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In Sweden, we protect our streams and rivers from potentially negative forestry effects, by retaining riparian buffers (kantzoner in Swedish). Riparian buffers, usually composed of several rows of standing trees along watercourses, can protect streams well but they can also fail its intended function, if they are not managed well. For examples, buffers can be too narrow, blow down or be composed of only commercial spruce and those type of buffers have been associated with decreased potential to function well.

If you are interested in a thesis work that would investigate what kind of buffers protect our streams the best, please contact lenka.kuglerova@slu.se.

You can work with already collected data and compare different parameters (including water and soil chemistry, hydrology, sediment transport, microclimate variables, deadwood dynamics, forest dynamics, litter inputs, and biodiversity (e.g., vegetation, aquatic organisms)) before and after harvesting. You can also do your own research within the topic including field research, GIS research or literature reviews.