CHARACTERISTICS OF COARSE WOODY DEBRIS FOR SEVERAL COASTAL STREAMS OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA, USA

Coarse woody debris (>0.2m in diameter, 1.5m long) was measured along undisturbed low-gradient stream reaches. Average debris length, diameter and volume per piece increased with stream size. Eighty percent of debris volume of the 1st order and the smaller 2nd order streams was suspended above or lying outside the bankfull channel, while <40% was similarly positioned in the 4th order stream. About 1/3 of all debris was oriented perpendicular to stream flow. Tree blowdown had a major influence on debris distribution along the smaller stream reaches. Debris jams and accumulations in the largest stream were formed from floated debris. -from Authors