregulated in HS tubers like in postharvest sprouting tubers.We have identified 1201 differentially expressed genes,14 enriched GO terms and 12 enriched KEGG pathways in response to HS in growing tubers of‘Russet Burbank’.Transcriptomic response of‘Russet Burbank’to HS showed significant similarities to that of postharvest non-HS sprouted tubers.Gibberellin biosynthesis pathway was enriched in heat-stressed tubers and was likely involved in heat sprouting and dormancy release.Heat sprouting and postharvest sprouting shared common candidate genes and had significant similarity in gene expression.Our study has significance for selecting potato cultivars for farming,planning storage and utilization of heat-stressed tubers,identifying sprouting-related genes,understanding heat-stress biology,and breeding heat-tolerant potato cultivars,especially for sustainable potato production under climate change.

Relating Cone Penetration and Rutting Resistance to Variations in Forest Soil Properties and Daily Moisture Fluctuations

Soil resistance to penetration and rutting depends on variations in soil texture, density and weather-affected changes in moisture content. It is therefore difficult to know when and where off-road traffic could lead to rutting-induced soil disturbances. To establish some of the empirical means needed to enable the “when” and “where” determinations, an effort was made to model the soil resistance to penetration over time for three contrasting forest locations in Fredericton, New Brunswick: a loam and a clay loam on ablation/ basal till, and a sandy loam on alluvium. Measurements were taken manually with a soil moisture probe and a cone penetrometer from spring to fall at weekly intervals. Soil moisture was measured at 7.5 cm soil depth, and modelled at 15, 30, 45 and 60 cm depth using the Forest Hydrology Model (ForHyM). Cone penetration in the form of the cone index (CI) was determined at the same depths. These determinations were not only correlated with measured soil moisture but were also affected by soil density (or pore space), texture, and coarse fragment and organic matter content (R2 = 0.54;all locations and soil depths). The resulting regression-derived CI model was used to emulate how CI would generally change at each of the three locations based on daily weather records for rain, snow, and air temperature. This was done through location-initialized and calibrated hydrological and geospatial modelling. For practical interpretation purposes, the resulting CI projections were transformed into rut-depth estimates regarding multi-pass off-road all-terrain vehicle traffic.

Analyzing and Projecting Soil Moisture and Cone Penetrability Variations in Forest Soils

This article details how forest soil moisture content (MC) and subsequent resistances to cone penetration (referred below as Cone Index, CI) vary by daily weather, season, topography, site and soil properties across eleven harvest blocks in northwestern New Brunswick. The MC- and CI-affecting soil variables refer to density, texture, organic matter content, coarse fragment content, and topographic position (i.e., elevation, and the seasonally affected cartographic depth-to-water (DTW) pattern). The harvest blocks were transect-sampled inside and outside their wood-forwarding tracks at varying times throughout the year. In detail, 61% of the pore-filled moisture content (MCPS) determinations inside and outside the tracks could be related to topographic position, coarse fragments, bulk density, and forest cover type specifications. In addition, 40% of the CI variations could be related to soil depth, MCPS, and block-specific cover type. Actual versus model-projected uncertainties amounted to ΔMCPS ≤ ± 15% and ΔCI ≤ ± 0.5 MPa, 8 times out of 10. Block-centered MC and CI projections were obtained through: 1) daily hydrological modelling using daily precipitation and air temperature weather-station records nearest each block, and 2) digitally mapped variations in soil properties, elevation, DTW and forest cover type, done at 10 m resolution.

Track-Monitoring and Analyzing Machine Clearances during Wood Forwarding

This article reports on track-monitoring and analyzing machine clearances during wood forwarding across seasons and weather, using ultrasonic distance sensors in combination with time-stamped GPS xy locations, at 10 sec intervals. The resulting data, obtained from 54 harvesting blocks, were analyzed by machine type (two wood forwarders and one grapple skidder), stand type (softwood plantation versus natural hardwood stands), month, slope, cartographic depth-to-water (DTW) classes, number of passes along track, and machine speed. For the most part, clearances were highly variable, due to passing over stumps, rocks, harvest slash, brushmats, ruts, and snow cover when present. This variability was on average greater for the lighter-weight wood forwarders than for the heavier-weight skidder, with the former mostly moving along equally spaced lines on brushmats, while the paths of the latter spread away from central wood-landing sites. In terms of trends, machines moved 1) more slowly on wet ground, 2) faster during returning than forwarding, and 3) fastest along wood-landing roads, as to be expected. Low clearances were most notable during winter on snow-covered ground, and on non-frozen shallow DTW and wet multiple-pass ground. During dry weather conditions, clearances also increased from low-pass tracks to multi-pass tracks due to repeat soil compaction of broadened tracks. These results are presented block-by-block and by machine type. Each block-based clearance frequency pattern was quantified through regression analysis and using a gamma probability distribution function.

