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Estimating changes in streamflow attributable to wildfire in multiple watersheds using a semi-distributed watershed model

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dc.contributor.authorWells, Ryan, author
dc.contributor.authorNiemann, Jeffrey D., advisor
dc.contributor.authorKampf, Stephanie, committee member
dc.contributor.authorNelson, Peter, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-01T11:23:54Z
dc.date.available2024-01-01T11:23:54Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractOver half of western U.S. water supply is sourced from forested lands that are increasingly under wildfire risk. Studies have begun to isolate the effects of wildfire on streamflow, but they have used coarse temporal resolutions that cannot account for the numerous, interconnected watershed processes that control the responses to rainfall events. To address these concerns, we developed a method to isolate fine-scale (daily) effects of fire from climate. Wildfire effects were represented by the difference between measured post-fire daily streamflow and simulated unburned post-fire daily streamflow from a hydrologic model calibrated to pre-fire conditions. The method was applied to track hydrologic recovery after wildfires in six burned watersheds across the western U.S.: North Eagle Creek, NM (2012 Little Bear Fire), Lopez Creek, CA (1985 Las Pilitas Fire), and City Creek, Devil Canyon Creek, East Twin Creek, and Plunge Creek, CA (2003 Old Fire). All six watersheds experienced prolonged increases of post-fire streamflow, with the most consistent changes occurring during periods of low streamflow. Following 6 years of increased streamflow, Lopez Creek experienced 6 years of reduced streamflow, before returning to pre-fire streamflow behavior 12 years after the fire. North Eagle Creek and the four watersheds affected by the Old Fire continued to demonstrate elevated streamflow 9 and 18 years post-fire, respectively. This study demonstrates the utility of examining post-fire streamflow at daily resolution over multiple years. In particular, these results captured the variability of change across flow frequencies during recovery periods that would not be quantifiable otherwise.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierWells_colostate_0053N_18056.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/237342
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2020-
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.titleEstimating changes in streamflow attributable to wildfire in multiple watersheds using a semi-distributed watershed model
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil and Environmental Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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