Class
Article
College
S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources
Department
English Department
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Wildfire can cause a temporary surge in wood recruitment to valley bottoms through an increase in availability and transport mechanisms. Large wood debris in stream channels and floodplains has a profound effect on riparian habitat, generally increasing geomorphic diversity and otherwise increasing ecosystem diversity and riparian heterogeneity (Gurnell, 2013, Manners et al, 2007). Floods laden with large woody-debris also pose a significant risk to property and infrastructure (Rigon et al, 2012). Such processes and hazards are exemplified by the 2018 Dollar Ridge Fire in the Strawberry River watershed in Duchesne County, UT. Shortly after the fire, a 50-year recurrence interval flood accompanied with numerous debris flows recruited a large amount of wood into the Strawberry River and its tributary canyons. This study quantifies the change in wood distribution before (2013) and after the fire (2019) using remote methods verified by field sampling. This project found that the density of wood doubled on average in the study canyons, and a larger portion was recruited by fluvial and colluvial processes following the 2018 Dollar Ridge Fire.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-11-2022 12:00 AM
Included in
After the Fire and Flood: Tracking Wood Recruitment in the Strawberry River Watershed After the Dollar Ridge Fire
Logan, UT
Wildfire can cause a temporary surge in wood recruitment to valley bottoms through an increase in availability and transport mechanisms. Large wood debris in stream channels and floodplains has a profound effect on riparian habitat, generally increasing geomorphic diversity and otherwise increasing ecosystem diversity and riparian heterogeneity (Gurnell, 2013, Manners et al, 2007). Floods laden with large woody-debris also pose a significant risk to property and infrastructure (Rigon et al, 2012). Such processes and hazards are exemplified by the 2018 Dollar Ridge Fire in the Strawberry River watershed in Duchesne County, UT. Shortly after the fire, a 50-year recurrence interval flood accompanied with numerous debris flows recruited a large amount of wood into the Strawberry River and its tributary canyons. This study quantifies the change in wood distribution before (2013) and after the fire (2019) using remote methods verified by field sampling. This project found that the density of wood doubled on average in the study canyons, and a larger portion was recruited by fluvial and colluvial processes following the 2018 Dollar Ridge Fire.