The effects of post-fire forest management on soil erosion rates 3 and 4 years after a wildfire, demonstrated on the 2010 Mount Carmel fire

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami Zituni ◽  
Lea Wittenberg ◽  
Dan Malkinson
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Rain Event ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Trail Formation ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Physical Features ◽  
Positive Effect

During 2–5 December 2010, an area of 2500ha in the Carmel forests was consumed by a severe wildfire, causing soil erosion from the exposed slopes. Whereas most studies show that post-fire erosion rates tend to decline after the second year, in this case, we aim to address the ongoing consequences that different management practices had on soil erosion 3 and 4 years after a fire. Three management operations were applied: (a) preservation management (PM) – mulching wood chips on the burned area; (b) tree-clearing management (TCM) – burned trees were cut and removed; and (c) skid-trail formation (ST) – provisional pathways were formed while trees were dragged outside. Consequently, the objectives of the study were: (1) to monitor the effects of these post-fire practices 3 and 4 years after fire; and (2) to characterise the physical features of the eroded soil. The sediments were collected after every effective rain event over two rainy seasons (2013–14, 2014–15). TCM and ST practices resulted in significantly elevated soil-erosion yields compared to PM. The sediments following PM had a high percentage of fine material. Furthermore, PM had an evident positive effect on the soil, whereas all other practices inhibited vegetation renewal and system rehabilitation.

scholarly journals Effect of Soil Management on Erosion in Mountain Vineyards (N-W Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1991
Author(s):  
Silvia Stanchi ◽  
Odoardo Zecca ◽  
Csilla Hudek ◽  
Emanuele Pintaldi ◽  
Davide Viglietti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Buffer Strips ◽  
Total N ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Ecosystem Services ◽  
Erosion Mitigation ◽  
Management Approaches

We studied the effects of three soil management approaches (permanent grassing, chemical weeding, and buffer strips), and the additional impact of tractor passage on soil erosion in a sloping vineyard located in the inner part of Aosta Valley (N-W Italian Alps). The vineyard rows were equipped with a sediment collection system with channels and barrel tanks. A total of 12 events with sediment production were observed across 6 years, and the collected sediments were weighted and analyzed. Average erosion rates ranged from negligible (mainly in grassed rows) to 1.1 t ha−1 per event (after weeding). The most erosive event occurred in July 2015, with a total rainfall of 32.2 mm, of which 20.1 were recorded in 1 h. Despite the limited number of erosive events observed, and the low measured erosion rates, permanent grassing reduced soil erosion considerably with respect to weeding; buffering had a comparable effect to grassing. The tractor passage, independent of the soil management approaches adopted, visibly accelerated the erosion process. The collected sediments were highly enriched in organic C, total N, and fine size fractions, indicating a potential loss of fertility over time. Despite the measured erosion rates being low over the experiment’s duration, more severe events are well documented in the recent past, and the number of intense storms is likely to increase due to climate change. Thus, the potential effects of erosion in the medium and long term need to be limited to a minimum rate of soil loss. Our experiment helped to compare soil losses by erosion under different soil management practices, including permanent grassing, i.e., a nature-based erosion mitigation measure. The results of the research can provide useful indications for planners and practitioners in similar regions, for sustainable, cross-sectoral soil management, and the enhancement of soil ecosystem services.

Soil erosion in Austria – National calculations using regional data delivering local results for the ÖPUL programme

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elmar Schmaltz ◽  
Georg Dersch ◽  
Christine Weinberger ◽  
Carmen Krammer ◽  
Peter Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Error Sources ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Local Results ◽  
Erosion Hotspots

<p>Empirical models, such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) are in use since the 1950s to estimate the mean annual soil loss for single agricultural fields or spatially-distributed for larger areas (municipalities, regions or states). A particular focus on the computation of the RUSLE lies in the calculation of the respective factors on which the equation is built on and represent the erosivity of rainfall events, the erodibility of soils, the topography and land management. However, the RUSLE is highly susceptible to large errors in the prediction of the erosion rates of single agricultural parcels, due to the high variability of these factors in large areas (e.g. on national scale).</p><p>In this study, we present a parcel-sharp erosion map for the entire territory of Austria. We discuss frequent error sources of the factor computations and their consequences for the representativeness of erosion maps at nation-scale. Based on our results we discuss furthermore regional erosion hotspots and evaluate nationally funded management practices for soil erosion reduction as they are defined in the Austrian programme for an environmentally responsible agriculture (ÖPUL).</p><p>Since our approach depicts a novelty for Austria, we further describe opportunities for analysis of our results and highlight potential sources of errors, as well as regional and legal discrepancies of the distribution of national funds for soil conservation.</p>

scholarly journals NITROGEN LOSS BY EROSION FROM MECHANICALLY TILLED AND UNTILLED SOIL UNDER SUCCESSIVE SIMULATED RAINFALLS

