WILDFIRE IMPACTS ON HEADWATER STREAMS

In August 2020 our field site at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve was impacted by the SCU lightning complex fires. Wildfires cause immediate and legacy impacts on hydrologic flow paths and the export of carbon, sediment, and nutrients at the watershed scale. However, the role of a watershed’s critical zone structure and dominant runoff processes in mediating a system’s hydrologic and material export behavior after a wildfire is not well documented. We use a suite of instream samplers and instruments to document post-wildfire behavior and export of DOC, nutrients, and pyrogenic carbon. This work aids in drawing linkages between watershed structure, streamflow, and stream water quality, contributing towards integrated knowledge of how watershed biogeochemistry is impacted by wildfires.