Simulating catastrophic disturbance effects on coarse woody debris production and delivery

For decades, coarse woody debris (CWD) recruitment has remained a largely unknown component of riparian zone management. The integration of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and a mechanistic CWD recruitment post-processor (CWD) provided insights into some of the factors involved in CWD delivery through the comparison of two simulated catastrophic disturbances (a spruce beetle outbreak and a clearcut) and an unmanipulated old-growth control. Compared to the old-growth control, spruce beetle-impacted riparian forests varied the timing and increased the overall delivery of CWD, while the clearcut reduced delivery and instream loads for many years. This exercise also suggested that natural catastrophic disturbance in riparian forests may bolster CWD recruitment, a process that could prove beneficial in the recovery of CWD-depauperate streams.