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1204-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julieta Bramorski ◽  
Paulo Cesar Ocheuze Trivelin ◽  
Silvio Crestana
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Ground Water Quality ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Nutrient Use ◽  
Soil Depletion ◽  
Intervening Factors

The description of the fate of fertilizer-derived nitrogen (N) in agricultural systems is an essential tool to enhance management practices that maximize nutrient use by crops and minimize losses. Soil erosion causes loss of nutrients such as N, causing negative effects on surface and ground water quality, aside from losses in agricultural productivity by soil depletion. Studies correlating the percentage of fertilizer-derived N (FDN) with soil erosion rates and the factors involved in this process are scarce. The losses of soil and fertilizer-derived N by water erosion in soil under conventional tillage and no tillage under different rainfall intensities were quantified, identifying the intervening factors that increase loss. The experiment was carried out on plots (3.5 × 11 m) with two treatments and three replications, under simulated rainfall. The treatments consisted of soil with and soil without tillage. Three successive rainfalls were applied in intervals of 24 h, at intensities of 30 mm/h, 30 mm/h and 70 mm/h. The applied N fertilizer was isotopically labeled (15N) and incorporated into the soil in a line perpendicular to the plot length. Tillage absence resulted in higher soil losses and higher total nitrogen losses (TN) by erosion induced by the rainfalls. The FDN losses followed another pattern, since FDN contributions were highest from tilled plots, even when soil and TN losses were lowest, i.e., the smaller the amount of eroded sediment, the greater the percentage of FDN associated with these. Rain intensity did not affect the FDN loss, and losses were greatest after less intense rainfalls in both treatments.

scholarly journals Spatial distribution of water erosion risk in a watershed with eucalyptus and Atlantic Forest

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junior Cesar Avanzi ◽  
Marx Leandro Naves Silva ◽  
Nilton Curi ◽  
Lloyd Darrell Norton ◽  
Samuel Beskow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Water Erosion ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Loss Tolerance ◽  
Loss Tolerance

The process of water erosion occurs in watersheds throughout the world and it is strongly affected by anthropogenic influences. Thus, the knowledge of these processes is extremely necessary for planning of conservation efforts. This study was performed in an experimental forested watershed in order to predict the average potential annual soil loss by water erosion using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and a Geographic Information System (GIS), and then compared with soil loss tolerance. All the USLE factors were generated in a distributed approach employing a GIS tool. The layers were multiplied in the GIS framework in order to predict soil erosion rates. Results showed that the average soil loss was 6.2 Mg ha-1 yr-1. Relative to soil loss tolerance, 83% of the area had an erosion rate lesser than the tolerable value. According to soil loss classes, 49% of the watershed had erosion less than 2.5 Mg ha-1 yr-1. However, about 8.7% of the watershed had erosion rates greater than 15 Mg ha-1 yr-1, being mainly related to Plinthosol soil class and roads, thus requiring special attention for the improvement of sustainable management practices for such areas. Eucalyptus cultivation was found to have soil loss greater than Atlantic Forest. Thus, an effort should be made to bring the erosion rates closer to the native forest. Implementation of the USLE model in a GIS framework was found to be a simple and useful tool for predicting the spatial variation of soil erosion risk and identifying critical areas for conservation efforts.

Use of 137Cs measurements to estimate changes in soil erosion rates associated with changes in soil management practices on cultivated land

2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Schuller ◽  
D.E Walling ◽  
A Sepúlveda ◽  
R.E Trumper ◽  
J.L Rouanet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

scholarly journals Critical Season for Soil Erosion in the Moldavian Plateau

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
C. Ailincăi ◽  
G. Jităreanu ◽  
D. Bucur ◽  
Despina Ailincăi
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Rain Event ◽  
Snow Melt ◽  
Agricultural Research And Development ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Different Cultures

Abstract Experiments conducted at Agricultural Research and Development Station of Podu-Iloaiei, Iaşi County, Romania, during 2002 - 2011, followed study runoff and soil erosion in different cultures, and establish critical season of soil erosion in this area. Establish critical season of soil erosion is necessary to satisfy the critical level of ground cover, which is required to maintain a low risk of soil erosion. Average annual soil loss by erosion, recorded in maize and sunflower were (mean on 10 years) of 6.753 and 7.385 t/ha/year, respectively. In sunflower and corn of the total soil loss recorded in the Moldavian Plateau, 19.7- 20.4% occurred in spring, 68.7 to 69.2% in summer and 6.1- 6.6% in the autumn. Differences of 4.5 to 4.9% of the total annual soil losses by erosion were recorded in winter, with snow melt. Season critic of soil erosion in the Moldavian Plateau, when recording the most aggressive rain event occurs in June and July. Mean soil loss due to erosion, recorded in June and July were 0.424 t/ha for winter rape, winter wheat 0.291 and 0.093 t/ha the perennial grasses in the second year of vegetation.

