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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Boise, Idaho » Northwest Watershed Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #87753
Title: SUSTAINED RESEARCH INTO HYDROLOGY OF RANGELAND HEADWATERS: REYNOLDS CREEK EXPERIMENTAL WATERSEHD, IDAHO, U.S.A.

Author
item Slaughter, Charles
item Hanson, Clayton

Submitted to: Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/20/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) was established in 1960 as an outdoor hydrologic laboratory for the mountainous rangelands of the interior Pacific Northwest. The 234 km-squared Reynolds Creek basin 70 km south of Boise, Idaho, was chosen as a landscape with high relief (1098 m to 2254 m) and diversity of geology, soils, aspect, vegetation and land use ereasonably representing mountainous rangelands of the Pacific Northwest. Mean annual precipitation varies from 23 cm at the lowest elevations to over 110 cm at the southern headwaters, where over 75 percent of annual precipitation comes as snow. RCEW research has emphasized physical processes, rates, spatial and temporal variability and modeling of precipitation, climate, seasonal snowpack accumulation and melt, seasonally frozen soils, streamflow, soil erosion, and sediment processes. Current applications include water supply predition, analysis of extreme events, erosion and seiment production, rangeland biodiversity and modeling for improved resource management.

Technical Abstract: Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) was established in 1960 as an outdoor hydrologic laboratory for the mountainous rangelands of the interior Pacific Northwest. The 234 km2 Reynolds Creek basin 70 km south of Boise, Idaho, was chosen as a landscape with high relief and diversity of geology, soils, aspect, vegetation and land use reasonably repre- senting mountainous rangelands of the Pacific Northwest. The elevation range of RCEW is 1098 m to 2254 m. Mean annual precipitation varies from 23 cm at the lowest elevations to over 110 cm at the headwaters, where over 75 percent of annual precipitation comes as snow. Hydrologic process research is specifically addressing: stochastic climate simulation model development and application to mountainous terrain; developing algorithms and model components to predict infiltration and runoff from snowmelt and frozen soils; determining interactions of rangeland vegetation and soils with surface runoff and erosion under varying rainfall and snowmelt; utilizing remote sensing and Synthetic Aperture Radar to quantify rangeland vegetation and soil moisture over a range of watershed scales; biodiversity of rangeland sites in diverse topography; and predicting interactive effects of soil, plants and climate on establishment of native grasses and shrubs after disturbance.