WWRC 97-05vv
A Pebble Count Procedure For Assessing Watershed Cumulative Effects
Land management activities can result in the
delivery of fine sediment to streams. Over time,
such delivery can lead to cumulative impacts to the
aquatic ecosystem. Because many laws require
Federal land managers to analyze watershed
cumulative effects, field personnel need simple
monitoring procedures that can be used directly and
consistently. We have developed such a procedure.
Our procedure was published in 1995 by the Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station as
RM-RP-319. It is titled A Pebble Count Procedure
for Assessing Watershed Cumulative Effects. This
research paper describes a simple monitoring
procedure for sampling a longitudinal reach of a
stream channel several hundred feet long using a
zig-zag pebble count that crosses all habitat features
within a stream channel. The technique is
particularly useful for comparing fine sediment
levels between study (impacted) and reference
(unimpacted) reaches. The publication thoroughly
describes validation of the procedure, how to
develop a study plan and an appropriate statistical
framework for data analysis. Case studies are
offered as well.
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