Tackling post-fire impacts and their mitigation by modelling hydrological processes at different scales in Portugal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Vieira ◽  
Joana Parente ◽  
Marta Basso ◽  
Ana Lopes ◽  
Antonio Girona-García
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
National Level ◽  
Erosion Control ◽  
Hydrological Processes ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Soil Erosion Risk

<p>As in any other Mediterranean region, wildfires highly affect Portuguese forests leading to substantial economic and ecological losses. Wildfires are also an important cause for the degradation of forest ecosystem services, which are responsible for the maintenance of water quality, flooding and soil erosion control. Considering that wildfire frequency is expected to increase in the future due to changes in climate and socio-economic drivers, future land degradation cause by wildfires is considered with great concern.</p><p>To tackle the impacts of wildfires on the affected ecosystems such as soil erosion is highly recommendable the use of adequate post-fire management practices for its mitigation. However, the dimension of the area affected by the 2017 wildfires in Portugal (500 thousand ha) showed the impossibility to effectively treat a nation-wide burned area for erosion control. Given this context, hydrological modelling arises as a key–tool for post-fire land management decision making, by identifying potential on-and-off-site post-fire impacts, and by allowing the selection of target areas with a higher soil erosion risk for the implementation of mitigation treatments.</p><p>To address this problem, the ESP team - under the FEMME project - defined the strategy of using soil erosion models at hillslope scale to address on-site impacts at the national level and catchment scale models to address off-site impacts. A national soil erosion risk map in case of a wildfire will help land managers to choose the priority areas for the implementation of emergency stabilization measures. While continuous and event-based hydrological models, will allow assessing the risks of water quality degradation and the occurrence of extreme hydrological events, which can impact downstream values-at-risk.</p><p>To understand if the chosen model approach is adequate to the problem in hand since it resulted in outputs with distinct spatial and temporal scales, we have decided to perform an evaluation focused on scales and model adaptations to burned areas. We were able to conclude that simple empirical models such as the Morgan-Morgan-Finney [1], which can provide predictions at hillslope and seasonal-to-annual scale, are well adapted to post-fire conditions and are useful to identify high risk areas for the implementation of mitigation treatments. On the other side, their simplicity does not allow to determine the risk of flooding or water bodies contamination, outside the burned area, and under specific rainfall events which implies a daily or sub-daily time-steps. For that purpose, spatially-explicit process-based such as SWAT [2] or LISEM [3] can provide a more detailed feedback, although there have been few model adaptations to burned conditions at this scale, especially considering the implementation of post-fire mitigation measures.</p><p> </p><p>[1] Morgan, R., 2001. A simple approach to soil loss prediction: a revised Morgan–Morgan–Finney model. Catena 44 (4): 305–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0341-8162(00)00171-5</p><p>[2] Arnold, J.G., Fohrer, N., 2005. SWAT2000: Current capabilities and research opportunities in applied watershed modelling. Hydrol. Process. 19, 563–572. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.5611</p><p>[3] De Roo APJ, Wesseling CG, Ritsema CJ (1996) LISEM: a single‐event physically based hydrological and soil erosion model for drainage basins. I: theory, input and output. Hydrological processes 10, 1107–1117.</p>

scholarly journals Impacts of Weather Types on Soil Erosion Rates in Vineyards at “Celler Del Roure” Experimental Research in Eastern Spain

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
José María Senciales-González ◽  
Enric Terol ◽  
Gaspar Mora-Navarro ◽  
Yeboah Gyasi-Agyei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Weather Types ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Soil Erosion Rates

