North Temperate Lakes LTER Northern Highland Lake District Coarse Woody Debris Trees

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an important, but often neglected, component of lake ecosystems. It is ecologically valuable because it creates littoral habitat complexity but it is susceptible to manipulation by riparian process, in particular removal by property owners. The objective of this study is to determine the spatial scales at which human and environmental factors contribute to coarse woody debris input and output dynamics. Coarse woody debris, boat docks, and riparian trees (with the potential of becoming CWD) around the five lakes of the NTL-LTER site (Trout Lake, Allequash Lake (north basin), Sparkling Lake, Crystal Lake, and Big Muskellunge Lake) were measured in 1996 and 1997. Riparian trees with the potential of becoming CWD were measured in Feb. 1997. Locations were determined by differential GPS (greater than 10 points per tree) and diameters were measured as diameter-at-breast-height (dbh) using a "cruising stick" according to the Scribner 78 scale (Philip 1994). Substantial snow cover made nominal "breast height" approximately 200 cm. The entire shores of Crystal and Sparkling Lakes were sampled. Shorelines on the other lakes were selected to represent developed and undeveloped conditions. Approximately 31 percent% (19/61 km) of the total shoreline of the five lakes was surveyed.