Effect of prescribed fire on soil properties and soil erosion in a Mediterranean mountain area

Felícia Fonseca,Tomás De Figueiredo,Clotilde Nogueira,Anabela Queirós

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.06.018

Felícia Fonseca, Tomás De Figueiredo + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.06.018

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Journal: Geoderma	Publication Date: Sep 4, 2017
Citations: 67	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Polytechnic Institute of Bragança

Abstract

Prescribed fires are a common management practice in the Mediterranean region and can be an alternative to reduce the quantity of fuel and hence decrease the wildfire risk. This research focused in effects of a prescribed fire, which was applied in Montesinho Natural Park (PNM), in soil properties and on soil erosion processes. Chemical soil properties were assessed before, two, six and thirty-six months after the fire. Despite low fire intensity, soil chemical changes were observed. Thirty-six months after the fire it turned out that the soil organic matter, pH values and electrical conductivity were similar to those seen before the fire. However, the same was not verified with the values of the exchangeable bases, extractable potassium and phosphorus and exchangeable acidity that differ from the observed ones before the fire. Runoff and soil loss were monitored in a set of 4m2 paired plots installed in the study area, during 14months after the fire and summed annual losses equivalent to 10.3mm runoff and 1.3Mgha−1 soil loss. Although corresponding to a short monitoring period, these results may add to a better knowledge of the potential susceptibility of burnt shrublands to soil degradation and their natural recovery rates.

Highlights

Large areas of shrublands and forests are destroyed by fire every year in the Mediterranean region, where wildfires are a most relevant environmental problem; in the ecological context of the Mediterranean mountains, fire is part of the vegetation and landscapes dynamics (IPB/ICN, 2007; Pausas et al, 2008)
Extractable phosphorus increased in all layers six months after the fire when compared to the reference situation (BF), showing a slight decrease thirty-six months after fire, yet with values always higher than the ones observed before the fire (Fig. 5)
Prescribed fire is a commonly recommended forest management practice aiming at controlling fuel accumulation in forest stands understory or in the shrub covered surroundings, due to the lower economic cost compared to other vegetation management techniques

Summary

Introduction

Large areas of shrublands and forests are destroyed by fire every year in the Mediterranean region, where wildfires are a most relevant environmental problem; in the ecological context of the Mediterranean mountains, fire is part of the vegetation and landscapes dynamics (IPB/ICN, 2007; Pausas et al, 2008). Soil is a qualitatively scarce resource in this region and even more scarce in the marginal areas where the shrubs dominate (Figueiredo, 2002). The protection of this resource is essential due to its key role in ecosystem services provision, associated to the hydrological cycle, nutrient cycles and carbon dynamics and storage (Rashid, 1987; Thomas et al, 1999; Pardini et al, 2004; Bompastor et al, 2009; José, 2009; Fonseca et al, 2011; Fonseca et al, 2012). The knowledge of soil degradation processes and the context factors that determine them is a basic condition for the design of strategies, actions and practices focused in the soil resource protection

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