Streams have tolerance limits to certain environmental conditions, high levels of sediment can influence water quality and, consequently, aquatic life and human health. Considerable research in temperate forest ecosystems has elucidated the dynamics of suspended sediment export and the role of forest management on changing sediment yields, but fewer studies for subtropical regions exist. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of forest management on suspended sediment export under varying forest cover and management conditions in subtropical Brazil. Three catchments, with different management systems, were evaluated: eucalyptus forest plantation with even‐age stands management (EUC), native forest (NAT), and mosaic of forests plantation with different species and ages (MOS), located in southeastern Brazil. Streamflow, precipitation and turbidity data were collected by pressure transducers, automatic rain gauge and YSI 6136 turbidity sensors, respectively, during the period from November 2016 to October 2017. The suspended sediment yield was estimated through a relationship between turbidity and suspended sediment concentration. The results showed that sediment export ranged from 0.032 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ to 0.411 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. The catchments studied presented a low sediment export rate, compared to other studies conducted in forested settings worldwide. Our results provide insights into the high‐frequency sediment production dynamics of Brazilian forested catchments and demonstrate that, regardless of the forest management system applied in the area, native or exotic planted forests are capable of protecting the soil and minimizing the effects of sediments export.

中文翻译：

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不同管理强度下森林集水区的径流和沉积物产量：来自巴西亚热带地区的见解

溪流在某些环境条件下具有一定的耐受极限，高含量的沉积物会影响水质，进而影响水生生物和人类健康。在温带森林生态系统中进行的大量研究阐明了悬浮沉积物出口的动态以及森林管理在改变沉积物产量中的作用，但对亚热带地区的研究却很少。这项研究的目的是评估在亚热带巴西不同森林覆盖率和经营条件下森林经营对悬浮泥沙出口的影响。评估了三个具有不同管理体系的集水区：位于巴西东南部的采用均匀林分管理的桉树人工林（EUC），原生林（NAT）以及具有不同物种和年龄的人工林镶嵌（MOS）。水流，在2016年11月至2017年10月期间，分别通过压力传感器，自动雨量计和YSI 6136浊度传感器收集了降水和浊度数据。通过浊度和悬浮泥沙浓度之间的关系来估算悬浮泥沙产量。结果表明，泥沙出口量为0.032 Mg ha^-1 yr ^-1至0.411 Mg ha ^-1 yr ^-1。与在全球森林环境中进行的其他研究相比，所研究的流域的沉积物出口率较低。我们的结果提供了对巴西森林集水区高频沉积物生产动态的见解，并表明，无论该地区采用何种森林管理系统，本地或外来的人工林都能够保护土壤并最大程度地减少沉积物出口的影响。