Littoral water temperature response to experimental shoreline logging around small boreal forest lakes

Shoreline logging did not significantly increase average littoral water temperatures in two small boreal forest lakes in northwestern Ontario, Canada. However, over the early summer monitoring period clearcut shorelines were associated with increases of 1-2 degreesC in maximum littoral water temperature, and increases of 0.3-0.6 degreesC in average diurnal temperature range, compared with undisturbed shorelines or shorelines with 30-m shoreline buffer strips. Comparison of simultaneous water temperatures at littoral locations with and without shoreline forest showed that increased temperatures were caused by daytime heating.