How much wood could a river have if a river could have wood?

In this field-based investigation of wood in rivers, students explore the imaginative yet scientific question: “how much wood could a river have if a river could have wood?” Students develop a conceptual large wood budget for a stream reach by identifying where wood is recruited, transported and stored within a study reach, calculating reach-scale wood load, and considering the ecological and geomorphic role of large wood as well as how human influence might modify wood presence. This lesson builds observational and analytical skills, encourages connections between site-scale processes and watershed-scale context, and promotes creative thinking about river legacies and river futures. This lesson works best in a wadable stream with visible logjams or large wood pieces Resources in this lesson include the lesson plan with reflection assignment, a student field data sheet, a pre-field lesson activity, background reading tailored to the lesson, a table for students to compare their field data to published literature values, and optional journal articles for discussion. Editable Microsoft word and PowerPoint files of these resources are included in the supplemental documents for those who would like to directly modify any content to fit the needs of their course.