Prescribed burns usually have minimal hydrologic impact on watersheds because the surface vegetation, litter, and forest floor is only partially burned. Wildfire can, however, have a pronounced effect on basic hydrologic processes, leading to the increased sensitivity of the site to eroding forces and to reduced land stability. Fire often causes increased overland flow and greater peak and total discharge, factors responsible for transporting sediment from the site. Fire also causes rapid mineralization and mobilization of nutrients. Because of the natural variability found in forest and range environments in the Southwest, the fire influence continuum, which land managers face in this area, is quite broad.