A case study of runoff and sediment yield in areas subjected to different forest thinning operations in a northern New Mexico forest

Forest thinning practices play a fundamental role in natural resource management and are used to reduce forest density, particularly in the southwestern United States. Increased forest density can significantly influence fuel loads and subsequent fire severity. Moderate and high fire severity may increase surface runoff and sediment yield during postfire rainfall events. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of thinning treatments on runoff and sediment yield in northern New Mexico forests. Four cover types were tested to evaluate how they influenced runoff and sedimentation. The four cover types included control (nonthinned), interspace (between slash piles), lop-scatter (slash was scattered and burned), and pile (slash was piled and burned). In addition, each cover type was tested on two categories of slopes: mild slopes (