This tends to occur with fine, rather than coarse, debris. Landowners should work to restore and maintain the functions of large woody debris in their streams. Management decisions can be guided by the knowledge that LWD performs differently in different streams. On small, steep streams, single pieces of wood spanning the channel act as major controls on channel form and ecology. On larger streams, LWD accumulations or jams are the rule.
Single pieces are generally unstable.
For the largest streams, LWD plays a limited role in the channel except when extremely large jams are present. LWD on floodplains and gravel bars on the largest streams provides escape habitat for fish at high flows and promotes streamside forest development. Managing the streamside forest to promote recruitment of LWD is a long-term project. Just prescribing buffer strips alone may not be adequate. Growing large trees as potential sources of LWD in that zone may require active management, such as planting conifers, controlling competition and thinning, activities that are rarely done at the present time.