Fires and the Water Cycle: Impacts and Management
Fires can have severe impacts on water quality. Fires disturb vegetation cover, create an ash layer rich in potential contaminants, and increase contaminant mobilisation by enhancing runoff and erosion. This may lead to the contamination of surface and groundwater resources with suspended sediments, metals, organic compounds and nutrients. While many of the potential impacts are known, key knowledge gaps remain on their probability of occurrence, magnitude, and longevity. Overcoming these gaps is essential to support decision-makers in addressing these risks.
