The term "soil sealing" refers to impervious cover over soil, which could refer to compacted gravel, asphalt, concrete, or similar surfaces. This removes soil interaction with the atmosphere and plants and changes water runoff patterns.
Listing water-bodies under the Clean Water Act, section 303(d) is conducted when these water-bodies are found to be demonstrably impaired by pollutants (e.g., temperature, nutrients, sediment, mercury). The Regional Boards are responsible for listing water-bodies within each region, so comparisons are best made within regions, not among regions across the state.
Soil has been classified according to broad conditions, like nutrients, pH, and moisture (F metric). The mF refers to the mean moisture for a site and correlates with plant growth and productivity.
Most forests and rangelands do not have channels or drains, except associated with roads. If roads are present and have in-board ditches and other devices for diverting water, then this indicator is relevant for those areas. Dievrting naturally flowing water can concentrate flows, causing geomorphic issues (e.g., stream channelization), or remove flows, desiccation.
Evaluate water availability from snow pack. April 1st is considered to be the peak of snow accumulation and can be used as a benchmark. By comparing the April 1st snowpack from the current year against the historic average the indicator can be used to measure if the peak snow pack for the given reporting period is above or below the historic average. This gives an indication of future water supply and seasonable water availability; potential effects on forest vegetation.
Evaluate impact of warmer climate conditions on spring runoff, timing of peak flows, and seasonal water availability. This is calculated as the percent of the total water year runoff derived in Spring (April – July). Spring warming releases water as snowmelt. Recent studies by DWR show a declining trend in Spring runoff that is indicative of warmer winters and earlier Spring warming. This has implications on water availability across a range of beneficial uses. In addition, it can lead to reduced base flows and that may lead to early drying of forest vegetation and effect wildfire conditions.
Evaluate condition of upland forest meadows (healthy vs impaired). This is measured as the area and percentage of upland forest meadows that are listed for water quality impairments and in need of restoration. Upland meadows play an important role in storing and metering the flow of water to support downstream uses.
Healthy, intact watershed uplands are more likely to collect, store, and gradually release water to downstream areas. The largest surface water reservoirs in California are the snow-covered upper watersheds in the Sierra Nevada, which release their water through spring melt and into summer.
There are dozens of possible water quality indicators, some of which were used previously in the 2003 and 2010assessments: temperature, sediment, nutrients, and herbicides. Indicators of water quality can be combined into a water quality index, depending on the availability of information about specific indicators.
This indicator will help assess the quality of water in forest streams. This indicator will provide tabular, graphical, and map information that integrates complex analytical water quality data and generates a single number expressing the degree of impairment of a given water body. Data for this indicator will be used to report the status of specific forest stream reaches and miles of forest streams or the percent of forest stream miles with a poor, fair, or good water quality index.
