Hydrologic response and recovery to prescribed fire and vegetation removal in a small rangeland catchment

Abstract

Prescribed fire can be used to return wild lands to their natural fire cycle, control invasive weeds, and reduce fuel loads, but there are gaps in the understanding of post-disturbance responses of vegetation and hydrology. The impact of a prescribed fire and subsequent aspen cutting on evapotranspiration (ET) and streamflow was assessed for the Upper Sheep Creek catchment, a 26-ha headwater catchment dominated by low sagebrush, mountain big sagebrush, and aspen within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed. The 2007 prescribed fire consumed 100% of the mountain big sagebrush and approximately 21% of the low sagebrush. The aspen, which were mostly untouched by the fire, were cut in the fall of 2008. Post-disturbance ET and vegetation recovery were related to the loss of rooting depth. ET recovered within 2 years on the low sagebrush area with limited rooting depth, while that on the deeper-rooted mountain big sagebrush area took 4 years to recover. ET from the aspen trees, which can sprout from existing roots, recovered within 2 years. The influence of vegetation disturbance on streamflow was assessed using both empirical time trend analysis and process-based modelling. Although both approaches suggested approximately a 20% increase in streamflow during the 6 years post-disturbance, results from the empirical time trend analysis were marginally significant (p = 0·055), while those from the process-based modelling were not statistically significant. Marginal streamflow response can be attributed to rapid post-disturbance recovery of the aspen where most of the streamflow originates. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA

Warming Alters Hydrologic Heterogeneity: Simulated Climate Sensitivity of Hydrology‐Based Microrefugia in the Snow‐to‐Rain Transition Zone

“…In previous studies (Chauvin et al, ; Flerchinger et al, , ; Flerchinger & Cooley, ) and in the current study, USC was divided into three hydrologic response units (HRU) based on similarity in vegetation, soils, and snow accumulation. The “aspen” HRU is dominated by drift‐subsidized aspen and willow ( Salix spp.…”

Influence of Drying and Wildfire on Longitudinal Chemistry Patterns and Processes of Intermittent Streams

“…This in part may be because burned MC experienced a relatively low water year in 2016 (Glossner, 2019;Vega et al, 2020) and rapid growth of grasses and herbaceous was observed. Rapid fire recovery (within a year) has been observed previously at RC CZO with regards to gross ecosystem production (Fellows et al, 2018) and ET (Flerchinger et al, 2016), with statistically marginal short-term increases to stream flow (Flerchinger et al, 2016). Moreover, ET rates have been shown to be relatively low in sagebrush in RC CZO (Sharma et al, 2020).…”

“…In these ecosystems, fire regimes are shifting with the spread of invasive Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass; Bradley, 2009;Bradley et al, 2016) and increasing fire frequency and fuel availability (Link et al, 2006;Abatzoglou and Kolden, 2011). The few studies conducted in these ecosystems have rapid recovery of ET losses due to increased grass and herbaceous cover with only marginal and short-term effects on streamflow (Flerchinger et al, 2016;Fellows et al, 2018). Because stream drying and fire are accelerating, there is a critical need to understand how both phenomena will affect spatiotemporal patterns of stream surface water chemistry in these contexts.…”

Seasonal Wetness, Soil Organic Carbon, and Fire Influence Soil Hydrological Properties and Water Repellency in a Sagebrush‐Steppe Ecosystem

“…We are most interested in the resilience of the three different plant communities, and in particular, those on silt loam soils, which are very productive but have not been well studied for fire response. Two contemporaneous studies focused on resilience of the water balance to fire (Flerchinger et al, ) and soil erodibility under concentrated flow (Williams et al, ). They found that the water balance recovered fully within 2 years and that erosion potential from concentrated flow decreased substantially within a year after the fire, and gradually thereafter with reestablishment of surface vegetation on the loam soils.…”