Location: MFFR watershed 1 mile north of Clio; 13 acres in Section 23 & 24 of T 22N R 12E                                                                         

Sponsors: Burkhard Bohm, Plumas Geohydrology  

Project Type: Monitoring and Research

Est. Cost: $21,000                      Amount Funded:  $21,000 of Minority funds May 2005

Est. Start Date: October 2005                   Est. End Date: June 2006

Project Description: 
This is a proposal to conduct a pilot field study aimed assessing the utility of environmental isotopes in water (deuterium and oxygen-18) to determine the effect of forest canopy density on soil moisture abundance and base flow. In specific the proposal entails:
a.    Verification and refinement of the results of a 1996/97 preliminary throughfall field study, using comparatively simple field technology.
b.    Examining evaporation loss during forest canopy interception and infiltration through forest litter and soil using the naturally occurring environmental isotopes deuterium and oxygen-18 in water.
c.    Examine to what extent the isotope signatures induced by evaporation in the forest canopy and in soil waters can be recognized in base flow.

Project Goals/Objectives:
Test whether:
a.    Evaporation due to canopy interception is proportional to the difference in isotope (deuterium and oxygen-18) enrichment measured in precipitation and throughfall.
b.    The magnitude of isotope enrichment in throughfall is proportional to canopy density.
c.    The statistical average of isotope enrichment in a limited area’s throughfall is imprinted in deep soil waters and shallow ground waters.
d.    The isotope enrichment in baseflow is an aerial and seasonal average of isotope enrichment in upstream forest canopies and soils.
And:

1.    To examine if the techniques used in this investigation can be developed into a tool that can help determine to what extent tree canopy interception affects baseflow.

2.    To develop a statistical correlation between canopy density and isotope enrichment in springs and streams (compared to precipitation).

Project Activities:
December 2005 – May 2006: Prepare & set up throughfall collecting stations; collect throughfall samples & measure volumes; collect surface water samples; data entry & analysis; photograph canopy densities; isotope sampling and soil core sampling; laboratory analysis.
                                       Expenditures through May 2006: $7,654.67