Browsing by Author "Fernandez, Jeanne"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Impacts of Wildfires on Groundwater Recharge: A Comprehensive Analysis of Processes, Methodological Challenges, and Research Opportunities
    (2024) Guzmán Rojo, Mónica; Fernandez, Jeanne; D’Abzac, Paul; Huysmans, Marijke; Department of Water and Climate, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University; Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierías, Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo, Cochabamba, Bolivia; Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Oriente Boliviano, Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
    ncreasing wildfire activity has led to complex ecosystem consequences, with direct effects on the subsystems that affect the presence and movement of water. Although studies have inves- tigated the cascading effects of wildfires on the water balance, our understanding of broad-scale groundwater modifications post fire remains unclear. This review aims to elucidate fire-induced shifts in the water balance, their causal factors, and their potential effects on groundwater recharge. By scrutinizing prior research examples that modeled post-fire recharge scenarios, the review highlights persistent knowledge gaps. The challenge of quantifying and integrating fire-induced alterations in precipitation, wind, and land temperature patterns into recharge projection models is specifically addressed. Despite these gaps, post-fire values of hydrologically meaningful parameters such as leaf area index (LAI), curve number (CN), and near-surface saturated hydraulic conductivity (KST) have been identified. Simulating post-fire recharge via the extrapolation of these values requires the consideration of site-specific conditions, vegetation recovery, and ash removal. It frequently results in a reduced interception and increased surface runoff, while evapotranspiration remains dependent on site-specific factors and often dictates groundwater recharge estimates. Although post-fire recharge simulations are inherently complex and imprecise, their growing application can guide land-use alterations and support policy implementation that considers fire-induced water availability changes
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Multi-Criteria Prioritization ofWatersheds for Post-Fire Restoration Using GIS Tools and Google Earth Engine: A Case Study from the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    (Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo"- CReA - VLIR-UOS., 2023-10-11) Fernandez, Jeanne; Maillard, Oswaldo; Uyuni, Gerson; Guzmán-Rojo, Mónica; Escobar, Marisa
    The Santa Cruz department in Bolivia is characterized by a wide range of ecosystems and by its richness in water resources. In recent years, extended drought caused by climate change has led to extensive fire events. Combined with deforestation, this is resulting in the degradation of the region’s ecosystems and water resources. To address restoration needs from both a land- and water-management perspective, this study proposes to prioritize restoration areas by applying a multicriteria analysis (MCA) based on two main principles: (1) using the watershed as the main study unit and (2) involving stakeholders in the definition of priority watersheds. Local stakeholders selected criteria representing water resources, biophysical characteristics, land management, productive areas, and fire disaster threats, and reclassified the spatial information based on perceived importance. Different prioritization scenarios were developed and compared in a Google Earth Engine (GEE) application. Priority restoration areas largely depend on the weighting scheme. Focusing solely on past fires leads to prioritizing the south-east basins, while the conservation of the western watersheds becomes more important when increasing the weight of the water resources criteria. This study represents the first step in developing a participatory MCA tool at the watershed scale in Santa Cruz. Highlighting the impact of different prioritization criteria can support collective decision-making around land and watershed restoration.