Community Partner

Marc Stewart (U.S. Geological Survey)

First Advisor

Joseph Maser

Date of Award

8-2020

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Environmental Management (MEM)

Department

Environmental Science and Management

Language

English

Subjects

Eagle Creek (Or.), Forest hydrology -- Lower Columbia River Watershed (Or. and Wash.), Water temperature -- Effect of fires on -- Oregon -- Hood River County, Water temperature -- Effect of fires on -- Lower Columbia River Watershed (Or. and Wash.), Soil erosion, Forest fires -- Environmental aspects

DOI

10.15760/mem.63

Abstract

When investigating forested watersheds devastated by wildfire, the wide range of disturbance can lead to altering hydrological effects through the loss in ground cover vegetation, canopy cover, while also disrupting soil characteristics. Within the Pacific Northwest, forested drainages affected by post-fire disturbance are further altered in areas that experience seasonal rainfall and snow melt events. When looking at the post-fire sloped areas of Eagle Creek and Tanner Creek within the Columbia Gorge of Oregon, the loss of ground cover and organic matter throughout these two watersheds pose a legitimate concern for erosion events as well as hydrological changes due to sediment transport and increased surface water runoff. With the loss of ground cover due to fire, the reduction in rainfall interception and surface water storage elevates the chances of rapid runoff further increasing the volume of surface water runoff. This post-fire decrease in ground cover protection against persistent rainfall raises the chances of soil detachment by overland flow eventually leading to erosion concerns within a given area of the landscape. Differences in fire severity throughout these drainages also increase a risk of altering the forested landscape and pose future risks of erosion and public safety knowing these areas were heavily used prior to the 2017 Eagle Creek forest fire. This project examines the importance of monitoring the hydrological effects, including stream temperature and surface water stream levels following a forest fire. The data collected through this ongoing project have produced a set hydrologic data for water stream levels as well as water temperature readings. The data sets are compiled with regional weather service data to help understand potential relationships between water stage levels and precipitation as well as relationships between local air temperature fluctuations and stream temperature. This report also presents the overall process involved when collecting data regarding the potential changes in sediment loads, surface water storage, and increased surface water runoff. The overall goal of this project and report is to collect and analyze baseline data for monitoring post-fire effects for both Eagle Creek and Tanner Creek watersheds. Helping to understand these post-fire hydrologic responses can also help provide data for effective risk management within a popular publicly accessible area.

Rights

© 2020 Sylas Daughtrey

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. 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).

Comments

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33427

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