forestry

Planting and maintaining tree cover in near-stream areas can have multiple benefits including erosion and nutrient leaching control. They will also slow the stream velocity during high flow flood events and may have beneficial effects on stream temperature. Maintaining treed forest buffers during clearcutting can help minimizing the adverse effects of forestry on water quality and may have additional biodiversity benefits.
- Based on Stella definitions, adapted by NWRM project experts and validated by the European Commission

Engineered ponds in peatlands that have been ditched to enhance forest production have the potential to retain water in the landscape and trap sediment without adversely affecting tree growth. Such measures have the potential to limit hydrograph peaks and potentially reduce flooding associated with snowmelt.
- Elaborated by NWRM project experts and validated by the European Commission

Appropriately designed roads and stream crossings can minimize the likelihood of erosion and sediment production that can be associated with forestry activities including final harvest. Poorly designed or built roads and stream crossings can cause some of the most negative effects of forestry on the landscape. Well-designed roads follow the contours of the landscape. Roads which run up and down (instead of across) hills can act as channels which focus runoff and can lead to increased erosion. Properly designed stream crossings permit the free movement of fish and aquatic invertebrates and will not restrict peak flows. Ensuring that stream crossings do not restrict peak flows will help to reduce localized flooding and can ultimately be more cost effective as they will not need to be rebuilt following high flow events - Based on Stella definitions, adapted by NWRM project experts and validated by the European Commission

It is widely believed that forest soils can function as pollution filters. Afforestation is practiced in rural areas around many large cities as a means of improving the quality of the drinking water supply aquifer by filtering out pollutants. Afforestation may also reduce peak flows and help to maintain base flows. Such afforestation should reduce sediment loadings and may have other benefits including improved biodiversity and recreational value.
- Based on Stella definitions, adapted by NWRM project experts and validated by the European Commission

A biophysical parameter is a measurable characteristic that can help in defining a particular system. It can cover individual substances, groups of substances or be defined by its measurement method like turbidity or the mesurement of oxygen consumption like BOD5 or COD. It is generally expressed by a value and its unit.

Much of the evapotranspiration from forests falls elsewhere as rain, Ellison et al. (2012), amongst others, have shown that this large scale water pump can be a significant component of the annual precipitation in many continental areas. That is to say, many continental areas would receive a lot less rain if it were not for the mositure returned to the atmosphere by actively growing forests.

Basins and ponds store surface run-off.ﾠ Detention basins are free from water in dry weather flow conditions but ponds (e.g., retention ponds, flood storage reservoirs, shallow impoundments) contain water in dry weather, and are designed to hold more when it rains.
- Based on Stella definitions, adapted by NWRM project experts and validated by the European Commission

A gabion (from Italian gabbione meaning "big cage"; from Italian gabbia and Latin cavea meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, and military applications.

Forest harvesting can cause severe disruptions to the hydrologic cycle. Clearcut areas are often subject to localized flooding due to reductions in evapotranspiration caused by removal of trees. Roads and other infrastructure needed to support forest harvesting can also be significant sources of sediment to surface waters. However, negative effects can be minimized when forest harvesting is performed in a water-sensitive manner and measures are taken to maintain the natural hydrological functioning of the landscape.

Continuous cover forestry (CCF) is a broad term encompassing a wide variety of forest management practices. One key feature of is that biomass removal is based either on small clearcuts or selective harvesting. Smaller clearcuts may create less hydrological disturbance but some of the filtration benefits associated with forest soils may be lost as a result of the greater driving and road maintenance needed for continuous harvesting.
- Based on Stella definitions, adapted by NWRM project experts and validated by the European Commission