ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF Forest Hydrology & Watershed Management: practice questions

1 · Evapotranspiration of forests and water yield · medium

Forests usually have higher evapotranspiration than grassland partly because they have:

1. Higher albedo, reflecting more solar energy
2. Shallower roots
3. Lower leaf area
4. Deeper roots and rougher canopies

2 · Evapotranspiration of forests and water yield · hard

Restoring trees on severely degraded, compacted land can increase dry-season flow mainly because:

1. Trees never transpire during the dry season in any climate
2. Trees create enough rainfall locally to refill streams
3. Infiltration gains outweigh water use
4. Compacted soils already infiltrate as well as forest soils

3 · Effects of harvesting, plantations and fire on streamflow · hard

Using Bosch and Hewlett's average of about 40 mm per 10% of cover for conifers, clearing 30% of a conifer catchment would raise annual yield by roughly:

1. 120 mm
2. 40 mm
3. 1200 mm
4. 12 mm

4 · Effects of harvesting, plantations and fire on streamflow · hard

The FAO–CIFOR 2005 review concluded that forests:

1. Have limited effect on the largest floods in big basins
2. Prevent all floods in every river basin, whatever its size
3. Always increase flood peaks
4. Have no effect on erosion

5 · Watershed concept, delineation and prioritisation · hard

Which Indian body developed the Sediment Yield Index for prioritising sub-watersheds above reservoirs?

1. Forest Survey of India
2. Central Water Commission's flood wing
3. India Meteorological Department
4. All India Soil and Land Use Survey

6 · Erosion processes and sediment yield from forest land · hard

After clear-felling on steep slopes, shallow landslides often increase for several years mainly because:

1. Rainfall increases sharply after felling on the slope
2. Bedrock rises
3. Roots decay before regrowth roots reinforce the soil
4. Stumps add weight to slopes

7 · Riparian buffers and stream protection · hard

Monitoring of best management practices in forestry has generally shown that, when well implemented, BMPs:

1. Greatly reduce sediment from operations
2. Have no measurable effect on water quality
3. Increase erosion
4. Apply only to agriculture

8 · Integrated and participatory watershed management programmes · medium

The Integrated Watershed Management Programme launched in 2009–10 was later merged into:

1. National Afforestation Programme of the ministry
2. Green India Mission
3. MGNREGA only
4. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

9 · Paired-catchment studies and hydrological monitoring · medium

Calibration gave Qtreated = 1.1 × Qcontrol + 20 (mm). After treatment, the control yields 380 mm and the treated catchment 500 mm. What is the treatment effect?

1. 120 mm
2. 438 mm
3. 62 mm
4. 500 mm

10 · Paired-catchment studies and hydrological monitoring · hard

Hubbard Brook experiments showed that clear-felling with herbicide treatment caused:

1. Lower streamflow for decades after felling
2. Large losses of nitrate in streamflow
3. No change in water chemistry
4. Higher soil nitrogen