Riparian study: soil water chemistry (lysimeters) yearly data (1993 to 1997) at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory

These measurements are a part of a near-stream vegetation manipulation experiment conducted on WS 56 at Coweeta. The purpose of the project is to determine the effect of removal of streamside Rhododendron maximum on the export of nutrients and organic matter, on microbial community function, on downslope coarse woody debris transport, on seedling regeneration, and on microclimatic variables such as soil temperature and soil moisture. Two experimental hillslope transects that span topographic flowpaths from a local highpoint to the stream were instrumented with lysimeters in two soil horizons, the BA (20-25 cm deep) and the B (40-50 cm deep). The vegetation cut was conducted on the "treatment slope" in Aug 1995. Shortly thereafter, Oct 1995, hurricane Opal blew down a significant number of canopy trees on the "control slope." Due to this natural disturbance, the project was adjusted to contrast the effects of natural vs human disturbance - a bank of lysimeters above the cut area was unaffected and now serve as the control data for the project. The treatment slope has been renamed the "cut slope" and the hurricane impact slope has been renamed the "storm slope." The project uses a terrain-fitted hillslope hydrology model (TAPES-C, IHDM4 hybrid) to account for water flux and nutrient loading from the hillslope before and after the cut and storm impacts.