Short-term changes in infiltration between straw mulched and non-mulched soils after wildfire in Mediterranean forest ecosystems

Abstract

Water infiltration is a basic parameter to understand the hydrological response of semi-arid or arid soilswhere runoff generation is dominated by infiltration-excesssubjected to wildfire. To evaluate the hydrological effects of straw application on a sandy loam soil after wildfire, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water content and temperature of mulched and nonmulched (considered as control) soils were monitored throughout eight months. Compared to untreated soils, straw maintained higher temperatures and water contents in mulched plots, but reduced their unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, particularly in the drier season. These results suggest that straw release may lead to a decrease of water infiltration capacity of soils subjected to wildfire, with particular evidence in summer in the case of heavy storm occurrence.

Effects of Different Land Uses (Abandoned Farmland, Intensive Agriculture and Forest) on Soil Hydrological Properties in Southern Spain

“…Many studies have demonstrated how and by what extent land uses influence the physico-chemical and hydrological characteristics of soil (e.g., [4,11,16,34,47]). However, these characteristics also depend on the specific soil properties, such as texture and vegetal cover.…”

“…As a matter of fact, given that in the soils typical of this climatic context (in particular, those of prevalent sandy texture) the Hortonian (that is, infiltration-excess) overland flow type dominates over concentrated runoff, a reduction of SHC may worsen the hydrological behavior of soils subjected to these land uses, with a possible increase of water runoff and soil erosion [71]. In fact, a lower water infiltration rate increase reduces the water storage of soil during heavy storms, thus increasing the share of precipitation, which generates surface runoff [16,47].…”

“…In Mediterranean areas, the hydrological processes generating water runoff, soil erosion, and transport of polluting compounds are dominated by the infiltration-excess mechanism [16]. In soils of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate, exhibiting low hydraulic conductivity, surface runoff, and soil erosion, can be high.…”

Road Network and the Spatial Distribution of Wildfires in the Valencian Community (1993–2015)

“…Further studies should specifically focus on intrinsic changes in the carbon cycle [93], the role of soils in the earth cycles [94] and the soil erosion cycle [95]. Additionally, most research carried out on forest fires has investigated plant composition, soil properties, soil erosion and runoff generation, and the restoration of soil and vegetation cover after fire [96][97][98][99][100][101]. Little attention was instead paid to identify the causes and the spatial distribution of forest fires, demonstrating, for example, that roads are a serious source of ignition.…”

Jute bioblanket as a soil rehabilitation strategy in Sorocaba, Brazil: Soil chemistry and SWOT approaches

“…However, the results of this technique usually take a medium to long time to appear (Albaladejo Montoro, Alvarez Rogel, Querejeta, Diaz, & Castillo, ). On the contrary, mulching results in an immediate, positive response (Abrantes, Prats, Keizer, & de Lima, ; Lucas‐Borja et al., , ; Luna, Vignozzi, Miralles, & Solé‐Benet, ).…”