Directory

Uldis Silins

Professor (Forest Hydrology) and Associate Chair (Graduate Programs), Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept
Contact Overview Courses Publications

Contact

Professor (Forest Hydrology) and Associate Chair (Graduate Programs), Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept
Email
usilins@ualberta.ca
Phone
(780) 492-9083
Address
3-48c South Academic Building
11328 - 89 Ave NW
Edmonton AB
T6G 2J7

Overview

About

Research Area: Forest Hydrology

Awards

  • Alberta Emerald Award: Challenge Award in Water (2014) - Southern Rockies Watershed Project
  • Canada Council of the Federation Excellence in Water Stewardship Award (2014) - Southern Rockies Watershed Project 
  • Canadian Institute of Forestry Tree of Life Award (2011)
  • Teacher of the Year Award, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (2020, 2018, 2015, 2014, 2011, 2010, & 2004)
  • Faculty Teaching Award, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (2009)
  • ECSA Teacher of the Year Award (2018)

Research

Research Focus: Forest hydrology and Eco-hydrology focusing on impacts of climate associated forest disturbance (wildfire, Mountain Pine Beetle) and forest management including forestry operations on hydrology, water quality, and aquatic ecology of riverine environments. Research focuses on snowpacks, evaporative processes, surface- and sub-surface hillslope processes, erosion, biogeochemistry, streamflow dynamics, and aquatic ecology.

Research Platforms: Established and leads leads the Southern Rockies Watershed Project; a large instrumented watershed research platform in the Crowsnest Pass and Waterton Lakes region of southwest Alberta. This watershed research observatory includes a network of 36 current/historic gauged watersheds with a network of 19 climate stations stations. Co-leads the NSERC forWater network; a national network of instrumented watershed platforms and researchers focused on protecting drinking water sources from Canada's forested regions coast to coast.

Courses

REN R 100 - Forests: Ecology, Use and Society

An introduction to forest trees, plants, insects, fungi, fire, biodiversity and ecology. Discusses the use of forests for wood products recreation, watersheds, wildlife, carbon, and overall management and policies in Alberta and elsewhere.

Fall Term 2022

REN R 350 - Physical Hydrology

Principles of physical and land-use hydrology. The interaction of vegetation, soils, and storage processes with physiography and climate in regulation of hydrologic processes and hydrologic response of watersheds including effects of disturbance on these functions. Prerequisite: REN R 210.

Winter Term 2023

REN R 730 - Physical Hydrology

Principles of physical and land-use hydrology. The interaction of vegetation, soils, and storage processes with physiography and climate in regulation of hydrologic processes and hydrologic response of watersheds including effects of disturbance on these functions. Not to be taken if credit received for REN R 350.

Winter Term 2023

Browse more courses taught by Uldis Silins

Publications

Untangling harvest-streamflow responses in foothills conifer forests: Nexus of teleconnections, summer-dominated precipitation, and storage

Author(s): Goodbrand A, Anderson AE, Devito KJ, Silins U
Publication Date: 2022
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 36
Issue: 2
Page Numbers: e14479
External Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.14479

Anthropogenic and climate-exacerbated landscape disturbances converge to alter phosphorus bioavailability in an oligotrophic River

Author(s): Watt C, Emelko MB, Silins U, Collins AL, Stone M.
Publication Date: 2021
Publication: Water
Volume: 13
Issue: 22
Page Numbers: 3151
External Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/w13223151

A new framework for modelling fine sediment transport in rivers includes flocculation to inform reservoir management in wildfire impacted watersheds.

Author(s): Stone M, Krishnappan BG, Silins U, Emelko MB, Williams CHS, Collins AL, Spencer SA.
Publication Date: 2021
Publication: Water
Volume: 13
Issue: 17
Page Numbers: 2319
External Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172319

Hillslope and groundwater contributions to streamflow in a Rocky Mountain watershed underlain by glacial till and fractured sedimentary bedrock

Author(s): Spencer SA, Anderson AE, Silins U, Collins AL.
Publication Date: 2021
Publication: Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences
Volume: 25
Page Numbers: 237-255
External Link: https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-237-2021

Runoff and sediment production from harvested hillslopes and the riparian area during high intensity rainfall events.

