A survey of thirty-nine (39) industrial forest engineers was conducted to provide guidelines as to what harvesting system is best suited to specific stand and topographic variables when extracting streamside timber. The advantages and disadvantages of the operational characteristics of the standard highlead spar, mini spar, slackline, grapple yarder and rubber tire skidder are discussed both in terms of site disturbance and wood debris in British Columbia Coastal streams. Productivity and cost data are analyzed for the standard highlead spar, grapple yarder and rubber tire skidder for three selected streamside conditions. The extra cost incurred by the forest sector to comply with stream protection measures requested by fisheries personnel for pre and post harvesting treatments is also presented. Findings indicate that specific topographic and timber conditions, plus the limitations of each harvesting system dictate the selection of the system when logging adjacent to small British Columbia Coastal streams. The grapple yarder is shown to be the most cost effective and efficient system for streamside timber harvest and stream debris management. The stump to dump productivities for the highlead spar, grapple yarder and rubber tire skidder are found to differ. For the three terrain conditions cited, the grapple yarder is shown to be most productive, while the rubber tire skidder is the least costly. Stream protection costs for fisheries concerns were found to be a substantial extra cost to the forest sector. Debris clean-up costs in particular, ranged from $3.00 to $15.00 per lineal metre of stream. The recommendations of the survey respondents and current literature all clearly demonstrate that each area to be harvested having fish values must be dealt with on a site specific basis. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Logging constituted the first industry on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet and remained an important part of the local economy until its decline in the early 1930's. Between the 1860's and the 1930's enormous changes were made in West Coast logging technology, and lumbermen had an increasingly visible impact on the forest landscape as they employed industrial technology in the woods. Over the decades the spatial pattern of the lumber industry on the North Shore changed significantly: lumber operations moved away from the water's edge into the steep slopes of the North Shore Mountains. This thesis offers a study of early forest exploitation in this Coast Mountain environment. It examines how innovations in logging transport technology affected the spatial pattern and the environmental impact of the industry. Changing market conditions for lumber and shingle products are included in the discussion. In many ways the North Shore of Burrard Inlet was a microcosm of logging technology on the West Coast. Company records, historical maps and photographs, surveyor's field notes, reports of the Forest Branch and the Water Rights Branch and various correspondence files provided the majority of the primary data. Remains of logging operations were located during numerous hikes in the North Shore Mountains. From the 1860's to the 1890's human and animal power was used in the woods and lumber operations had a relatively small impact on the forest ecosystem. After the turn of the century steam power was adopted in the North Shore forests and lumbermen began to change the appearance of the land. By the 1920's several capital-intensive, large scale operations had emerged which employed logging railroads, trucks, and high-lead-yarding. They pushed into steep, hitherto inaccessible slopes and left barren, slash-covered clear cuts, prone to forest fires. Cutting regulations were virtually nonexistent and the devastated hill sides were left to natural regeneration. The public grew increasingly concerned over logging operations in Vancouver's water supply areas and the Greater Vancouver Water District was incorporated in 1924 to protect these watersheds. It gradually bought out all lumber companies; by the early 1930's the Capilano, Lynn and Seymour catchment areas were closed watersheds. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir [Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.-Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.] (ESSF) forests occupy large portions of western North America, and of British Columbia (B.C.) in particular. These areas represent a harsh environment for plant growth. The ESSF forests of B.C. have presented serious problems of regeneration following harvesting; several factors stimulated speculation as to whether N supply limitations were involved. This study was intended to highlight the post-harvest N dynamics of an ESSF forest, and the implications of the latter for silvicultural practices. Its general objectives included characterization of the post-harvest assart effect, and investigation of the N status and growth of advance regeneration. These were achieved by means of a comparative study of an age sequence of harvested sites. The assart effect lasted for at least eight years after harvesting, with a peak of change between years three and six. There were no major physical changes in the forest floor. Low C/N ratios between 19 and 32 were believed to have contributed to increased N availability. ESSF forests may have a generally higher level of N availability than previously supposed. The advance regeneration benefited from the assart effect. Nutrient uptake appeared to increase generally from at least three years after harvesting; increases of up to 78% were noted for N. There appeared to be no general macronutrient or micronutrient limitation to growth. However, evidence of S deficiencies was encountered in some trees. Moreover, the critical levels used for N may be in need of revision. A revised critical level of 1.40% for foliar N concentrations is proposed for subalpine fir advance regeneration. If this is accurate, regeneration may have been at least temporarily N-limited from year eight after harvesting. A more rigorous investigation of these possibilities is needed. The cutting method applied to the sites approximated a one-cut shelterwood method. The method as encountered in this study should not be considered a viable silvicultural option for similar ESSF forests. Its successful application would involve some degree of forest floor manipulation to improve seedbed conditions and soil microclimatic regimes. The findings of this study demonstrate that the environmental and biological characteristics of ESSF forests make high levels of planning and care a prerequisite for the success of silvicultural practices. The question of what comprises realistic growth and yield expectations of second-rotation stands in the ESSF zone needs to be addressed urgently. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

This study compares the morphology of coastal, gravel-bed streams in two unlogged and two logged Queen Charlotte Islands watersheds. This comparison quantifies the influence of logging and related activities on channel morphology and, consequently, the fresh water physical habitat of salmonids. Further, it provides a basis upon which to determine habitat rehabilitation criteria for disturbed channels. Pools and riffles are detailed because: a) they reflect changes in sediment supply; b) they are important fish habitats, and; c) their general character has been documented in previously published literature allowing application of geomorphological results to habitat evaluation. Longitudinal profiles conducted over relatively long channel segments located within each watershed indicate that channels in watersheds logged to the channel banks by old techniques have reduced pool-to-pool spacings and increased riffle amplitudes and magnitudes. There is an increase in channel stored sediment resulting in proportionally larger riffles and smaller pools. This represents a reduction in available rearing habitat. No significant differences exist in pool and riffle characteristics between unlogged watersheds and those logged by contemporary techniques. In all cases the pool and riffle character differed from most previously published results. Results obtained from detailed study reaches located within each channel segment show that large organic debris is a controlling factor influencing the morphology of these streams. Based upon a comparison of reaches, it is concluded that LOD characteristics are altered in the older logged channels. This includes a shift in the size distribution, with smaller material being more prevalent. Orientation of this material is also altered; more LOD is lying parallel to the flow direction, as opposed to the more common diagonal orientation found in unlogged channels. This shift in orientation is responsible for a reduction in channel width and depth variability, reduced sediment texture, fewer cut banks, smaller pool areas and decreased channel stability. This results in reduced habitat diversity and quality. No morphological differences were detected between unlogged and recently logged reaches. The architecture of unlogged channels can be duplicated to rehabilitate disturbed streams. Pool and riffle sequences should be spaced approximately 2½ channel widths apart and riffle magnitudes should average 0.013 m/m. LOD should play a major role in rehabilitation. Long pieces of debris should be placed either diagonally across the channel to increase depth and width variability and to store sediment or parallel to the flow if width is to be reduced. Diversity can be increased by placing large root wads to produce small scour holes. Only small debris steps, accounting for approximately 10% of the overall change in elevation should be used. This comparative study of channel morphology emphasizes the importance of critically evaluating basin morphometric properties and the role of LOD orientation. Further, it indicates that previous studies reporting average values and neglecting LOD provide insufficient detail to quantify fish habitat. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate