The validity of the derived relation cannot be tested for want of a suitable data set. Several lines of evidence indicate that abrasion is unimportant as a fining mechanism on these rivers, and it is argued that this may be typical of sedimentary links. Fining rate must then be a function of the efficiency with which sorting processes operate, and it is suggested that this efficiency is dependent on aggradation rates associated with the lateral sediment influxes at the head and terminus of individual links. There is a direct link between stream channel morphology and in-stream fish habitats. Salmonids spawn in riffles composed of clean, stable gravels with well-oxygenated streamflows.
Adult fish require an unobstructed migration path between the ocean and the stream spawning grounds.
A central goal of forest and watershed management in British Columbia has been to minimize changes in sediment and debris production and its delivery to streams, to avoid changes to runoff patterns, and to eliminate direct disturbance of channel banks and beds. Most previous studies of the response and recovery of small streams to past forest management have concentrated on identifying specific channel impacts and their logging-related cause, and have generally speculated on the temporal duration of the impact. The time required for the channel to recover to pre-disturbance conditions varies from 5 to over 60 years. In this paper we review research conducted in small coastal streams on the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. Research on the Queen Charlotte Islands was designed specifically to identify and describe the long-term response of stream channels to increased sediment and debris loadings resulting from both natural processes and forest management practices.