Hydroseeding increases ecosystem nitrogen retention but inhibits natural vegetation regeneration after two years of chaparral post-fire recovery

Abstract

Fire is a natural disturbance in many ecosystems such as semi-arid chaparral shrublands, but rates of vegetation regeneration may be slow after intense fires. Thus, land managers may resort to practices such as mulching or seeding in areas that are prone to soil erosion and nutrient loss. These practices, in particular seeding with annual grasses, are controversial because they may inhibit rates of natural vegetation regeneration, introduce exotic species, and be ineffective at soil and/or nutrient retention. We assessed how hydroseeding affected rates of chaparral vegetation regrowth and ecosystem nitrogen (N) storage during the first 2 years of post-fire recovery. We selected 3 north-facing slopes that were within 500 m of each other: one slope was unburned while the other slopes burned during the-Cocos‖ fire in May 2014 and were either hydroseeded with a mix of native grasses and suffrutescent shrubs (seeded) or left to naturally regenerate

Long-term impact of wildfire on soils exposed to different fire severities. A case study in Cadiretes Massif (NE Iberian Peninsula)

“…Here, the fact that the wildfire fire changed the plant composition, from a Pinus plantation to a Quercus suber forest, may have influenced soil recovery to pre-fire levels. To avoid soil degradation in the immediate post-fire period and to contribute to a faster recovery of soil properties, certain restoration measuresincluding different types of mulching (Santana et al, 2014), namely: organic amendments (Cellier et al, 2014), hydroseeding (Vourlitis et al, 2017), straw (Vega et al, 2014) or forest residues (Prats et al, 2014) may be important in avoiding soil erosion, nutrient depletion and the long-term effects of fire on soil properties, especially in areas affected by high fire severities. The difficulties soils face in recovering increase with the frequency of wildfires, as observed by Guenon et al (2013).…”

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

“…Vourlitis et al. () found positive effects on soil fertility after forest fires, but they accused hydroseeding of inhibiting the recovery of natural vegetation in the Chaparral 2 years after the forest fires. Babi, Guittonny, Larocque, and Bussière () also found similar results on soil‐covered, waste‐rock slopes.…”

Wildfire exerts a long-term impact on soil multifunctionality by influencing soil environments and vegetation regeneration in a Chinese boreal forest

“…This result indicates that re severity can exert a relatively long-term and negative effect on soil multifunctionality. Therefore, restoration measures, such as mulching and hydroseeding, at the severely burned areas should be initiated to improve recovery rates of soils and plants by reducing soil erosion and increasing seeds (Santana et al 2014;Vourlitis et al 2017).…”