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Effectiveness of Polyacrylamide, Wood Shred Mulch, and Pine Needle Mulch as Post-Fire Hillslope Stabilization Treatments in Two Contrasting Volcanic Soils
,
Jesús Notario del Pino,
Carmen Arbelo,
Antonio Rodríguez-Rodríguez,
Jonay Neris Tome
Forests, Volume: 8, Issue: 7, Start page: 247
Swansea University Authors:
Stefan Doerr , Jonay Neris Tome
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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/f8070247
Abstract
Post-fire hillslope stabilization treatments aim to counteract the impact of fire on key soil and hillslope properties and reduce runoff-erosion risks following forest fires. We evaluated the effectiveness of wood shred mulch, long-leaved pine needle mulch, and polyacrylamide (PAM) in reducing runof...
| Published in: | Forests |
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| ISSN: | 1999-4907 |
| Published: |
MDPI
2017
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa37671 |
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| Abstract: |
Post-fire hillslope stabilization treatments aim to counteract the impact of fire on key soil and hillslope properties and reduce runoff-erosion risks following forest fires. We evaluated the effectiveness of wood shred mulch, long-leaved pine needle mulch, and polyacrylamide (PAM) in reducing runoff and erosion in two fire-affected volcanic soils of contrasting wettability using rainfall simulations (55 mm h−1 for 30 min) at the microplot (0.25 m2) scale. Wood shreds and pine needles led to a reduction of runoff and erosion in both the wettable—(62% and 92%, respectively, for wood shreds, and 55% and 87%, respectively, for needle mulch) and the extremely water-repellent soils (44% and 61%, respectively, for wood shreds). PAM did not reduce runoff or erosion when applied to the extremely water-repellent soils, suggesting that PAM should not be applied in this terrain type. The results are encouraging in terms of these materials’ ability to provide effective and relatively economic mitigation treatments for fire-induced runoff-erosion risks in volcanic soils but more research is needed to determine whether the high effectiveness of pine needle mulch and wood shred mulch fully translates to coarser scales. |
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| Keywords: |
forest fires, emergency treatments, fire-induced risks, runoff-erosion processes, water repellency, forest recovery, volcanic soils |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Issue: |
7 |
| Start Page: |
247 |