Effects of Stream Channelization on Bottomland Swamp Forest Ecosystems

摘要

An investigation was undertaken to determine the effects of stream channelization on the bottomland-swamp forest ecosystems of Eastern North Carolina. The ground water regimes in the floodplains of cutover and non-cut areas of four channelized streams and seven non-channelized streams were monitored by means of lines of wells positioned perpendicular to each stream channel. The water levels in the wells were measured weekly between January 1975 and July 1977, providing the basis on which the plant communities of the cut and non-cut, channelized and non-channelized swamps could be compared. Growth studies indicated that channelization resulting in moderate average summer water levels was not necessarily detrimental to mature tree growth. A midsummer count showed four times more small tree stems per hectare in the non-channelized areas than in the channelized areas.