Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory

Abstract

The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) was established in 1960 as an "outdoor hydrological laboratory" to investigate hydrological processes of interest in the interior northwestern part of the United States. Initial emphasis was on installing and testing instrumentation and data collection and dissemination. The initial instrumentation network sampled the climatic gradient within the 239-km 2 watershed and focused on specific subwatersheds for intensive instrumentation. This network has expanded and supported ad hoc research and provides a stable platform for the development of long-term programs supporting research and model development in snow hydrology, climate change, water and energy balance, land management, carbon cycling, and critical zone hydrology. Recently, the challenge taken up at the RCEW is to integrate different processes over space for applications to larger areas outside the watershed. The presence of steep local environmental gradients associated with topography in addition to more gradual, elevational gradients requires high-resolution modeling. The snow hydrology program has demonstrated the potential for high-resolution, process-based modeling across large landscapes. The direct linkage of biogeochemical processes with hydrological processes ultimately requires a multidisciplinary approach that has been adopted at the RCEW since inclusion in the Critical Zone Observatory program. We think that coupling of these processes will lead to a better understanding and management of natural resources on the landscape.

Interaction of wind and cold‐season hydrologic processes on erosion from complex topography following wildfire in sagebrush steppe

“…The Murphy Creek Watershed is part of a network of research sub‐watersheds in the larger Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (23 900 ha, RCEW) administered by the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Northwest Watershed Research Center (USDA‐ARS‐NWRC; Slaughter et al, ). RCEW comprises the Reynolds Creek Critical Zone Observatory (RCEW‐CZO) (Seyfried et al, ) and is extensively instrumented to support research on a wide range of hydrologic phenomena, soil erosion processes, soil carbon storage and flux, fire impacts, and changes in vegetation (Hanson, ; Pierson et al, , ; Nayak et al, ; Chauvin et al, ; Marks et al, ; Williams et al, ; Godsey et al, ; Kormos et al, ). Our specific study area, the Murphy Creek Experimental Watershed (MCEW), is defined as the watershed area contributing to the south fork of Murphy Creek immediately upstream of the USDA‐ARS‐NWRC Murphy Creek Weir (43° 15′ 20.2″ N latitude, 116° 49′ 10.3″ W longitude, 1390 m MSL; Figure ).…”

“…Sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.) rangelands span a vast expanse (>300 000 km 2 ) of the semi‐arid western USA inclusive of rain‐dominated valley areas and snow‐dominated uplands with complex terrain (Miller et al, ; Seyfried et al, ). Annual sediment yields from these rangelands are commonly low due to a ‘resource‐conserving’ vegetation and ground cover structure that limits connectivity of runoff and erosion processes (Seyfried and Wilcox, ; Wilcox et al, ; Pierson et al, , ; Williams et al, ).…”

Winter CO2 Efflux From Sagebrush Shrublands Distributed Across the Rain‐to‐Snow Transition Zone

“…The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW; Slaughter et al, 2000) and Critical Zone Observatory (RC CZO; White et al, 2015; Seyfried et al, ) located in southwest Idaho, USA, provided an ideal infrastructure to examine winter CO 2 efflux across the rain‐to‐snow transition zone in northern Great Basin rangelands. Reynolds Creek is undergoing rapid environmental change that has been carefully documented (Nayak et al, ), making it ideal for investigating how reductions in snow may impact winter CO 2 efflux in the future.…”

Influence of Drying and Wildfire on Longitudinal Chemistry Patterns and Processes of Intermittent Streams

“…Our study took place at the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) and RC CZO, a 239 km 2 watershed located southwest of Boise, ID, USA. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) established RCEW in 1960 as an experimental watershed representative of the Intermountain West region in the United States (Marks et al, 2011), and the ARS has monitored long-term precipitation and stream discharge trends (Seyfried et al, 2000(Seyfried et al, , 2018. The RCEW extends over a steep climatic gradient with mean annual precipitation varying from 250 to 1,100 mm/yr and mean annual temperatures from 5.5 to 11 • C. This climatic variability is driven by the nearly 1,000 m elevation range.…”

“…(Pseudotsuga menziesii)], at higher elevations (Seyfried et al, 2018). The site is underlain by Cretaceous granites and volcanic rocks such as the Miocene Salmon Creek Volcanics (McIntyre, 1972).…”