The ecological processes in a healthy, living forest are different from those in a forest where a fire has burned. But how? Some of the answers turn out to be surprising, especially when it comes to how water moves across and into the landscape.
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory ("Berkeley Lab") used computers to model how water--in both snow and liquid form--is absorbed and evaporated in a key California watershed. Where the researchers expected less evaporation, the model shows more. Co-author Erica Woodburn from Berkeley Lab visits with further details.