Effects of post-fire salvage logging and a skid trail treatment on ground cover, soils, and sediment production in the interior western United States

Wagenbrenner, Joseph W.; MacDonald, Lee H.; Coats, Robert; Robichaud, Peter R.; Brown, Robert E.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.09.016

Cited by 114 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Since annual rainfall amount was very similar on these two earlier studies, the lower erosion rates could be due to a low fire severity but, in the case of Shakesby et al (2013), also the presence of a stone lag could play a role. In the United States, Wagenbrenner et al (2015) found rill formation to occur more frequently on convergent slopes (i.e. In the United States, Wagenbrenner et al (2015) found rill formation to occur more frequently on convergent slopes (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Moody et al, 2013;Wagenbrenner et al, 2015) and potential strategies to mitigate these ). However, scientific investigations are often carried out in isolation and knowledge transfer between researchers and the land-management community is not always effective.…”

Section: Implications For Post-fire Land and Water Management Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantity, composition and water contamination potential of ash produced under different wildfire severities

Santín

Doerr

Otero

et al. 2015

Environmental Research

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Wildfires frequently threaten water quality through the transfer of eroded ash and soil into rivers and reservoirs. The ability to anticipate risks for water resources from wildfires is fundamental for implementing effective fire preparedness plans and post-fire mitigation measures. Here we present a new approach that allows quantifying the amount and characteristics of ash generated under different wildfire severities and its respective water contamination potential. This approach is applied to a wildfire in an Australian dry sclerophyll eucalypt forest, but can be adapted for use in other environments. The Balmoral fire of October 2013 affected 12,694 ha of Sydney's forested water supply catchment. It produced substantial ash loads that increased with fire severity, with 6, 16 and 34 Mg ha(-1) found in areas affected by low, high and extreme fire severity, respectively. Ash bulk density was also positively related to fire severity. The increase with fire severity in the total load and bulk density of the ash generated is mainly attributed to a combination of associated increases in (i) total amount of fuel affected by fire and (ii) contribution of charred mineral soil to the ash layer. Total concentrations of pollutants and nutrients in ash were mostly unrelated to fire severity and relatively low compared to values reported for wildfire ash in other environments (e.g. 4.0-7.3mg As kg(-1); 2.3-4.1 B mg kg(-1); 136-154 P mg kg(-1)). Solubility of the elements analysed was also low, less than 10% of the total concentration for all elements except for B (6-14%) and Na (30-50%). This could be related to a partial loss of soluble components by leaching and/or wind erosion before the ash sampling (10 weeks after the fire and before major ash mobilisation by water erosion). Even with their relatively low concentrations of potential pollutants, the substantial total ash loads found here represent a water contamination risk if transported into the hydrological network during severe erosion events. For example, up to 4 Mg of ash-derived P could be delivered into a single water supply reservoir.

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“…The opening of new skid trails, regardless of the equipment type and the amount of traffic, increases the risk of sedimentation (Wagenbrenner et al, ). Therefore, areas disturbed by ground‐based salvage logging after high severity fires need additional mitigation practices (Wagenbrenner et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Salvage Logging and Check Dams on Simulated Hydrological Connectivity in a Burned Area

Martínez-Murillo

López‐Vicente

2017

Land Degrad Dev

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This study assessed the effect of a wildfire and different post‐fire practices (salvage logging, skid trails and check dams) and vegetation recovery (eight scenarios) on the hydrological connectivity (HC) in 11 sub‐catchments (SubCs; 330 ha) affected by a wildfire (213 ha) in 2012 in Spain. According to the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager/Thermal Infrared Sensor images, moderate, high and extreme burn severity affected 42·1% of the area. HC was calculated with an updated version of the Borselli index. Within the burned area (BA), HC increased in all SubCs after the wildfire (PostF‐1), the salvage logging and the new skid trails (PostF‐2), and the development of new gullies (PostF‐3). Check dams reduced connectivity but did not prevent the general trend. Afterwards, the incipient (PostF‐4 and PostF‐5) and future vegetation recovery made slightly decrease HC. In the three forestry SubCs with check dams and large BA (67% of the study area), connectivity markedly increased (11·4%, 18·2% and 22·9%) during the three first post‐fire scenarios. In the three SubCs with urban areas and small BA (5%), HC decreased a little because the linear elements connected the hillslopes between them. In the three SubCs with urban areas and large BA (12%), HC increased less than in the forestry SubCs (3·0%, 8·2% and 9·1%). In the two forestry SubCs without check dams and small BA (16%), the increment of connectivity was low (2·5%, 4·6% and 6·3%). Monitoring of check‐dam siltation and of the actual vegetation regrowth is necessary to minimize the off‐site consequences of high HC. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Effects of post-fire salvage logging and a skid trail treatment on ground cover, soils, and sediment production in the interior western United States

Cited by 114 publications

References 42 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

Quantity, composition and water contamination potential of ash produced under different wildfire severities

Effect of Salvage Logging and Check Dams on Simulated Hydrological Connectivity in a Burned Area

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