Temporal Variations of Fire Effects on Dissolved Nutrient Concentrations and Runoff amount in Zrebar Lake Watershed

Fire causes destructive effects on soil, water and components of wetland ecosystems. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of fire on runoff amount and nutrient concentration of Zrebar Lake watershed between 2014 and 2017 and the return of burned areas to their natural conditions in the short, medium and long term. The results showed that in the fourth year after the fire, the amount of runoff and concentrations of dissolved calcium and ammonium in the burned areas compared to normal increased by 47, 5.9 and 23.5 percent, respectively, indicating that the conditions has not return to normal. Concentrations of dissolved total phosphorus and nitrate in the third year after the fire showed insignificant increases of 6.3 and 4.2 percent, respectively, indicating a return to normal conditions. The concentration of dissolved potassium and total nitrogen in the fourth year after the fire in the burned areas compared to the natural areas increased by 1.5 and 1.4 percent, respectively, which indicates a return to normal in the fourth year after the fire.  In general, it can be concluded that even in the long term, some of the destructive effects of the fire on water quantity and quality of the Zrebar Lake watershed will remain.