Restoring Historic Forest Disturbance Frequency Would Partially Mitigate Droughts in the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains DOI Creative Commons
Elijah N. Boardman, Zhuoran Duan, Mark S. Wigmosta

et al.

Water Resources Research, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 61(4)

Published: April 1, 2025

Abstract Forest thinning and prescribed fire are expected to improve the climate resilience water security of forests in western U.S., but few studies have directly modeled hydrological effects multi‐decadal landscape‐scale forest disturbance. By updating a distributed process‐based model (DHSVM) with vegetation maps from ecosystem (LANDIS‐II), we simulate resource impacts management scenarios targeting partial or full restoration pre‐colonial disturbance return interval central Sierra Nevada mountains. In fully restored regime that includes fire, thinning, insect mortality, reservoir inflow increases by 4%–9% total 8%–14% dry years. At sub‐watershed scales (10–100 km 2 ), dense can increase streamflow >20% thinner forest, increased understory transpiration compensates for decreased overstory transpiration. Consequentially, 73% gains attributable rain snow interception loss. Thinner headwater peak flows, reservoir‐scale flows almost exclusively influenced climate. Uncertainty future precipitation causes high uncertainty yield, additional yield is about five times less sensitive annual uncertainty. This decoupling response makes especially valuable supply during Our study confidence benefits restoring historic frequencies mountains, our modeling framework widely applicable other forested mountain landscapes.

Language: Английский

Restoring Historic Forest Disturbance Frequency Would Partially Mitigate Droughts in the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains DOI Creative Commons
Elijah N. Boardman, Zhuoran Duan, Mark S. Wigmosta

et al.

Water Resources Research, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 61(4)

Published: April 1, 2025

Abstract Forest thinning and prescribed fire are expected to improve the climate resilience water security of forests in western U.S., but few studies have directly modeled hydrological effects multi‐decadal landscape‐scale forest disturbance. By updating a distributed process‐based model (DHSVM) with vegetation maps from ecosystem (LANDIS‐II), we simulate resource impacts management scenarios targeting partial or full restoration pre‐colonial disturbance return interval central Sierra Nevada mountains. In fully restored regime that includes fire, thinning, insect mortality, reservoir inflow increases by 4%–9% total 8%–14% dry years. At sub‐watershed scales (10–100 km 2 ), dense can increase streamflow >20% thinner forest, increased understory transpiration compensates for decreased overstory transpiration. Consequentially, 73% gains attributable rain snow interception loss. Thinner headwater peak flows, reservoir‐scale flows almost exclusively influenced climate. Uncertainty future precipitation causes high uncertainty yield, additional yield is about five times less sensitive annual uncertainty. This decoupling response makes especially valuable supply during Our study confidence benefits restoring historic frequencies mountains, our modeling framework widely applicable other forested mountain landscapes.

Language: Английский

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