To understand soil erosion processes, it is vital to know how the weather types and atmospheric situations, and their distribution throughout the year, affect the soil erosion rates. This will allow for the development of efficient land management practices to mitigate water-induced soil losses. Vineyards are one of the cultivated areas susceptible to high soil erosion rates. However, there is a lack of studies that link weather types and atmospheric conditions to soil erosion responses in viticultural areas. Thus, the main aim of this research is to assess the impacts of weather types and atmospheric conditions on soil erosion processes in a conventional vineyard with tillage in eastern Spain. To achieve this goal, rainfall events from 2006 to 2017 were monitored and the associated runoff and soil loss were collected from experimental plots. Our results showed that the highest volume of runoff and soil erosion is linked to rainfall associated with the eastern winds that accounted for 59.7% of runoff and 63.9% of soil loss, while cold drops in the atmospheric situation classifications emerged as the highest contributor of 40.9% in runoff and 44.1% in soil loss. This paper provides new insights into the development of soil erosion control measures that help to mitigate the negative impact of extreme rainfall and runoff considering atmospheric conditions.

scholarly journals Assessment of the relationships between agroecosystem condition and the ecosystem service soil erosion regulation in Northern Germany

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0234288
Author(s):  
Paula Rendon ◽  
Bastian Steinhoff-Knopp ◽  
Philipp Saggau ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecosystem Condition

Ecosystems provide multiple services that are necessary to maintain human life. Agroecosystems are very productive suppliers of biomass-related provisioning ecosystem services, e.g. food, fibre, and energy. At the same time, they are highly dependent on good ecosystem condition and regulating ecosystem services such as soil fertility, water supply or soil erosion regulation. Assessments of this interplay of ecosystem condition and services are needed to understand the relationships in highly managed systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is twofold: First, to test the concept and indicators proposed by the European Union Working Group on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) for assessing agroecosystem condition at a regional level. Second, to identify the relationships between ecosystem condition and the delivery of ecosystem services. For this purpose, we applied an operational framework for integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. We used the proposed indicators to assess the condition of agroecosystems in Northern Germany and regulating ecosystem service control of erosion rates. We used existing data from official databases to calculate the different indicators and created maps of environmental pressures, ecosystem condition and ecosystem service indicators for the Federal State of Lower Saxony. Furthermore, we identified areas within the state where pressures are high, conditions are unfavourable, and more sustainable management practices are needed. Despite the limitations of the indicators and data availability, our results show positive, negative, and no significant correlations between the different pressures and condition indicators, and the control of erosion rates. The idea behind the MAES framework is to indicate the general condition of an ecosystem. However, we observed that not all proposed indicators can explain to what extent ecosystems can provide specific ecosystem services. Further research on other ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems would help to identify synergies and trade-offs. Moreover, the definition of a reference condition, although complicated for anthropogenically highly modified agroecosystems, would provide a benchmark to compare information on the condition of the ecosystems, leading to better land use policy and management decisions.

scholarly journals Assessment of the relationships between agroecosystem condition and soil erosion regulating ecosystem service in Northern Germany

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Rendon ◽  
Bastian Steinhoff-Knopp ◽  
Philipp Saggau ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecosystem Condition

AbstractEcosystems provide multiple services that are necessary to maintain human life and activities. Agroecosystems are very productive suppliers of biomass-related provisioning ecosystem services, e.g. food, fibre and energy. At the same time, they are highly dependent on respective ecosystem condition and regulating ecosystem services such as soil fertility, water supply or soil erosion regulation. Assessments of this interplay of ecosystem conditions and services are very important to understand the relationships in highly managed systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is twofold: First, to test the concept and indicators proposed by the European Union Working Group on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) for the assessment of agroecosystem condition at a regional level. Second, to identify the relationships between ecosystem condition and the delivery of ecosystem services. For this purpose, we applied an operational framework for integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. We used the proposed indicators to assess the condition of agroecosystems in Northern Germany and the provision of the regulating ecosystem service control of erosion rates. We used existing data that are available from official databases for the calculation of the different indicators. We show maps of environmental pressures, ecosystem condition and ecosystem service indicators for the Federal State of Lower Saxony. Furthermore, we identified areas within the state where pressures are high, conditions are limited, and more sustainable management practices are needed.Despite the limitations of the indicators and data availability, our results show positive, negative and no significant correlations between the different pressures and condition indicators, and the control of erosion rates. Although the idea behind the MAES framework is to show the general condition of an ecosystem, when looking at the relationships between condition and ecosystem services, we identified that not all the indicators - as they are proposed- are suitable to explain to what extent ecosystems are able to provide certain ecosystem services. Further research on other ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems would facilitate the identification of synergies and trade-offs. Moreover, the definition of a reference condition, although complicated for anthropogenically highly modified agroecosystems, would provide a benchmark to compare information on the condition of the ecosystems, leading to better land use policy and management decisions

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