Vulnerability of Pacific Northwest Aquatic Ecosystems to Wildfire
Citation:
Ebersole, J., D. Roon, F. Robinne, R. Flitcroft, J. Compton, AND K. Bladon. Vulnerability of Pacific Northwest Aquatic Ecosystems to Wildfire. Oregon Chapter American Fisheries Society, Bend, OR, February 26 - March 01, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
People are increasingly concerned about the effects of wildfire on water resources. Water values at risk include water quality and supply for human needs as well as ecological values such as habitat for fish and wildlife. But risks are not equal everywhere; some places are more vulnerable than others, and some values may more sensitive to wildfire impacts than others. In this presentation we describe our effort to summarize existing information on vulnerability and risk of aquatic resources to wildfire in the Pacific Northwest in a way that will be informative to managers and flexible to new information as it delivered.
Description:
Wildfire risk to aquatic ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest is a growing concern, but this risk is not equally distributed across the region. Furthermore, risks vary among valued endpoints and may be perceived differently by drinking water providers, forest managers, and fish biologist. There is a need for risk assessments that can help understand and efficiently communicate about the role of fire in a given watershed, and propose and explore options so that fire can keep playing this role while maintaining valued ecosystem services. In this presentation we describe a wildfire risk assessment approach that incorporates spatial variation in the mechanisms driving post-wildfire aquatic ecosystem responses across the Pacific Northwest (e.g., see Roon et al. in this session). Our approach combines metrics that capture variability in drivers of risk (hydrology, climate, geology, ecology, and human land use) to create composite indicators that could be used to visualize and communicate wildfire risk to aquatic ecosystems in a digestible form. Our goal is to provide risk maps that are transparent, flexible, informative, and credible. Help shape our products; come to this talk and tell us what you need to know about wildfire risks to aquatic resources you care about and manage!