Project Number: 5370-11220-006-14
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Jul 30, 2008
End Date: Sep 30, 2012

Objective:
The lack of long-term precipitation records limits our ability to develop probability functions to estimate the success of reestablishing appropriate vegetation after wildfires in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. The focus of the project is to develop cost-effective techniques to measure both precipitation and rainfall-runoff relationships by modifying wildlife guzzlers. If successful we have the opportunity to add over 1,500 new precipitation recording stations in Nevada by retrofitting the existing wildlife guzzlers that are distributed

Approach:
The majority of the state of Nevada is rural and limited hydrologic studies have been carried out to investigate surface water hydrology in remote upland regions of the state. For rainfall, there is a limited network of meteorological stations for which data are available through the National Weather Service. Thus the measurement of surface water contributions in small rangeland catchments with intermittent surface runoff is very limited. We propose to investigate the feasibility of instrumenting existing wildlife guzzlers in Nevada to provide data on precipitation and surface runoff in remote catchments. By using a simple water balance approach with appropriate monitoring equipment for precipitation and water levels in the guzzler storage tanks, the amount of surface runoff generated by a particular natural storm can be determined. The second phase will be to estimate the hydrologic response of the different vegetative states within these catchments with a rainfall simulator (2 m wide x 6 m long) at rates 5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5 cm per hour. This will provide the baseline data for the watershed analysis of hydrologic response of specific Ecological Sites at the hillslope scale. Data from these experiments will be used to validate and improve the Rangeland Hydrology Erosion Model and will provide benchmark information for the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project. (Formerly 5325-11220-005). Documents Reimbursable with BLM. Log 37135.