Kings River Experimental Watersheds streamwater chemistry

The Kings River Experimental Watersheds (KREW) is a long-term research project in the mixed-conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada that began in the early 2000's. The project is located in the headwaters of the Kings River on the Sierra National Forest, northeast of Fresno, California. The project has a paired-watershed design with two groups of watersheds (sites). The two sites are called Providence Creek and Bull Creek. Part of the Teakettle Experimental Forest is in the Bull Creek site. There are eight original primary catchments; two additional catchments (P300 and B200) were added in 2005 and 2006. The ten catchments are clustered into two groups, called the Providence Site and the Bull Site. Providence catchments (P300, P301, P303, P304, and D102) ranged in size from 49 to 461 hectares, and had mean elevations ranging from 1,782 to 1,979 meters. Bull catchments (B200, B201, B203, B204, and T003) ranged in size from 53 to 474 hectares, and had mean elevation ranging from 2,122 to 2,373 meters. All catchments, except T003, had a dominant southwest aspect, whereas T003 faced primarily southeast. This data publication contains streamwater grab samples that were collected by hand on a regular schedule of every two weeks when possible from 2003 through 2011. Streamwater samples were also collected by automated ISCO™ samplers during high-flow events.
The streamwater chemistry data were collected to characterize the variability in water chemistry for Sierra Nevada headwater systems (pre-treatment period of 2003 through summer 2012 or water year (WY) 2004 through WY2012) and to determine if any negative changes occurred during or immediately after tree thinning and prescribed burning for forest restoration (post-treatment started in October 2012 or WY2013). We also wanted to determine, if there was a change in water chemistry, how long it would be before the chemistry returned to pre-treatment conditions. The goal was to measure two types of samples. Grab samples taken by technicians on a regular schedule of every two weeks except in summer (baseflow) when once a month was considered adequate. Event samples were taken during storms or other high-flow events such as snowmelt by automated ISCO™ samplers triggered by changes in stream discharge.