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Frontiers of Earth Science

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Front. Earth Sci.    2017, Vol. 11 Issue (3) : 496-504    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-017-0660-1
REVIEW ARTICLE
Effects of mountain pine beetle-killed forests on source water contributions to streamflow in headwater streams of the Colorado Rocky Mountains
Christine E. WEHNER(), John D. STEDNICK
Watershed Science Program, College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, USA
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Abstract

Natural or human-influenced disturbances are important to the health and diversity of forests, which in turn, are important to the water quantity and quality exported from a catchment. However, human-induced disturbances (prescribed fire and harvesting) have been decreasing, and natural disturbances (fires and insects) have been increasing in frequency and severity. One such natural disturbance is the mountain pine beetle (MPB), (Dendroctonus ponderosae) an endemic species. A recent epidemic resulted in the mortality of millions of hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests in Colorado, USA. Beetle-induced tree mortality brings about changes to the hydrologic cycle, including decreased transpiration and interception with the loss of canopy cover. This study examined the effect of the mountain pine beetle kill on source water contributions to streamflow in snowmelt-dominated headwater catchments using stable isotopes (2H and 18O) as tracers. Study catchments with varying level of beetle-killed forest area (6% to 97%) were sampled for groundwater, surface water, and precipitation. Streams were sampled to assess whether beetle-killed forests have altered source water contributions to streamflow. Groundwater contributions increased with increasing beetle-killed forest area (p=0.008). Both rain and snow contributions were negatively correlated with beetle-killed forest area (p=0.035 and p=0.011, respectively). As the beetle-killed forest area increases, so does fractional groundwater contribution to streamflow.
Keywords mountain pine beetle      isotope tracers      streamflow generation      headwaters     
Corresponding Author(s): Christine E. WEHNER   
Just Accepted Date: 21 April 2017   Online First Date: 26 May 2017    Issue Date: 12 July 2017
 Cite this article:   
Christine E. WEHNER,John D. STEDNICK. Effects of mountain pine beetle-killed forests on source water contributions to streamflow in headwater streams of the Colorado Rocky Mountains[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2017, 11(3): 496-504.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-017-0660-1
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2017/V11/I3/496
Catchment Name Cumulative beetle-killed area/% Watershed area/km2 Mean elevation/m Slope/%
East Fork Eagle River near Climax, CO 6 21 3470 26
Snake River near Montezuma, CO 15 149 3517 34
Tenmile Creek below N. Tenmile Crk at Frisco, CO 29 237 3343 34
Gore Creek at Upper Station near Minturn, CO 37 37 3379 47
Fraser River at Upper Station near Winter Park, CO 42 26 3498 39
Booth Creek near Minturn, CO 42 16 3264 48
Fraser River at Winter Park, CO 45 72 3273 36
Cabin Creek near Fraser, CO 47 14 3273 48
Stillwater Pass 47 8 3148 52
Keystone Gulch near Dillon, CO 50 23 3341 35
South Fork of Williams Fork near Leal, CO 51 72 3351 40
Williams Fork above Darling Creek near Leal, CO 51 91 3386 40
Beaver Creek at Avon, CO 52 38 3157 36
Williams Fork near Parshall, CO 53 476 2891 26
Williams Fork near Leal, CO 57 232 3160 34
Ranch Creek near Fraser, CO 58 51 3166 30
Straight Creek below Laskey Gulch near Dillon, CO 59 48 3419 36
Willow Creek above Trout Creek 64 47 3100 29
Ranch Creek below Meadow Crk near Tabernash, CO 67 170 2961 25
St. Louis Creek near Fraser, CO 73 85 3309 35
Middle Creek near Minturn, CO 78 16 3148 36
Willow Creek near Granby, CO 82 285 2958 29
Willow Creek above Reservoir 86 326 2919 28
Cabin Creek near Granby, CO 93 27 2956 33
Buffalo Creek near Granby, CO 97 30 2841 30
Tab.1  Catchment name, cumulative beetle-killed area, watershed area, mean elevation, and mean slope for the study catchments (Maggart, 2014; Menger, 2015; Wehner, 2016)
Fig.1  Study catchments were located in Grand, Eagle, and Summit Counties of Colorado state. Beetle kill extent is shown in shaded area.
Fig.2  Isotope composition for each water sample plotted with the local meteoric water line (LMWL: d 2H= 7.9*d 18O+ 8.9) (Wehner, 2016).
Fig.3  Fractional source contribution versus cumulative beetle-killed forest area for each study catchment with 95% Bayesian credibility intervals from SIAR.
Fig.4  Annual hydrograph for the Fraser River at Winter Park for Water Year 2016. USGS stream gauge 09024000. (Streamflow is expressed as cubic meters per second).
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