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Spatiotemporal controls on the delivery of dissolved organic matter to streams following a wildfire
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  • Jesse Alan Roebuck,
  • Kevin D Bladon,
  • David Donahue,
  • Emily B Graham,
  • Samantha Grieger,
  • Karl Morgenstern,
  • Matthew J Norwood,
  • Katherine A Wampler,
  • Lisa Erkert,
  • Lupita Renteria,
  • Robert E. Danczak,
  • Susan Fricke,
  • Allison Myers-Pigg
Jesse Alan Roebuck
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DOE)
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Kevin D Bladon
Oregon State University
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David Donahue
Eugene Water and Electric Board
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Emily B Graham
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DOE)
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Samantha Grieger
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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Karl Morgenstern
Eugene Water and Electric Board
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Matthew J Norwood
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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Katherine A Wampler
Oregon State University
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Lisa Erkert
Eugene Water and Electric Board
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Lupita Renteria
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DOE)
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Robert E. Danczak
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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Susan Fricke
Eugene Water and Electric Board
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Allison Myers-Pigg
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DOE)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Warmer and drier climate has contributed to increased occurrence of large, high severity wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, drawing concerns for water quality and ecosystem recovery. While nutrient fluxes generally increase post-fire, the composition of organic matter (OM) transported to streams immediately following a fire is poorly constrained, yet can play an integral role in downstream water quality and biogeochemistry. Here, we quantified spatiotemporal patterns of dissolved OM (DOM) chemistry for five streams burned by wildfires in Oregon, USA in 2020. We sampled over a 24-hour storm event one month after the fire, revealing variable temporal behavior in DOM dynamics. DOM chemistry was directly related with burn severity spatially. Specifically, nitrogen and aromatic character of DOM increased in streams burned at greater severity. Our results suggest a spatial overprinting of DOM dynamics immediately following fire activity and highlight a key gap in our knowledge of post-fire DOM transport to streams.