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Short-Term Changes in Erosion Dynamics and Quality of Soils Affected by a Wildfire and Mulched with Straw in a Mediterranean Forest
- Source :
- Soil Systems, Vol 5, Iss 40, p 40 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Wildfire heavily impacts the quality of forest soils, and the precipitation occurring immediately after fire can determine high runoff and erosion rates, which may lead to noticeable soil degradation. Mulching is commonly used to limit the hydrological impacts of wildfire and climate, but this post-fire management technique may alter the erosion–deposition dynamics at the hillslope scale and, consequently, alter soil quality. In order to explore the magnitude and significance of these changes (little was studied in the literature until now), this communication reports the first results of a field activity that evaluated the changes in soil quality in areas affected by a wildfire and subjected to different post-fire treatments in Mediterranean forests. The main properties of sediments eroded from burned and untreated soils, and mulched soils (using a straw dose of 0.2 kg/m2 of dry weight), were measured after the first rainstorm (height of 37 mm and maximum intensity of 11.6 mm h−1) occurring two months after a wildfire (occurred on 30 June 2016) in a pine forest of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). This event produced a runoff volume of 0.07 ± 0.02 mm in mulched soils and 0.10 ± 0.10 mm in non-mulched soils; soil loss was 0.20 ± 0.06 g/m2 in the mulched area and 0.60 ± 0.60 g/m2 in the non-mulched area. In comparison to burned and non-treated areas, this study showed: (i) increases in salinity, and reductions in organic matter, nutrients, nitrates, and micro-elements in burned and untreated soils; (ii) reductions in runoff (−20%) and in soil erosion (−60%) as a result of mulch cover; (iii) effectiveness of mulching in limiting the declines in soil quality detected in burned and eroded areas; and (iv) transport of low amounts (less than 10–15%) of some compounds (organic matter and nutrients) downstream of the fire-affected areas (both mulched and untreated). Phosphorous runoff toward valley areas and nitrate incorporation into the soil, detected in both mulched and untreated areas, require attention, since these processes may cause eutrophication of water bodies or nitrate pollution in groundwater.
- Subjects :
- micro-elements
Physical geography
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Soil Science
010501 environmental sciences
01 natural sciences
complex mixtures
deposition
nutrients
Soil retrogression and degradation
Organic matter
QD1-999
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
organic matter
chemistry.chemical_classification
wildfire effects
Soil quality
GB3-5030
Chemistry
Agronomy
chemistry
Soil water
Erosion
Environmental science
soil loss
Eutrophication
Surface runoff
Mulch
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 25718789
- Volume :
- 5
- Issue :
- 40
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Soil Systems
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5f2a7e947b06da613f7b6138f84629ee