Mid-term and scaling effects of forest residue mulching on post-fire runoff and soil erosion

Prats, Sérgio; Wagenbrenner, Joseph W.; Martins, Martinho A. S.; Malvar, Maruxa; Keizer, Jan Jacob

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.064

Cited by 86 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Worth stressing is perhaps the absence of rill formation in our study and, apparently, in Faria et al (2015) as well as Shakesby et al (2013). The relationship of post-fire soil losses with plot size under untreated conditions is depicted in Figure 7 for burnt areas in north-central Portugal where multiple plot scales were studied simultaneously Lopes et al, in press;Prats et al, 2016bPrats et al, , 2016cthis study). swales) than on planar slopes, and to result in an increase in soil losses with plot area.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 50%

“…This discrepancy between Colmeal and Ermida/Semide could suggest the existence of some plot size threshold where a change in dominant erosion/deposition processes occurs, altering sediment export per unit area of plot size. Prats et al (2016bPrats et al ( , 2016c; Figure 7) reported noticeable decreases with year-since-fire in Colmeal (2.01-0.85) and Ermida (0.48-0.31 and 0.11). Likewise, scale ratios were defined as swale/plot average annual soil losses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the extent at which these application rates can be effective on larger scales is unknown. Other research with 0.25-100 m 2 plots that were installed after a wildfire in central Portugal (Prats et al, 2016a(Prats et al, , 2016c found that forest residue mulch was slightly more effective at the 100 m 2 slope scales than at the microplot scale at reducing runoff and soil erosion. To the best of our knowledge, few studies have tried to investigate the mitigation of soil erosion with low mulching rates at large scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Post‐fire soil erosion mitigation at the scale of swales using forest logging residues at a reduced application rate

Prats

González-Pelayo

Silva

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Mulching with forest residues has proved to be highly effective in reducing post‐fire soil losses at the plot scale. However, its effectiveness has not been quantified at the application rates that are typically used in operational post‐fire land management (2–3 Mg ha‐1 using straw), as well as at scales larger than 100 m2. The present study compared post‐fire erosion rates for six convergent hillslopes or swales of 500 to 800 m2, three of which were left untreated while the other three were mulched immediately after the fire with shredded eucalypt bark at a rate of 2.4 Mg ha‐1. Erosion rates were monitored at irregular intervals during the first three post‐fire years, whilst ground cover was assessed yearly. Selected topsoil properties (0–2 cm) such as organic matter content and aggregate stability were determined at a single occasion – two years after the wildfire, for three micro‐environments separately: bare soil, and under mulch/litter and vegetation. Soil losses on the untreated swales decreased with post‐fire year from 2.2 to 0.4 and 0.11 Mg ha‐1 yr‐1 (respectively for the first, second and third post‐fire years), while the mulched swales produced 84%, 77% and 38% less soil losses than the untreated swales. Soil losses also depended on slope aspect, with the north‐facing swales producing less erosion than the west‐facing ones. This could be linked to their significant differences in bare soil, vegetation and stone cover, or a combination thereof. The type of micro‐environment also played a significant role in topsoil properties (stone content, bulk density, resistance to penetration/shear stress, porosity and organic matter content). The present results add to the increasing evidence that forest residues should be duly considered for operational post‐fire land management. Forest residues were highly effective in reducing erosion from swales at application rates as low as the typical 2 Mg ha‐1 of post‐fire straw mulch. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 50%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Post‐fire soil erosion mitigation at the scale of swales using forest logging residues at a reduced application rate

Prats

González-Pelayo

Silva

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…Where they have done so, authors commonly report slightly lower values of runoff in plots treated with pine needles [8,26], wood shreds [4,5] or straw mulch [4,28,34] compared to control plots, although these differences were not significant. However, we know of only two previous studies that demonstrated a significant effect in reducing runoff [6,35] as determined in the current study. Both studies were carried out in fire-affected areas of Portugal in loamy soils over metamorphic bedrock, which contrasts the volcanic soils examined in the current study.…”