Author(s): Puntenney-Desmond KC, Bladon KD, Silins U.
Publication Date: 2020
Publication: Journal of Hydrology
Volume: 582
Page Numbers: 124452
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124452

Sediment source fingerprinting: benchmarking recent outputs, remaining challenges and emerging themes

Author(s): Collins AL, Blackwell M, Boeckx P, Chivers CA, Emelko MB, Evard O, Gellis A, Gholami H, Granger S, Harris P, Horowitz AJ, Laceby JP, Martinez-Carreras N, Minella J, Mol L, Nosrati K, Pulley S, Silins U, da Silva YJ, Stone M, Tiecher T, Upadhayay HR, Zhang Y.
Publication Date: 2020
Publication: Journal of Soil & Sediments
Volume: 20
Page Numbers: 4160–4193
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02755-4

Canadian wildfire affects water quality even at large basin scales

Author(s): Emmerton CA, Cooke CA, Hustins S, Silins U, Emelko MB, Lewis T, Kruk MK, Taube N, Zhu D, Jackson B, Stone M, Kerr JG, Orwin JF.
Publication Date: 2020
Publication: Water Research
Volume: 183
Page Numbers: 116071
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116071

Precipitation-runoff and storage dynamics in watersheds underlain by till and permeable bedrock in Alberta's Rocky Mountains

Author(s): Spencer SA, Silins U, Anderson AE.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: Water Resources Research
Volume: 55
Issue: 12
Page Numbers: 10690-10706
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR025313

A regional-scale index for assessing the exposure of drinking-water sources to wildfires

Author(s): Robinne FN, Bladon KD, Silins U, Emelko MB, Flannigan MD, Parisien MA, Wang X, Kienzle SW, Dupont DP.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: Forests
Issue: 10
Page Numbers: 384
External Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050384

Net precipitation in burned and unburned subalpine forest stands after wildfire in the northern Rocky Mountains

Author(s): Williams CHS, Silins U, Spencer SA, Wagner MJ, Stone M. Emelko MB.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: International Journal of Wildland Fire
Volume: 28
Issue: 10
Page Numbers: 750–760
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18181

Long-term impact of severe wildfire and post-wildfire salvage logging on macroinvertebrate assemblage structure in Alberta's Rocky Mountains

Author(s): Martens AM, Silins U, Proctor HC, Williams CHS, Wagner MJ, Emelko MB, Stone M.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: International Journal of Wildland Fire
Volume: 28
Issue: 10
Page Numbers: 738-749
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18177

The influence of wildfire on water quality and watershed processes: New insights and remaining challenges.

Author(s): Rhoades CC, Nunes JP, Silins U, Doerr SH.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: International Journal of Wildland Fire
Volume: 28
Issue: 10
Page Numbers: 721-725
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1071/WFv28n10_FO

Assessing water contamination risk from vegetation fires: Challenges, opportunities and a framework for progress.

Author(s): Nunes JP, Doerr SH, Sheridan G, Neris J, Santín C, Emelko MB, Silins U, Robichaud PR, Elliot WJ, Keizer J.
Publication Date: 2018
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 32
Issue: 5
Page Numbers: 687-694
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11434

Landscape controls on long-term runoff in subhumid heterogeneous Boreal Plains catchments

Author(s): Devito KJ, Hokanson KJ, Moore PA, Kettridge N, Anderson AE, Chasmer L, Hopkinson C, Lukenbach MC, Mendoza CA, Morissette J, Peters DL, Petrone RM, Silins U, Smerdon B, Waddington JM.
Publication Date: 2017
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 31
Issue: 15
Page Numbers: 2737-2751
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11213

