Geology and geomorphology control suspended sediment yield and modulate increases following timber harvest in temperate headwater streams

Suspended sediment transport is an important contributor to ecologic and geomorphic functions of streams. However, it is challenging to generalize predictions of sediment yield because it is influenced by many factors. In this study, we quantified the relevance of natural controls (e.g., geology, catchment physiography) on suspended sediment yield (SSY) in headwater streams managed for timber harvest. We collected and analyzed six years of data from 10 sites (five headwater sub-catchments and five watershed outlets) in the Trask River Watershed (western Oregon, United States). We used generalized least squares regression models to investigate how the parameters of the SSY rating curve varied as a function of catchment setting, and whether the setting modulated the SSY response to forest harvesting. Results indicated that the highest intercepts (α) of the power relation between unit discharge and SSY were associated with sites underlain primarily by friable rocks (e.g., sedimentary formations). The greatest increases in SSY after forest harvesting (up to an order of magnitude) also occurred at sites underlain by the more friable lithologies. In contrast, basins underlain by resistant lithologies (intrusive rocks) had lower SSY and were more resilient to management-related increases in SSY. As such, the impact of forest management activities (e.g., use of forested buffers; building of new roads) on the variability in SSY was primarily contingent on catchment lithology. Sites with higher SSY, or harvest-related increases in SSY, also generally had a) lower mean elevation and slope, b) greater landscape roughness, and c) lower sediment connectivity. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to further explore the relationship between SSY and several basin physiographic variables. The PCA clearly separated sites underlain by friable geologic units from those underlain by resistant lithologies. Results are consistent with greater rates of weathering and supply of sediment to headwater streams in catchments with more friable lithologies, and limited sediment supply in catchments underlain by resistant lithologies. We hypothesize that a similar framework may aid in predicting the overall SSY of a catchment as well as its susceptibility to increases in SSY following forest harvesting.