Macroinvertebrate response to logging in coastal headwater streams of Washington, USA

We examined the effects of logging on macroinvertebrate assemblages in first-order streams of four coniferous watersheds in Washington's Coastal Mountain ranges. Each watershed contained three to four first-order streams that were placed into one of three treatment types: clear-cut logging, operational buffer-strip (2.5-21 m) logging, or uncut reference streams. Prelogging baseline data on macroinvertebrate assemblages, channel morphology, sediment composition, sediment accretion rates, and water temperatures were collected from each stream in summer 1998. Logging operations were conducted the next winter and spring. Streams were resampled in summer 1999, within 1 year of logging, and summer 2000, 1+ years after logging. Preexisting treatment differences did not exist in 1998, indicating that postharvest treatment differences could be attributed to logging operations. In 1999, densities of macroinvertebrate collectors, densities and biomass of macroinvertebrate shredders, and accretion rates of organic sediments were greater in clear-cut and buffered streams than uncut references. These differences diminished by 2000. An increase in collecting and shredding macroinvertebrate is not a typical response to logging and may reflect the fact that logged streams became buried under slash, increasing detrital food supplies for these organisms. The narrow buffers used for this study did not prevent macroinvertebrate community changes associated with logging.