Harvard Forest Research

Headwater Streams: Survey and Classification

Principal Investigator: Betsy Colburn
Harvard Forest: Jan 01 2008 - Jan 01 2009:

Abstract:
This summer we will survey and identify the extent and characteristics, including permanency, of headwater streams in central Massachusetts forests. Stream characteristics will be related to site topography, geology, and vegetation. The goal is to assess the accuracy of using the terminus of ‘blue line’ streams on 7.5’ U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps as the basis for defining and delineating streams for regulatory purposes (e.g., “Perennial streams are those which are depicted on a USGS map with a solid blue line. Intermittent streams are those which are depicted on a USGS map with a dotted line”; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Model Ordinance for Stream Buffers ). The study will survey a randomly selected sample of blue-line stream terminus, to (1) assess the accuracy of this delineation, and, if inaccurate, (2) characterize the physical and biological attributes of the stream and riparian forest upstream of the mapped blue-line terminus.: