Wildfires can alter streamflow response to precipitation and change water quality, which can pose a risk to aquatic ecosystems and downstream drinking water treatment. Research often focuses on the impacts of high-severity wildfires, with stream biogeochemical responses to low- and mixed-severity fires often understudied. Scientists studied the impacts of the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest where rare pre-fire stream discharge and chemistry data allowed them to evaluate the influence of mixed-severity fire on stream water quantity and quality. Small increases in baseflow of water were observed in the low-moderately burned watershed. Additionally, stream water concentrations of nitrate, phosphate and sulfate significantly increased following fire, with variance in concentration increasing with fire severity.
Bush, S. A., Johnson, S. L., Bladon, K. D., & Sullivan, P. L. (2024). Stream chemical response is mediated by hydrologic connectivity and fire severity in a Pacific Northwest forest. Hydrological Processes, 38(7), e15231. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.15231