Suspended sediment production potential on undisturbed forest land

Abstract

The 614 million acres of undisturbed forest land in the contiguous United States contribute more than 100 million tons of suspended sediment to the nation’s public waterways each year. The rates of suspended sediment production on undisturbed forest land serve as benchmarks against which the effects of intensified silvicultural activity on annual rates of suspended sediment production can be assessed. Nonpoint pollution from undisturbed forest land varies widely, ranging from .001-.009 tons per acre per year in scattered producing areas to as much as 3.3 tons per acre per year on isolated forests in southern and Pacific Coast areas. Coupling forested acres with the rate of sediment production per acre indicates that the Northwest and Southeast have the heaviest suspended sediment rates in the contiguous United States.