The role of precipitation type, intensity, and spatial distribution in source water quality after wildfire

Murphy, Sheila F.; Writer, Jeffrey H.; McCleskey, R. Blaine; Martin, Deborah A.

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/084007

Cited by 107 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Increases in stream‐water nitrate are commonly reported after wildfire and generally are ascribed to the combination of reduced uptake by vegetation and increased microbial nitrification resulting from changes in soil pH, moisture, and temperature as well as increased ammonium released during burning of organic matter (Ranalli, ; Certini, ). Studies of snowmelt‐dominated streams generally report peak nitrate concentrations in the first year following wildfire (Hauer and Spencer, ; Bayley et al, ; Minshall et al, : Mast and Clow, ; Bladon et al, ), but Murphy et al () and Rhoades et al () observed delayed nitrate peaks in the second and/or third postfire snowmelt period in studies in Colorado. Nitrate at BTMP also showed this delayed response, with the highest nitrate peaks observed in spring 2014, the second snowmelt period after the fire (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the annual yields of DOC in 2013–2014 were not appreciably different compared to prefire years (Figure ) largely because stream‐water concentrations were not elevated during early snowmelt, when most DOC export occurred. Our results contrast with some lower elevation fires in the Front Range where substantial increases in DOC were detected after high‐intensity rain storms and where concentrations reached levels that could be problematic for downstream water treatment plants (Stevens, ; Murphy et al, ). In these studies no difference in postfire DOC was detected during snowmelt runoff or baseflow as was the case for the BTMP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the montane forests, summer convective storms often generate much greater changes in postfire water quality compared to the snowmelt runoff period (Murphy et al, ). Summer convective storms tend to be of short duration and can vary substantially in intensity and spatial coverage, making postfire water‐quality effects difficult to characterize using traditional fixed‐interval sampling strategies (Murphy et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water-quality response to a high-elevation wildfire in the Colorado Front Range

et al. 2015

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Abstract:Water quality of the Big Thompson River in the Front Range of Colorado was studied for 2 years following a high-elevation wildfire that started in October 2012 and burned 15% of the watershed. A combination of fixed-interval sampling and continuous water-quality monitors was used to examine the timing and magnitude of water-quality changes caused by the wildfire. Prefire water quality was well characterized because the site has been monitored at least monthly since the early 2000s. Major ions and nitrate showed the largest changes in concentrations; major ion increases were greatest in the first postfire snowmelt period, but nitrate increases were greatest in the second snowmelt period. The delay in nitrate release until the second snowmelt season likely reflected a combination of factors including fire timing, hydrologic regime, and rates of nitrogen transformations. Despite the small size of the fire, annual yields of dissolved constituents from the watershed increased 20-52% in the first 2 years following the fire. Turbidity data from the continuous sensor indicated high-intensity summer rain storms had a much greater effect on sediment transport compared to snowmelt. High-frequency sensor data also revealed that weekly sampling missed the concentration peak during snowmelt and short-duration spikes during rain events, underscoring the challenge of characterizing postfire water-quality response with fixed-interval sampling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water-quality response to a high-elevation wildfire in the Colorado Front Range

et al. 2015

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“…This stored sediment may stay within the catchment until mobilized by subsequent peak flows [58]. Additionally, stored sediment from previous land-use activities, such as mining, can be mobilized by postfire overland flow and peak flows [47]. Mining deposits and mine effluents generally contain high concentrations of metals that can be dissolved in water or attached to particulate matter [20,59].…”

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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“…Antecedent 30-day precipitation preceding Irene fell in the 95th percentile of all days for the past 100 years. Similarly forest fires preceding floods have been found to produce exceptional exports and concentrations of sediments and nutrients from watersheds (e.g., Dahm et al 2015;Murphy et al 2015). Peak concentrations of totals suspended solids, dissolved organic carbon and nitrate were 120,000 mg TSS L -1 , 12 mg NO3 -L -1 , and 71 mg DOC L -1 , respectively, and were 10-31 times greater than those in unburned streams in the 6330-ha Fourmile Creek watershed near Boulder, Colorado (Murphy et al 2015).…”

Section: Coupled Versus Individual Extreme Events For Sediment and Numentioning

confidence: 99%

Freeze–thaw processes and intense rainfall: the one-two punch for high sediment and nutrient loads from mid-Atlantic watersheds

et al. 2017

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Large runoff, sediment, and nutrient exports from watersheds could occur due to individual extreme climate events or a combination of multiple hydrologic and meteorological conditions. Using high-frequency hydrologic, sediment, and turbidity data we show that freeze-thaw episodes followed by intense winter (February) rainstorms can export very high concentrations and loads of suspended sediment and particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PN) from mid-Atlantic watersheds in the US. Peak suspended sediment ([ 5000 mg L -1 ), POC ([ 250 mg L -1 ) and PN ([ 15 mg L -1 ) concentrations at our 12 and 79 ha forested watersheds for the February rainfall-runoff events were highest on record and the fluxes were comparable to those measured for tropical storms. Similar responses were observed for turbidity values ([ 400 FNU) at larger USGS-monitored watersheds. Much of the sediments and particulate nutrients likely originated from erosion of stream bank sediments and/or channel storage. Currently, there is considerable uncertainty about the contribution of these sources to nonpoint source pollution, particularly, in watersheds with large legacy sediment deposits. Future climate projections indicate increased intensification of storm events and increased variability of winter temperatures. Freeze-thaw cycles coupled with winter rain events could increase erosion and transport of streambank sediments with detrimental consequences for water quality and health of downstream aquatic ecosystems.

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The role of precipitation type, intensity, and spatial distribution in source water quality after wildfire

Cited by 107 publications

References 37 publications

Water-quality response to a high-elevation wildfire in the Colorado Front Range

Water-quality response to a high-elevation wildfire in the Colorado Front Range

At the nexus of fire, water and society

Freeze–thaw processes and intense rainfall: the one-two punch for high sediment and nutrient loads from mid-Atlantic watersheds

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