Watershed data flows to state and local governments to guide forest and water management decisions
Local or site-specific conditions should be understood to apply appropriate management practices. Fifteen years of local watershed hydrology and water quality data from the Piedmont of North Carolina are providing new guidance that was previously not captured by data from other regions. This local research was used in the 2022 revised NC Forest Service Forestry Best Management Practices manual, the Upper Neuse River Basin Association watershed modeling project to preserve water quality, and the Wake County, NC Water Partnership's Green Stormwater Infrastructure (NC GSI) program.
Through a partnership with NC State University, NC Forest Service, and NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Forest Service scientists worked to improve what we know about hydrology in managed and unmanaged forested watersheds in the Piedmont region of the southern US. This effort resulted in important discoveries in streamside management zones (SMZs), forest hydrology, and water quality. The researchers found that significant tree blowdown occurred in the SMZ, and forest plays a more significant role in affecting hydrology and water quality in this region than the coastal plains or mountains. The results were presented to state and local resource managers during meetings, watershed tours, and field demonstrations. Managers recognized the value of the work, and the data were used to refine statewide Forestry Best Management Practices guidelines in NC, to parametrize and validate a watershed model to simulate flows, nutrients, and carbon loading to Falls Lake (drinking water supply reservoir for Raleigh, NC), and to offer guidance on the benefits of maintaining evapotranspiration in urbanized watersheds. Municipal stormwater leaders and consultants from the NC GSI group are also looking to use these results to adapt silviculture and hydrology management techniques from rural-forest to urban-forest strategies to protect water quality.
