Conversion of hardwood-covered watersheds to white pine reduces water yield. Swank, undefined & N. H. Miner, W. T. 1968.
Conversion of hardwood-covered watersheds to white pine reduces water yield. [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
Mixed mature hardwoods were cleared from two experimental watersheds in the Southern Appalachians, and the areas were planted with eastern white pine in 1956-57. Once the pine crowns began to close, streamflow steadily declined at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per year. By 1967, water yield from a 10-year-old pine stand on a south-facing watershed was 3.7 inches less than the expected water yield from the original hardwood forest. Most of the reduction in water yield occurred during the dormant season and was attributed mainly to greater interception loss from white pine than from hardwoods. Because interception differences increase as white pine matures, an even greater reduction in streamflow is expected.

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