As we transition into spring, wildfires are on the minds of many Canadians. In fact, wildfires have already started in some parts of the country.

Over the last decade, the land burned in Canada and many other parts of the world has increased, resulting in more socially and economically disastrous wildfires. Predictions indicate the Canadian situation could worsen over the next few decades as the climate warms and soils and forests get drier.

While the impacts on humans, forests and the animals that live in them are the most observable effects, wildfires also have devastating impacts on aquatic life, especially fish. Many of these occur during and shortly after the fire is out, but others can continue for years, and potentially, decades.

We recently published research conducted in British Columbia into how wildfires are affecting water resources and fish habitat. We used a rainfall simulator to instigate surface runoff and soil erosion at various sites impacted by the 2023 North Lucas Lake wildfire. We showed that erosion is much worse on severely burned and steep slopes.

One of the immediate impacts on fish after a wildfire comes from the increase in water draining from the burned land and entering rivers. Without thick forest cover to store and use rainfall, more water runs off over the soil towards rivers.

In some situations, soil can become water-repellent, as gases from the burning vegetation enter and condense below the topsoil, forming a barrier and limiting the amount of........

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