Increased dry season water yield in burned watersheds in Southern California

Kinoshita, A. M.; Hogue, T. S.

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/1/014003

Cited by 77 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…To reduce calculation bias due to zero flow days commonly found in ephemeral stream systems, zero flow days were eliminated from exceedance value calculations. High flows were defined similarly, with a 10 % exceedance threshold used to isolate larger volume flows (Kinoshita and Hogue, 2015). Changes in low flows and high flows were calculated as the post-fire percent change from the average of 10 water years pre-fire.…”

Section: Response Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, studies in rangeland regions of the US found moderate increases in flow, infiltration, and erosion rates after major wildfires, with trends continuing for as long as 15 years (Emmerich and Cox, 1994;Pierson et al, 2009;Hester et al, 1997;Kinoshita and Hogue, 2015). Fires in chaparral environments, such as in southern California, exhibited increased flows of up to as much as 2 orders of magnitude, with much of this occurring in the dry season (Coombs and Melack, 2013;Hogue, 2011, 2015;Loáiciga et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization and evaluation of controls on post-fire streamflow response across western US watersheds

Saxe

Hogue

Hay

2018

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This research investigates the impact of wildfires on watershed flow regimes, specifically focusing on evaluation of fire events within specified hydroclimatic regions in the western United States, and evaluating the impact of climate and geophysical variables on response. Eighty-two watersheds were identified with at least 10 years of continuous pre-fire daily streamflow records and 5 years of continuous post-fire daily flow records. Percent change in annual runoff ratio, low flows, high flows, peak flows, number of zero flow days, baseflow index, and Richards-Baker flashiness index were calculated for each watershed using pre-and post-fire periods. Independent variables were identified for each watershed and fire event, including topographic, vegetation, climate, burn severity, percent area burned, and soils data.Results show that low flows, high flows, and peak flows increase in the first 2 years following a wildfire and decrease over time. Relative response was used to scale response variables with the respective percent area of watershed burned in order to compare regional differences in watershed response. To account for variability in precipitation events, runoff ratio was used to compare runoff directly to PRISM precipitation estimates. To account for regional differences in climate patterns, watersheds were divided into nine regions, or clusters, through k-means clustering using climate data, and regression models were produced for watersheds grouped by total area burned. Watersheds in Cluster 9 (eastern California, western Nevada, Oregon) demonstrate a small negative response to observed flow regimes after fire. Cluster 8 watersheds (coastal California) display the greatest flow responses, typically within the first year following wildfire. Most other watersheds show a positive mean relative response. In addition, simple regression models show low correlation between percent watershed burned and streamflow response, implying that other watershed factors strongly influence response.Spearman correlation identified NDVI, aridity index, percent of a watershed's precipitation that falls as rain, and slope as being positively correlated with post-fire streamflow response. This metric also suggested a negative correlation between response and the soil erodibility factor, watershed area, and percent low burn severity. Regression models identified only moderate burn severity and watershed area as being consistently positively/negatively correlated, respectively, with response. The random forest model identified only slope and percent area burned as significant watershed parameters controlling response.Results will help inform post-fire runoff management decisions by helping to identify expected changes to flow regimes, as well as facilitate parameterization for model application in burned watersheds.

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Section: Response Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization and evaluation of controls on post-fire streamflow response across western US watersheds

Saxe

Hogue

Hay

2018

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Kinoshita and Hogue () observed a significant increase in low flows, mostly during interstorm periods, during the first 10 years following another nearby wildfire. Low flows (90% exceedance probability) increased from an order 10‐3 m 3 /s to 10‐1 m 3 /s, or 118% in the 51‐km 2 City Creek watersheds and 1,090% in the 14‐km 2 Devil Creek watershed.…”

Section: Effects On Streamflow By Climate Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional patterns of postwildfire streamflow response in the Western United States: The importance of scale‐specific connectivity

Hallema

Sun

Bladon

et al. 2017

Hydrological Processes

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Wildfires can impact streamflow by modifying net precipitation, infiltration, evapotranspiration, snowmelt, and hillslope run‐off pathways. Regional differences in fire trends and postwildfire streamflow responses across the conterminous United States have spurred concerns about the impact on streamflow in forests that serve as water resource areas. This is notably the case for the Western United States, where fire activity and burn severity have increased in conjunction with climate change and increased forest density due to human fire suppression. In this review, we discuss the effects of wildfire on hydrological processes with a special focus on regional differences in postwildfire streamflow responses in forests. Postwildfire peak flows and annual water yields are generally higher in regions with a Mediterranean or semi‐arid climate (Southern California and the Southwest) compared to the highlands (Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest), where fire‐induced changes in hydraulic connectivity along the hillslope results in the delivery of more water, more rapidly to streams. No clear streamflow response patterns have been identified in the humid subtropical Southeastern United States, where most fires are prescribed fires with a low burn severity, and more research is needed in that region. Improved assessment of postwildfire streamflow relies on quantitative spatial knowledge of landscape variables such as prestorm soil moisture, burn severity and correlations with soil surface sealing, water repellency, and ash deposition. The latest studies furthermore emphasize that understanding the effects of hydrological processes on postwildfire dynamic hydraulic connectivity, notably at the hillslope and watershed scales, and the relationship between overlapping disturbances including those other than wildfire is necessary for the development of risk assessment tools.

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“…An emerging perspective is that short-term (approx. 10 years) increases in water yield, usually in the form of stream base flow, could be used to augment water supplies [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

At the nexus of fire, water and society

Martin¹

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The societal risks of water scarcity and water-quality impairment have received considerable attention, evidenced by recent analyses of these topics by the 2030 Water Resources Group, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. What are the effects of fire on the predicted water scarcity and declines in water quality? Drinking water supplies for humans, the emphasis of this exploration, are derived from several land cover types, including forests, grasslands and peatlands, which are vulnerable to fire. In the last two decades, fires have affected the water supply catchments of Denver (CO) and other southwestern US cities, and four major Australian cities including Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne. In the same time period, several, though not all, national, regional and global water assessments have included fire in evaluations of the risks that affect water supplies. The objective of this discussion is to explore the nexus of fire, water and society with the hope that a more explicit understanding of fire effects on water supplies will encourage the incorporation of fire into future assessments of water supplies, into the pyrogeography conceptual framework and into planning efforts directed at water resiliency. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.

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Increased dry season water yield in burned watersheds in Southern California

Cited by 77 publications

References 35 publications

Characterization and evaluation of controls on post-fire streamflow response across western US watersheds

Characterization and evaluation of controls on post-fire streamflow response across western US watersheds

Regional patterns of postwildfire streamflow response in the Western United States: The importance of scale‐specific connectivity

At the nexus of fire, water and society

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