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 the 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 significant 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 said. “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.”…