Southern Rockies Watershed Project

Author(s): Silins U, Anderson A, Bladon KD, Emelko MB, Stone M, Spencer SA, Williams CHS, Wagner MJ, Martens AM, & Hawthorn K.
Publication Date: 2016
Publication: Forestry Chronicle
Volume: 92
Issue: 1
Page Numbers: 39-42
External Link: https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2016-012

Effects of wildfire on the catchment hydrology in southwest Alberta

Author(s): Mahat V, Silins U, Anderson AE.
Publication Date: 2016
Publication: Catena
Volume: 147
Page Numbers: 51-60
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.06.040

Sediment-phosphorus dynamics can shift aquatic ecology and cause downstream legacy effects after wildfire in large river systems

Author(s): Emelko MB, Stone M, Silins U, Allin D, Collins AL, Williams CHS, Martens AM, Bladon KD.
Publication Date: 2016
Publication: Global Change Biology
Volume: 22
Issue: 3
Page Numbers: 1168-1184
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13073

A global index for mapping the exposure of water resources to wildfire

Author(s): Robinne FN, Miller C, Parisien MA, Emelko MB, Bladon KD, Silins U, Flannigan MD.
Publication Date: 2016
Publication: Forests
Volume: 7
Page Numbers: 22
External Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/f7010022

The effect of coarse gravel on cohesive sediment entrapment in an annular flume

Author(s): Glasbergen K, Stone M, Krishnappan BM, Dixon J, Silins U.
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences
Volume: 367
Page Numbers: 157-162
External Link: https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-367-157-2015

Modelling of wildfire impacts on catchment hydrology applied to two case studies

Author(s): Mahat V, Anderson AE, Silins U.
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 29
Issue: 17
Page Numbers: 3687-3698
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10462

Watershed-scale controls on snow accumulation in a small montane watershed, southwestern Alberta, Canada.

Author(s): Dixon D, Boon S, Silins U.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 28
Issue: 3
Page Numbers: 1294-1306
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9667

Five-year legacy of wildfire and salvage logging impacts on nutrient runoff and aquatic plant, invertebrate, and fish productivity

Author(s): Silins U, Bladon KD, Kelly EN, Esch E, Spence JR, Stone M, Emelko MB, Boon S, Wagner MJ, Williams CHS, Tichkowsky I.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Ecohydrology
Volume: 7
Issue: 6
Page Numbers: 1508-1523
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1474

Catchment-scale stream temperature response to land disturbance by wildfire governed by surface-subsurface energy exchange and atmospheric controls

Author(s): Wagner MJ, Bladon KD, Silins U, Williams CHS, Martens AM, Boon S, MacDonald RJ, Stone M, Emelko MB, Anderson AE.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Journal of Hydrology
Volume: 517
Page Numbers: 328-338
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.05.006

A comparison of surface and subsurface controls on summer temperature in a headwater stream

Author(s): Macdonald RJ, Boon S, Byrne JM, Silins U.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 24
Issue: 4
Page Numbers: 2338-2347
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9756

The use of composite fingerprints to quantify sediment sources in a wildfire impacted landscape

Author(s): Stone M, Collins AL, Silins U, Emelko MB, Zhang YS.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Science of the Total Environment
Volume: 473-473
Page Numbers: 642-650
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.12.052

Atmospheric and soil moisture controls on evapotranspiration from above and within a Western Boreal Plain aspen forest

Author(s): Brown SM, Petrone RM, Chasmer L, Mendoza CA, Lazerjan MS, Landhäusser SM, Silins U, Leach J, Devito KJ.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Volume: 28
Issue: 15
Page Numbers: 4449-4462
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9879

Wildfire and the future of water supply

Author(s): Bladon KD, Emelko MB, Silins U, Stone M.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Environmental Science and Technology
Volume: 48
Issue: 16
Page Numbers: 8936–8943
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/es500130g