water table fluctuation on different forest habitat types in

water table fluctuation on different forest habitat types in

THIS FILE COpy MUST BE RETURNED
TO:
l .
INFORMATION SECTION,
NORTHERN FOREST RESEARCH CENTRE,
5320-122 STREET,
EDMONTON, ALBERTA.
T6H 3S5
WATER TABLE FLUCTUATION ON
DIFFERENT FOREST HABITAT TYPES
IN SOUTHEASTERN MANITOBA
Project MS-213
by
I. E. Bella and M. Talmon
FOREST RESEARCH LABORATORY
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA
INTERNAL REPORT MS.33
..
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
MAY,1966
WATER-TABLE FLUCTUATION ON DIFFERENT
FOREST HABITAT TYPES IN SOUTHEASTERN MANITOBA
by
I.. E. Bellal and M. Talmon2
INTRODUCTION
Field observations made in southeastern Manitoba suggest that
in sandy soils the most important edapbic factor influencing forest
growth and distribution is depth to water table (Mueller-Domboisjl
1964a).
In 1962 a proj ect was begun to determine water table fluctua.tion during the growing season in the more important forest site
types in southeastern Manitoba. Such information should be of considerable value in explaining differences in tree growth and
lower vegetatioN distribution in that area. This report pre'tfents
resul ts obtained from 1962 to 1965.
DESCRIPTION
The study area is located in the Rainy River Section, L. 12~
of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region (Rowe, 1959). Locations of
water-table plots are shown on Figure 1. Detailed forest description
of the area is given by Mueller-Dombois (1964).
The topography is flat to gently rolling.. Soils vary from
silicious colloid-poor sands to colloid rich loams. Large areas of
organic soils are present in flat, poorly drained depressions.
Sites vary from very dry on sandy ridges, to very wet on organic
terrain~
METHOD
Locations for water table measurements were chosen so that all
the prominant habitat types in the area would be sampled. The "oma )
and "of" habitats, which are probably the most important ones for
forest management purposes, had the greatest number of measurements
(6 to 8 replications), the less important habitats had fewer (2 or
3 replications)~ At each measurement location a 3/4 inch steel
pipe was sunk vertically into the ground to a depth of the lowest
anticipated water table level. Before installation, 5/16 inch holes
were drilled at 6-inch intervals in these pipes to facilitate water
movement from the surrounding soil into the pipe. During the study
several of these pipes became plugged with soil and had to be removed and cleaned. This resulted in the loss of some measurements.
1
2 Research Officer
Forest Technician
:3 Full name of habitats is given in the AppendiXo
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Figure 1. Location of water table plots in Southeastern :,:anitoba.
3
Results were smmnarized, averaged and plotted for each yea:;, by
habitat types (Figures 2 to 5)0 Precipitation data based on daily
weather observations at Sprague, Hani tOM (Anon. 1962, 196.3, 1964,
1965), were also included for the corresponding periods.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 show fairly consistant trends of water
table fluctuations on different habitat types during the four years
of observations; dry sites had the lowest water table levels and
moist and wet sites usually the highest. The year 1963 was
exceptionally dry during late summer and autumn, which resulted in
an atypical water table behaviour.
On the average, the water table level on dry (d) sites remained below 4 feet, sometimes dropping as low as 8 feet. On fresh
(of') sites it stayed between 2 and 5 feet. On moist and wet si tea,
including organic soils, the water table usually remained within
2 - 3 feet of the surface, although in drier years a considerable
drop was observed even on these sites (e. g. "mm" sites in 1963 and
1964).
Undoubtedly, a strong relationship exists between water table
depth and the amount of precipitation. The present data, however,
give only a rough indication of this relationship, because measurements of preCipitation were carried out 01'111' at one location
(Sprague, Manitoba), which probably does not provide an accurate
picture of precipitation for the entire study area, and because of
the study has been in progress for such a short time. Distribution
of precipitation during the summer months is also an important
factor influencing the movement of water table. In 1965, with an
even distribution of precipitation throughout the summer months the
average variation in water table depth was less than 2 feet on each
habitat type. Substantial fluctuation was observed in 1963 and 1964
as a result of irregular precipitation pattern.
From these results the following general trend of annual water
table movement seems to emerge: the highest level occurs during late
spring or early summer due to melt-water and relative1~high early
summer precipitation; levels decline in July and a low point is
reached in August or early September because of high evapo-transpiration and usually smaller amount of preCipitation; levels remain constant or even increase in the following period (October, November),
because of a decrease in evapo-transpiration rates.
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Anonymous. 1962 to 1965. Monthly Records, Meteorological
Observations in Canada. Dept. of Transport, Met. Branche.
Mueller-Dombois, D. 1964a. Effect of Depth of Water Table on Height
Growth of Tree Seedlings in a Greenhouse. For. Sci.,
Vol. 10(3).
Mueller-Dombois, D. 1964b. The Forest Habitat Types of Southeastern
Mani toba and Their Application to Forest Management. Can.
Joum. of Bot., Vol. 42(1417-1444).
Rowe, J.S. 1959. Forest Regions of Canada. Can., Dept$ of North.
Aff. and Nat. Res., For. Br., Bull. 123.
Full Name of Habitat TypU
dry (d)
oligotrophic fresh (of)
oligotrophic moist (om)
meso trophic moist (mm)
meso trophic very moist (mvm)
meso trophic wet (mw)
eutrophiC wet (ew)
f~ther moss - Sphagnum (18)
siBk hole - Sphagnum (sItS)
SphagBUBl (S)
Betule - Carex (DC)