Effects of Wildfire on Phosphorus Loading in Forested Ecosystems

Presenter/Author/Student Information

Margaret C. McGovern, University of IdahoFollow
Nicolai J. Ripplinger, North Idaho CollegeFollow
Erin Brooks (Mentor), University of IdahoFollow

Additional Funding Sources

This project was made possible by the NSF Idaho EPSCoR Program and by the National Science Foundation under Award No. OIA-1301792.

Presentation Date

7-2018

Abstract

Effects of Wildfire on Phosphorus Loading in Forested Ecosystems

¹Margaret McGovern, ²Nicolai Ripplinger, and ¹Dr. Erin Brooks

²University of Idaho, ¹North Idaho College

Abstract

We hypothesize that phosphorus rich ‘hotspots’ exist in forested ecosystems and that forest management which relies on low severity prescribed burns may be a useful strategy to minimize phosphorus loading from these systems. In this study we identified 30 stream locations where we conducted weekly water sampling to identify ‘hotspots’ of excessive phosphorus loading. We then examined these hotspots to determine the importance of fire history and forest management on the observed spatial variability. We also compared phosphorus concentration in the water to existing soil phosphorus maps developed over the last two years from a previous study to identify key factors which explain this spatial variability.

Funding for this study was made possible by the NSF Idaho EPSCoR Program and by the National Science Foundation under award number IIA-1301792.

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