Journal
GEODERMA
Volume 191, Issue -, Pages 31-39Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.01.003
Keywords
Wildfires; Soil quality; Soil erosion; Post-fire rehabilitation
Categories
Funding
- Conselleria de Medio Rural de la Xunta de Galicia [08MRU002400PR]
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Spain [AGL2008-02823]
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The implementation of post-fire stabilisation techniques in forests ecosystems located in the NW of Spain is required since high severity wildfires are common and the risk of erosion is high due to pronounced terrain relief in combination with abundant precipitation; however, there is limited quantitative information on the relative effectiveness of these techniques. The effectiveness of two stabilisation techniques, seeding and mulching, in reducing soil erosion was evaluated as well as their effects on soil quality. The study was performed on a hillslope area located in Laza (NW of Spain) affected by a high severity wildfire in September 2010. Four treatments were established: unburnt control soil, burnt control soil, burnt soil with rye seeding and burnt soil with straw mulch. For the different soil treatments, the sediments production as well as different physical, chemical and microbiological soil properties were measured over a four month period. The results showed that initially the wildfire induced important changes in most properties analyzed and that these effects persisted after 4 months. The data also indicated that both stabilisation treatments had no effects on the soil properties analyzed but reduced significantly the sediments yield compared to that of the control burnt soil. The mean efficiency of seeding and mulching treatments in preventing soil erosion was 34-42% and 73-94%. respectively, showing that, in the short-term (4 months), mulching was toe most effective treatment for reducing post-fire erosion. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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