Water runoff/erosion research objectives are as follows:
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Identify thresholds for increased runoff and erosion as juniper overstory increases and understory plants decrease.
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Measure the impact of prescribed fire on water infiltration capacity, overland flow and soil erodibility as juniper overstory increases and understory plants decrease.
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Determine the impact of cross-felled juniper trees on hillslope surface runoff and rill erosion dynamics.
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Improve our basic understanding of the hydrologic connectivity between areas of a hillslope under juniper canopy and areas between tree canopies.
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Develop parameter data sets to expand the applicability of the Erosion Risk Management Tool to cover juniper management scenarios studied as part of this project.