Applications of spatial analysis in Sierran systems: Hydrologic balance, nutrient budget, and erosion.

摘要

Spatial analysis software is being developed and improved at an increasingly rapid pace. In the Sierra Nevada, specifically the Lake Tahoe region, the need to expand knowledge of nutrients and their movement through the ecosystem presents the perfect opportunity for the application of spatial analysis tools. Two methods of spatial analysis were applied to physical data of the natural environment. First, GIS was employed to create a hydrologic model of a Sierran watershed. It was found that while the GIS model did appear to work, more research is needed on the extent and frequency of soil freezing and hydrophobicity of soil immediately post biomass removal treatment. Second, GIS was applied to estimate the amount of upper watershed erosion resulting from a single precipitation event that occurred about 4 weeks after a wildfire. This single event contributed anywhere from 3-93% of the erosion expected over 1000 yr of natural precipitation.