%0 Journal Article
%T Influence of Plantation Establishment on Discharge Characteristics in a Small Catchment of Tropical Forest
%A Siti Aisah Shamsuddin
%A Zulkifli Yusop
%A Shoji Noguchi
%J International Journal of Forestry Research
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/408409
%X A study was conducted on the impact of forest clearance on discharge from newly established Hopea odorata plantations catchment (14.4 ha). The stands were two years old when this study commenced in year 2006 and the data collection was carried out for two years. The forested catchment (C3) was clear-cut during the preparation of the forest plantation and catchment C1 was left undisturbed. Discharge and rainfall were measured continuously for two years. The discharge measured from years 1997 to 2003 was used also to determine the water yield before and after forest clear-cut. This study showed that the plantation catchment is more responsive to storm with higher total water yield than in the forested catchment. The effect of forest clear cutting to discharge was clearly shown by the increment in the amount following the clear-cut activities and time taken for the recovery of the discharge back to its original state was almost three years. The peak discharge in C3 also was affected in which the biggest change was obtained during the forest clear-cutting period compared with during calibration and after clearing periods. This study is useful as basis for improving the existing guidelines on forest plantation establishment. 1. Introduction The effects of deforestation on catchment hydrology are dependent on the removal of dominant plant species and the climate [1]. In catchments that receive high rainfall and have tall vegetation, streamflow is a useful indicator of hydrological responses to land-use change [2]. Increase in water yield would be expected following deforestation or removal of forest cover. The magnitude of increase varies with the annual rainfall and the proportion of cover removed [1]. In Malaysia, the main conversion of forest is from lowland forest to agriculture, especially rubber and oil palm plantations, which started in the early 1960s. The study on hydrological parameters by Abdul Rahim [3] on the conversion of secondary dipterocarp forest to cocoa and oil palm plantations at Sungai Tekam, Pahang, revealed that the highest increases in water yield occurred in the second and fourth years after treatment with 157% and 470% of increments, respectively (£¿mm£¿yr£¿1). The forested catchment had been subjected to timber logging, clear felled, burning of logs, road construction, and tree plantings. Another study carried out by Abdul Rahim and Harding [4] at Berembun Watershed, Negeri Sembilan, showed the effects of selective logging (commercial and supervised) on water yield and streamflow. They found significant water yield increases in both
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/2014/408409/