A new National Research Council report indicates that the management of forests for sustainable clean water supply may be more important than any other environmental service that forests provide. The report states that forests provide natural filtration and storage systems that process nearly two-thirds of the water supply in the United States.
There’s much to be learned regarding how forest management affects water quantity and quality, particularly in light of changing climate. Increasing temperatures are leading to more wildfires and insect outbreaks. It’s also necessary to closely monitor the impact of timber harvest, roads, and urban sprawl to see how these stresses influence our water supplies from forests.
The authors of the report note that this is the first major study on forests and water since a U.S. Forest Service project in 1976. Since that time climate change has produced quantifiable changes in forest structure, species and water supply, and this new assessment of current conditions is aimed at outlining future forest management needs.
