Benthic Stream Communities Following Wildfire on Natural and Introduced Substrates

Paired with a nutrient diffusing substrate experiment, samples were collected from fritted glass disks and stream bed cobbles. This comparison helps evaluate (1) mountain stream periphyton response to wildfire, (2) the influence of geomorphic context on periphyton communities, (3) colonization dynamics in mountain streams, and (4) how benthic algae assemblages may vary in nutrient diffusing substrate (NDS) experiments compared to epilithic communities. Primarily, the goal was to bolster the understanding of how communities vary seasonally and above versus below montane wet meadows with a paired NDS experiment.