dammed ponds! a study of post-fire sediment and carbon dynamics in beaver ponds and their contributions to watershed resilience

Beaver ponds were surveyed as part of an effort to quantify post-fire sediment dynamics in beaver ponds. Forty-eight beaver ponds in the northern Colorado Rocky Mountains were surveyed between June and August, 2022. We quantified the current and remaining sediment storage capacities within ponds with sediment depth surveys, and we calculated sedimentation rates by analyzing stratigraphy within pond sediment cores., Complete processing step descriptions are included in the XML metadata files associated with each data file., , Data files and associated metadata are packaged in zipped folders. Metadata is written in XML format compliant with CSDGM version 2.0.

This data release consists of several related datasets:

Beaver pond perimeters (geospatial, polygons)

Current and historical catchments for these beaver ponds (geospatial, polygons)

Beaver pond sediment probe surveys (geospatial, points)

Beaver pond interpolated sediment, water, and total volumes, and sedimentation rates (tabular)

Beaver pond sediment core stratigraphic unit compositional descriptions (tabular)

Beaver pond sediment core stratigraphic unit organic matter (tabular)

Beaver pond sediment core sedimentation rates (tabular)

Complete processing steps are included within the metadata file associated with each data file. Additional detail may be found within the thesis: 

Dunn, S.B., 2023. Dammed Ponds! A Study of Post-Fire Sediment and Carbon Dynamics in Beaver Ponds and Their Contributions to Watershed Resilience. ProQuest Dissertation...