The impact of straw mulching and salvage logging on post-fire runoff and soil erosion generation under Mediterranean climate conditions

Lucas‐Borja, Manuel Esteban; González-Romero, J.; Plaza‐Álvarez, Pedro Antonio; Sagra, J.; Gómez, M. E.; Cerdà, Artemi; Heras, Jorge de las

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.161

Cited by 94 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Linear mixed-effects models (Littell et al, 2006) were developed in SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) using the postfire year, treatment, slope class and the potential interactions between these factors as fixed effects, and the plot nested in site as a random effect. The dependent variables were runoff width, runoff depth, runoff velocity, sediment flux rate, sediment concentration and runoff rate.…”

Section: Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying long‐term post‐fire sediment delivery and erosion mitigation effectiveness

Robichaud

Lewis

Wagenbrenner

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Large wildfires can have profound and lasting impacts not only from direct consumption of vegetation but also longer‐term effects such as persistent soil erosion. The 2002 Hayman Fire burned in one of the watersheds supplying water to the Denver metropolitan area; thus there was concern regarding hillslope erosion and sedimentation in the reservoirs. The efficacy of various treatments for reducing erosion was tested, including hand scarification on contour, agricultural straw mulch, wood mulch, burned controls and unburned reference plots. Simulated rill erosion experiments were used both immediately after the fire and again 10 years post fire. To better understand untreated recovery, the same experiments were applied to control plots in post‐fire years 1, 2, 3 and 4, and in unburned reference plots in years 4 and 10. Results indicate that control and scarified plots produced significantly greater sediment flux rates – 1.9 and 2.8 g s−1 respectively – than the straw and wood mulch treatments – 0.9 and 1.1 g s−1 – immediately after the fire. Mulch treatments reduced runoff rate, runoff velocity, and sediment concentration and flux rate. The straw mulch cover was no longer present, whereas the wood mulch was still there in year 10. Vegetation regrowth was slow and mulch treatments provided effective cover to reduce sediment right after the fire. In post‐fire year 10, there were no significant differences in sediment flux rates across treatments; it is notable, however, that the wood mulch treatment (0.09 g s−1) most closely approached the unburned condition (0.07 g s−1). The burned control plots had high sediment flux rates until post‐fire year 3, when flux rates significantly decreased and were statistically no longer higher than the unburned levels from year 4 and 10. These results will inform managers of the longer‐term post‐fire sediment delivery rates and of the ability of post‐fire emergency hillslope treatments to mitigate erosion rates. Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Section: Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying long‐term post‐fire sediment delivery and erosion mitigation effectiveness

Robichaud

Lewis

Wagenbrenner

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…Organic mulches are often applied to the soil surface to reduce post-fire erosion by improving water-holding capacity and infiltration (Foltz and Wagenbrenner, 2010;Robichaud et al, 2013;Lucas-Borja et al, 2018a), and to help reestablish vegetation by lowering soil temperature, reducing surface water evaporation, and increasing soil OM content (Berryman et al, 2014a;Prats et al, 2016). Agricultural residues (e.g., wheat straw and hay) are often used, but they are susceptible to wind erosion and often contain seeds of non-native vegetation (Beyers, 2004;Bautista et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood Decomposition After an Aerial Application of Hydromulch Following Wildfire in a Southern California Chaparral Shrubland

Jürgensen

Miller

Page‐Dumroese

2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Severe wildfire can affect many soil processes, especially organic matter (OM) decomposition. Organic mulches are often applied on steep slopes to mitigate soil erosion, but little is known about how these surface organic additions affect subsequent soil OM decomposition. In 2003 the Cedar Fire burned 110,000 ha in southern California chaparral shrubland, after which hydromulch was aerially applied to reduce soil erosion. Subsequently, we established a 5-year study to assess the effect of hydromulch on OM decomposition at the burned soil surface and in the mineral soil using aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and pine (Pinus taeda L.) wood stakes as standard substrates. Mass loss of both aspen and pine stakes in this dry Mediterranean ecosystem was lowest on the soil surface and increased with mineral soil depth. Decomposition was less in the hydromulched soil than in the untreated control, but the large loss of hydromulch from the soil surface within the first year after application make this result questionable. Subsequent analysis showed that subterranean termites had a major role in wood decomposition, but their variable activity in study replicates confounded the separation of hydromulch impacts on decomposition from other soil variables. Little is known on the role of termites in OM decomposition after wildfire, and they should be considered when designing studies in soils where termites are present. Our study results suggest that termite activity in mineral soil could also be a factor in root decomposition after a fire and affect soil stability on steep slopes.

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“…Other researches with mulch in laboratory (Foltz & Wagenbrenner, ; Prats et al, ) and field conditions (Lucas‐Borja et al, ; Prats et al, ) showed a low effect on runoff, which is likely a consequence of the mulching acting as a filter for the runoff water and retaining the sediments in place. Furthermore, Foltz and Wagenbrenner () verified the limited effectiveness of wood shreds on the reduction of runoff and sediment concentration due to steep slope of the study plots (ca.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Research to assess the effectiveness of erosion control measures is important because accelerated soil erosion is a major degradation process on disturbed lands throughout the world where forest conversion has taken place (Ekwue, Bharat, & Samaroo, ; Lucas‐Borja et al, ; Pimentel et al, ). Forest removal increases the susceptibility of the soil to erosion by exposing unprotected surfaces to the direct rainfall drop impact that causes splash erosion (Darboux, Robin, & Fox, ; Inbar, Tamir, & Wittenberg, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of native wood strand mulches for land rehabilitation in Iran under experimental conditions

et al. 2019

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Wood‐based mulches are a preferred erosion control material for rehabilitation of degraded lands because they can be made from native wood materials; however, research is needed to verify the effectiveness of new products prior to application. The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of two types of native wood strand mulches from Iran (waste byproducts of Alnus glutinosa and Fagus orientalis working) in reducing runoff, soil loss, and sediment concentration under laboratory conditions. Toward this goal, rainfall simulations were conducted 27 times using a 50 mm hr−1 rainfall during 20‐min experiments on erosion plots with treatments of different cover percentages (bare, 30 and 70%) and strand dimensions (16 and 4 cm in length; 1.5 cm wide). The results showed that all strand applications reduced runoff (>12%), soil loss (>47%), and sediment concentration (>44%) compared to the bare plots. The most effective application treatment was a 70% coverage of the 4‐cm strands of either material (p value < .002). The shorter strands were most effective for all hydrological and erosion variables reductions because they maintained more contact with the soil surface during simulated rainfall and then increased the soil retention potential, whereas the longer strands realigned in the direction of flow, thereby limiting their ability to retard flowing water. The small strands also facilitated the creation of microdams that blocked flow and promoted infiltration. Both materials were deemed effective native erosion control products in degraded sites in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran, particularly when small strands were applied at high cover rates.

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The impact of straw mulching and salvage logging on post-fire runoff and soil erosion generation under Mediterranean climate conditions

Cited by 94 publications

References 44 publications

Quantifying long‐term post‐fire sediment delivery and erosion mitigation effectiveness

Quantifying long‐term post‐fire sediment delivery and erosion mitigation effectiveness

Wood Decomposition After an Aerial Application of Hydromulch Following Wildfire in a Southern California Chaparral Shrubland

Effectiveness of native wood strand mulches for land rehabilitation in Iran under experimental conditions

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