Wildfire Smoke Linked to deteriorating Water Quality in Nevada
RENO, Nev. – A recent study has revealed that smoke from wildfires can have detrimental effects on water bodies across Nevada. Conducted over two years in teh Lamoille Canyon of the Ruby Mountains, the research focused on the impact of fire on nutrient cycling and retention in watersheds. The study was prompted by the ‘range 2’ fire that scorched a notable portion of the canyon in 2018.
the study highlighted two key factors that could lead to the deterioration of water quality: the intensity of the fire, and increasingly dry conditions following a given fire.
Kay Strain, a doctoral student at the University of Nevada, led the study. “When you have really severe fire, it takes a really long time for the ecosystem to recover,” Strain saeid. “That can be because re-sprouting plants or plants that have to spread their seed can’t, they take a long time to kind of come in and grow after the fire.”
Findings show that when dry conditions are present after a fire, plants cannot absorb harmful levels of nutrients like nitrogen and nitrate found in wildfire ash. Those nutrients then flow into rivers and streams across the state, disrupting the water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
Strain further noted, “So when you really, really severe a fire, you have more nitrogen thatS deposited onto the surface, but also the plants are not there to take it up. And so you have more export of nitrogen to the streams. Though, we also found that when conditions are dry… Plants can’t access that nitrogen. They need the water to be able to make that nitrogen accessible to their roots.”
According to the study, nutrient runoff from wildfire ash can also lead to harmful algal blooms and increased nitrate levels in water, which are monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Strain emphasized the potential impact on drinking water, stating, “they can have harmful impacts on humans, so the EPA has a cutoff amount for the amount of nitrate, which is one of the nutrie