Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe
Abstract Forest fires can significantly impact the hydrological regime of river basins, affecting short-term flood propensity and long-term water resource availability until vegetation is reestablished. While basin-level studies have extensively investigated these impacts, regional and global-scale...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02419-6 |
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| _version_ | 1849469853933502464 |
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| author | Manolis Grillakis Apostolos Voulgarakis |
| author_facet | Manolis Grillakis Apostolos Voulgarakis |
| author_sort | Manolis Grillakis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Forest fires can significantly impact the hydrological regime of river basins, affecting short-term flood propensity and long-term water resource availability until vegetation is reestablished. While basin-level studies have extensively investigated these impacts, regional and global-scale assessments remain limited. Here we use a comprehensive global dataset of river discharge observations to systematically assess the hydrological response to wildfires for a range of hydrologically homogenous world regions and biomes. Our analysis reveals contrasting hydrological impacts by region, with high-latitude discharge ratios declining by 7.5% and 16% in the first and second year after wildfire, respectively, while Northern mid-latitude regions showing a marginal 3.3% median increase in discharge ratio the first-year post-fire. Sub-tropical and equatorial regions display negative and positive effects, respectively. We further discuss how potential ecological and hydroclimatic factors, along with human river and watershed management, shape these diverse hydrological responses per hydroclimatic region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6a7c2f1f0b1e440fb93c20d4354d2430 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-6a7c2f1f0b1e440fb93c20d4354d24302025-08-20T03:25:19ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-06-016111210.1038/s43247-025-02419-6Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globeManolis Grillakis0Apostolos Voulgarakis1School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of CreteSchool of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of CreteAbstract Forest fires can significantly impact the hydrological regime of river basins, affecting short-term flood propensity and long-term water resource availability until vegetation is reestablished. While basin-level studies have extensively investigated these impacts, regional and global-scale assessments remain limited. Here we use a comprehensive global dataset of river discharge observations to systematically assess the hydrological response to wildfires for a range of hydrologically homogenous world regions and biomes. Our analysis reveals contrasting hydrological impacts by region, with high-latitude discharge ratios declining by 7.5% and 16% in the first and second year after wildfire, respectively, while Northern mid-latitude regions showing a marginal 3.3% median increase in discharge ratio the first-year post-fire. Sub-tropical and equatorial regions display negative and positive effects, respectively. We further discuss how potential ecological and hydroclimatic factors, along with human river and watershed management, shape these diverse hydrological responses per hydroclimatic region.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02419-6 |
| spellingShingle | Manolis Grillakis Apostolos Voulgarakis Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe |
| title_full | Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe |
| title_fullStr | Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe |
| title_short | Diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe |
| title_sort | diverse wildfire impacts on river flows across the globe |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02419-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT manolisgrillakis diversewildfireimpactsonriverflowsacrosstheglobe AT apostolosvoulgarakis diversewildfireimpactsonriverflowsacrosstheglobe |