Relating Fish Hg to Variations in Sediment Hg, Climate and Atmospheric Deposition

This article addresses total fish Hg concentrations (THg) by variations in lake Sediment THg, atmospheric Hg deposition (atmHgdep), and climate, i.e., mean annual precipitation (ppt) and air temperature. The Fish THg data were taken from the 1967-to-2010 Fish Mercury Datalayer (FIMDAC). This compilation was standardized for 12-cm long Yellow Perch in accordance with the USGS National Descriptive Model for Mercury in Fish (NDMMF [1]), and documents Fish THg across 1936 non-contaminated lakes in Canada. About 40% of the standardized Fish THg variations related positively to increasing ppt and Sediment THg, but negatively to increasing mean annual July temperature (TJuly). Only 20% of the Fish THg variations related positively to atmHgdep alone. Increasing TJuly likely influences Fish Hg through increased lake and upslope Hg volatilization, in-fish growth dilution, and temperature-induced demethylization. FIMDAC Fish THg effectively did not change over time while atmHgdep decreased. Similarly, the above Fish Hg trends would likely not change much based on projecting the above observations into the future using current 2070 climate-change projections across Canada and the continental US. Regionally, the projected changes in Fish Hg would mostly increase with increasing ppt. Additional not-yet mapped increases are expected to occur in subarctic regions subject to increasing permafrost decline. Locally, Fish THg would continue to be affected by upwind and upslope pollution sources, and by lake-by-lake changes in water aeration and rates of lake-water inversions.

Assessing Soil-Related Black Spruce and White Spruce Plantation Productivity

This article focuses on modelling and mapping the productivity of black (Picea mariana) and white spruce (Picea glauca) plantations across the Black Brook forest management area in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada, encompassing about 200,000 ha. This effort involved establishing 3500 50 m2 survey plots, each informing about: plantation age (15 to 43 years), planted species type, stem count, tree height, basal area, and wood volume. All of this was supplemented with location-specific productivity predictors, i.e., xy location and specifications pertaining to soil type, soil drainage (established through digital elevation modelling by way of the depth-to-water index DTW), and years since thinning (pre-commercial and commercial), and. The DTW index, as it emulates the elevation rise away from open water features such as streams, rivers and lakes, allowed the re-mapping of existing soil borders by topographic position and drainage association. Non-linear regression analysis revealed that plantation height, basal area and volume all increased with plantation age, as to be expected. Pre-commercial thinning in plantations <30 years old had a positive while the more recent commercial thinning still had the negative effect on standing wood volume and mean annual volume increment (MAI). White spruce MAI generally exceeded black spruce (MAI) by a factor of 1.25. Poor and excessive soil drainage reduced MAI. Best growth performances occurred on plantations established on well-drained calcareous soils. The best-fitted results so obtained allowed for generating black and white spruce MAI maps across the forest management area by ridge-to-valley soil and DTW location at 10 m resolution. These maps were subsequently used for site-by-site silvicultural evaluation and ranking purposes.

Exploring Factors Influencing Species Natural Regeneration Response Following Harvesting in the Acadian Forests of New Brunswick

In the Acadian Forest Region of northeastern North America, forest managers are under increasing public pressure to restore the forest to a more historic, natural condition by reducing in clearcutting and promoting partial-cut treatments that more closely emulate historic, local natural disturbance regimes. However, although numerous studies on the effects of partial-cutting on forest regeneration response have been conducted in surrounding temperate and boreal forest ecosystems, there are few studies that directly explore responses to various forms of harvesting within the Acadian Forest ecosystem, with its unique mixture of northern hardwoods and boreal forest species. Here, we conducted one of the first retrospective studies on forest regeneration following a variety of harvesting methods in the Acadian Forest using univariate and multivariate regression trees to assess regeneration response in 50 naturally-regenerating, harvested forest sites in New Brunswick, Canada. Our study shows that regeneration was highly influenced by harvest type, overstory composition, and environmental conditions as reflected by ecoregion classification. Canopy opening size (as controlled by harvest method) significantly influenced the dominance of regenerating species. The presence of conspecific overstory trees increased the likelihood of their regeneration following disturbance, supporting the direct-regeneration hypothesis, especially for species with limited seed dispersal (e.g., sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). Despite reported problems elsewhere in eastern North America, neither American beech nor balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) constituted significant competition for the desired species on a broad scale, but the presence of beech was a significant deterrent for yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.).

Zonal differences of runoff and sediment reduction effects for typical management small watersheds in China

