Temporal changes in soil aggregates and water erosion after a wildfire in a Mediterranean pine forest

Abstract

The evolution of soil structure after a forest fire was studied on two zones representatives of a typical Mediterranean Pine forest. These zones were in opposite slope orientation but with similar topographical and pedological characteristics. Changes in soil macro-aggregation and water stable micro-aggregation were monitored seasonally during a year after the fire. The water erosion patterns were also studied from August 1993, immediately after the fire, to the end of 1996. The first five centimeters of soil depth were the most affected by fire temperature, showing clear differences on aggregate distribution and temporal variability between zones. In the north facing soil a substantial and gradual recovery on soil aggregation was observed mainly in the fraction greater than 5 mm diameter, this reached an increase of 27% in mass of aggregates. In the south slope the evolution of aggregation was smooth and restricted to

Effect of prescribed fire on soil properties and soil erosion in a Mediterranean mountain area

“…It is also lower than that recorded in plots of similar size installed in the early years of a forest stand, with similar surface conditions for adventitious vegetation cover . In burned forest and shrublands areas, the records are generally higher (Thomas et al, 1999;Andreu et al, 2001;Pardini et al, 2004;Gimeno-García et al, 2007;Shakesby, 2011). Interpretation in the same direction is valid for the average annual runoff (10.3 mm).…”

“…A direct effect of fire on soil surface is the formation of a continuous water-repellent film, which reduces permeability and increases runoff (Imeson et al, 1992). In Mediterranean ecosystems, where the torrential rainfall events are frequent in autumn and winter, October to March is a critical period when soil susceptibility to water erosion processes is increased after the summer wildfires (Andreu et al, 2001;Fonseca et al, 2011;Francos et al, 2016). Higher frequency of fire and intense rainfalls represents a large potential to reduce soil fertility by erosion and nutrient loss, therefore limiting burnt areas recovery and enhancing soil degradation (Thomas et al, 1999).…”

Rainfall influence on plot-scale runoff and soil loss from repeated burning in a Mediterranean-shrub ecosystem, Valencia, Spain

“…As reported by Andreu et al (2001), the maximum runoff was reached during the early storms occurred after the fire event, being the fourth initial months the most critical period for runoff production (Rubio et al, 1995). It is reflected by the runoff generated in response to …”

“…Meanwhile, forest fires have become a usual phenomenon during summer in many European Mediterranean countries (Andreu et al, 2001;Cerdà and Lasanta, 2005), due mainly to the low fuel moisture content and the increasing human activity pressure (tourism, second residences, etc. ).…”

Soil Organic Carbon and Its Fractions Across Vegetation Types: Effects of Soil Mineral Surface Area and Microaggregates

“…Clay and silt particles, with high specific surface area and numerous reaction sites, are crucial to the formation of organo-mineral particles (Caravaca et al, 1999;Eustehues et al, 2003). Organo-mineral particles and some microbial polysaccharides can further form microaggregates by mutual binding (Angers, 1998;Andreu et al, 2001). Presumably, the organo-mineral particles and microaggregates may increase SOC residence time and pool size by reducing the accessibility of microbes to SOC, through chemical complexation and/or physical protection (Powers and Schlesinger, 2002).…”