Laserfiche WebLink
<br />.' . <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />(16/ fI~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Otl2g~\,' <br />SOME EFFECTS OF PLANT COVER UPON WATER YIELD <br /> <br />by <br /> <br />Marvin D. Hoover <br /> <br />Sometimes we are so anxious for new knowledge that we do not appreciate <br /> <br />what has already been learned. It may be helpful to briefly review what <br /> <br />has been learned. <br /> <br />In November 1908, Colonel Chittenden of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. <br /> <br /> <br />Army, presented a paperY examining the commonly accepted opinions of that <br /> <br />time concerning the relations between forests and streamflow. He stated that <br /> <br />forests were believed to exert a beneficial influence in the following ways: <br /> <br />(1) By storing the waters from rain and melting snow in the bed of humus <br /> <br />that develops under forest cover, preventing their rapid rush to the streams <br /> <br />and releasing them gradually afterward, thus acting as true reservoirs in <br /> <br />equalizing the runoff; (2) by retarding the melting of snow in the spring <br /> <br />and prolonging the runoff from that source; (3) by increasing precipitation; <br /> <br />(4) by preventing soil erosion on steep slopes and thereby protecting water <br /> <br />courses, canals, and reservoirs from accumulation of silt. <br /> <br />The Author is Chief, Division of Watershed Management Research, Rocky Mountain <br />Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U. S. Department of <br />Agriculture, with central headquarters maintained in cooperation with Color ads <br />State University at Fort Collins, Colorado. <br /> <br />1/ Chittenden, H. M. Forests and reservoirs <br />with particular reference to navigable rivers. <br />Engin. Vol. 62:245~546, 1909. <br /> <br />in their relation to streamflow <br />Transactions Amer. Soc. Civil <br /> <br />