Section: Wood Shreds and Pine Needle Mulchesmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…This effect has been previously attributed to the increase of ground cover provided by the wood-based mulch or straw mulch [4][5][6][7]35]. Pannkuk and Robichaud [8] reported poor effectiveness of long pine needle mulch on runoff control and sediment delivery due to the poor mulch-soil contact that prevented sediment trapping.…”

Section: Wood Shreds and Pine Needle Mulchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of Polyacrylamide, Wood Shred Mulch, and Pine Needle Mulch as Post-Fire Hillslope Stabilization Treatments in Two Contrasting Volcanic Soils

Neris

Doerr

Pino

et al. 2017

Forests

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Post-fire hillslope stabilization treatments aim to reduce runoff-erosion risks following forest fires by counteracting the impact of fire on key soil and hillslope properties. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of wood shred mulch, long-leaved pine needle mulch, and polyacrylamide (PAM) in reducing post-fire runoff and erosion in two volcanic soil types of contrasting wettability using rainfall simulations (55 mm h −1 for 30 min) at the microplot (0.25 m 2 ) scale. The cover provided by the wood shreds and pine needles led to a reduction of runoff and erosion in both the wettable-(62% and 92%, respectively, for wood shreds, and 55% and 87%, respectively, for needle mulch) and the extremely water-repellent soils (44% and 61%, respectively, for wood shreds). In contrast to what might be expected, PAM did not reduce runoff or erosion when applied to the extremely water-repellent soils, suggesting that PAM should not be applied in this terrain type. Although more research is needed to determine whether the high effectiveness of pine needle mulch and wood shred mulch fully translates to coarser scales, the results are encouraging in terms of these materials' ability to provide effective and relatively economic mitigation treatments for fire-induced runoff-erosion risks in volcanic soils.

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Ridge‐furrow rainfall harvesting planting and its effect on soil erosion and soil quality in sloping farmland

et al. 2021

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Ridge-furrow rainfall harvesting (RFRH) planting can improve crop productivity through enhancing water use efficiency. However, effects of long-term use of RFRH on soil erosion and soil quality in sloping farmland are not well understood. This experiment was conducted with a two-factor split plot design, with the main plot having a slope of 5˚and 10˚. The sub-plots followed three planting patterns: contour ridge-furrow planting without mulching (CK), contour ridge film mulching and furrow straw mulching (T1), and contour ridge film mulching and furrow no mulching (T2). The results showed that no significant effect on soil erosion was found under T1 and T2 on 5˚slope. The total runoff and total erosion of T1 on 10˚slope decreased by 82.8 and 92.0%, and that of T2 on 10˚slope decreased by 34.5 and 83.1%, respectively, compared with CK. Soil water content in T1 and T2 significantly increased by 11.0 and 10.6%, respectively, compared with CK (p < .05). Soil quality index in T1 was the highest, followed by T2 under the same slope. Yield was increased in T1 and T2 significantly by 30.7 and 20.2%, respectively, compared with CK (p < .05). Our results show that contour ridge film mulching and furrow straw mulching can alleviate drought, water shortages, and soil erosion.Abbreviations: CK, control, contour ridge-furrow planting without mulching; PCA, principal component analysis; RFRH, ridge-furrow rainfall harvesting; SQI, soil quality index; T1, contour ridge film mulching and furrow straw mulching; T2, contour ridge film mulching and furrow no mulching

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Mid-term and scaling effects of forest residue mulching on post-fire runoff and soil erosion

Cited by 86 publications

References 71 publications

Post‐fire soil erosion mitigation at the scale of swales using forest logging residues at a reduced application rate

Post‐fire soil erosion mitigation at the scale of swales using forest logging residues at a reduced application rate

Effectiveness of Polyacrylamide, Wood Shred Mulch, and Pine Needle Mulch as Post-Fire Hillslope Stabilization Treatments in Two Contrasting Volcanic Soils

Ridge‐furrow rainfall harvesting planting and its effect on soil erosion and soil quality in sloping farmland

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