Influence of wildfire and beetle-caused canopy mortality on water temperature regimes in cutthroat trout streams, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

This dataset was collected to build on past and ongoing monitoring and research efforts within Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Specifically, the data were collected to test the hypothesis that reductions in canopy cover due to natural disturbances (i.e. wildfire and beetle kill) result in increases in water temperature, or the longitudinal thermal gradient of a stream. Data values include stream temperature paired with light intensity data, and air temperature data to determine the influence of riparian canopy condition and longitudinal warming across a 1 km reach. Two control streams were selected: Ouzel Creek, which has virtually no riparian canopy due to a previous wildfire; and Hunters Creek, which has a dense and healthy riparian canopy. In search of similar size streams with variable riparian conditions, the authors discovered that the beetle caused tree mortality remained mostly upland within RMNP, whereas the riparian canopy appeared healthy and much less impacted along stream corridors. Instruments were deployed in the stream with the most potential for variability, Coney Creek, in 2014. Eventually two additional streams were investigated on the western side of RMNP: Columbine Creek, which has minor beetle caused mortality within the riparian canopy; and Bowen Gulch (outside of RMNP), which displays a breif 1 kilometer (km) reach of beetle impacted canopy located between dense riparian canopy and a wetland grass meadow. The downstream reach terminus is rendered as 0 meters (m) and each monitoring station is located upstream at 250 meter intervals over a 1km reach.