In this particular study,99 typical managed small watersheds which representing five water erosion areas in China were selected to study zonality of Runoff Reduction Efficiency(RRE)and of Sediment Reduction Efficiency(SRE).The RRE is the ratio of Effect of Runoff Reduction(ERR)by soil and water conservation measure over management degree in a watershed.And The SRE is the ratio of Effect of Sediment Reduction(ESR)by soil and water conservation measure over management degree in a watershed.First of ah,statistical analysis was applied to test the zonal effects of RRE and SRE between different water erosion regions.The results showed that the mean RRE values in northern regions were significantly greater than those of southern regions;and the mean SRE values in northern regions were significantly greater than those in southern regions.Next,the variation of RRE with runoff depth(H)was studied in direction of both latitude and longitude across regions influenced by East Asian Monsoon.Meanwhile,the variation of SRE with specific sediment yield(Y)was studied in direction of both latitude and longitude across regions influenced by East Asian Monsoon.The results showed that RRE had the inverse variation trend as H in both latitude and longitude direction and SRE had the same variation trend as Y in both latitude and longitude direction.Furthermore,the variation of unit management area Runoff Reduction Rate(RRR)with H and RRE was studied in direction of both latitude and longitude.And the variation of unit management area Sediment Reduction Rate(SRR)with Y and SRE was studied in direction of both latitude and longitude.It was found that RRR had the similar variation trend as H in latitude direction and there was critical point around 37°N greater than which RRR began to be equal to H or even larger;RRR had the similar variation trend as H in longitude direction and there was a critical point around 109°E lees than which RRR began to equal to or greater than H;SRR had the similar variation trend as Y in latitude direction and there was critical point around 36°N greater than which SRR began to be equal to Y or even larger;SRR had the similar variation trend as Y in longitude direction and there was a critical point around 106°E lees than which SRR began to equal to or greater than Y.The zonality of RRE,RRR,SRE and SRR was determined by the combined influence of climate variation and special landform in regions controlled by East Asian Monsoon in China.

A Simple Geospatial Nutrient Budget Model for Assessing Forest Harvest Sustainability across Nova Scotia, Canada

A geospatial GIS-linked spreadsheet model (Nutrient Budget Model—Nova Scotia: NBM-NS) was developed for Nova Scotia to assess the long-term sustainability of forest harvest scenarios as constrained by primary nutrient inputs and outputs due to atmospheric deposition, soil weathering, and leaching. Harvest scenarios refer to user-defined stand-specific removal rates of bole wood, bark, branches, and foliage, based on current or projected forest inventories. These scenarios are evaluated within the context of existing data layers for current climate (mean annual precipitation and air temperatures), atmospheric deposition (N, S, Ca, Mg, K), and soil/substrate types, supplemented by species-specific look-up tables containing expected biomass fractions and nutrient concentrations. This article introduces this model to assess relative site quality and limiting nutrients for red spruce and sugar maple across Nova Scotia. This is followed by an output comparison involving 25 spruce plantations whereby NBM-NS determinations derived using “default” soil survey data are compared with those derived using plantation-specific soil data. Model output shows that (i) Ca and N are the main growth-limiting nutrients across Nova Scotia, (ii) currently projected plantation yields are generally not sustainable on sites underlain by slowly weathering soils, (iii) current soil base cation contents are generally lower than what is reported in historic soil survey reports, and (iv) model results are expected to vary within the context of changing climate, acid deposition levels, and data accuracy.

Emerging Water Quality Issues along Rio de la Sabana, Mexico

The basin of Rio de la Sabana is the largest tributary of the Tres Palos coastal lagoon in Southwest Mexico, east of Acapulco. This lagoon and its upstream basin areas have become a high priority area for the preservation of coastal and marine environments. To obtain information about water quality as affected by urban expansion since 2002, fourteen physicochemical parameters (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, phosphate), biochemical (biological and chemical oxygen demand, methylene blue active substances) and bacteriological parameters (total and fecal coliforms) were determined. This sampling was done for dry and rainy season conditions at seven locations (S1, S2, S3, …, S7) along the river, spaced 3 to 6 km apart to a total of 30.4 km. The results were grouped into four zones: (Z1) reference, (Z2) transition, (Z3) polluted, (Z4) recovery. The Alborada (S5) and Tunzingo (S6) sites, adjacent to dense high-class residential areas (Z3), had the greatest pollution charges in both seasons, while the La Poza (S7) site near the Tres Palos lagoon (Z4) showed a decrease in pollution. All parameters correlated with increasing head- to down-river sampling distance by following linear (pH, DO) or curvilinear patterns (all other parameters). Using sampling location and dry versus rainy sampling season as multivariate regression (predictor) variables led to least-squares capturing: 1) 66% to 95% of the T(°C), pH, DO, and PO3-4 variations, and 2) 57% to 96% of the log-linear variations of the other parameters. Among the parameters, T(°C), DO, and PO3-4 were not significantly affected by sampling season, while pH became so after deleting two higher than usual pH values at the S5 and S6 locations during the dry season.

Soil Trafficability Forecasting

This article introduces and evaluates a Soil Trafficability Model (STRAM) designed to estimate and forecast potential rutting depth on forest soils due to heavy machine traffic. This approach was developed within the wood-forwarding context of four harvest blocks in Northern and Central New Brunswick. Field measurements used for model calibration involved determining soil rut depths, volumetric moisture content, bulk density, soil resistance to cone penetration (referred to as cone index, or CI), and the dimensionless nominal soil cone index (NCI) defined by the ratio of CI over wheel foot print pressure. With STRAM, rut depth is inferred from: 1) machine dimensions pertaining to estimating foot print area and pressure;2) pore-filled soil moisture content and related CI projections guided by year-round daily weather records using the Forest Hydrology Model (ForHyM);3) accounting for within-block soil property variations using multiple and Random Forest regression techniques. Subsequent evaluations of projected soil moisture, CI and rut-depth values accounted for about 40 (multiple regression) and 80 (Random Forest) percent of the corresponding field measured values.