Seston dynamics in southern Appalachian streams: effects of clear-cutting.

Suspended particulate matter was studied from July 1977 to July 1978 in two second-order streams in the southern Appalachian Mountains. In the first stream, which drains an undisturbed hardwood forest watershed, seston concentrations fluctuated with season and with storm flows. Most organic and inorganic particles were smaller than 105 um diameter. The second stream drains a watershed that was clear-cut in early 1977. Increased levels of both organic and inorganic seston were found in the latter stream, especially beginning 1 year after clear-cutting. Particles larger than 234 um in diameter accounted for most of the increases in inorganic seston. We hypothesize that eventual recovery of the stream will be limited by the rate of recovery of the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem.