A lack of logjams in Australian streams and rivers created by deforestation could result in less habitat for aquatic animals and insects.
That’s according to research conducted in Rocky Mountain streams in the western United States that found streams full of dead trees were healthier than clean streams.
The work, led by Dr Michael P. Venarsky from Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, who is continuing his exploration of the findings that were originally published in Ecology of Freshwater Fish, has shown that dead trees create logjams within the streams, some up to 15m wide and 3m tall.
Dr Venarsky, who conducted the research in his former role with Colorado State University, said these logjams drastically transform the shape of the streams from simple, single-channelled, fast-flowing streams, to streams with up to 19 separate channels containing both fast-flowing sections and pools up to 2m deep.
“The large number of logjams in these streams produced more