Linked in: Connectiong Riparian areas to support Forest Biodiversity

Many forest-dwelling species rely on both terrestrial and aquatic habitat for their survival. These species, including rare and little-understood amphibians and arthropods, live in and around headwater streams and disperse overland to neighboring headwater streams. Forest management policies that rely on riparian buffer strips and structurebased management—practices meant to preserve habitat—address only some of these habitat needs. They generally do not consider the overland connectivity necessary for these species to successfully move across a landscape to maintain genetically diverse populations. Management in headwater areas also can affect downstream salmon habitat. Landslides and debris flows initiated in these areas can severely degrade habitat by dumping too much sediment and not enough large wood into the stream. Carefully managing sensitive headwater areas can aid not only amphibians and arthropods, but also threatened salmon populations and other forest organisms. Pacific Northwest Research Station scientists are exploring scenarios for protecting headwaters by extending riparian buffers and connecting them over ridgelines to neighboring drainages. A range of management practices designed to achieve multiple objectives may be appropriate in these protected areas to facilitate cost-effective, ecologically integrated management plans. Headwater links could piggyback on lands that are already protected and could consider such factors as sensitivity to debris flows and landslides, land ownerships and objectives, and climate change.