Abstract
The SCS-CN, Horton, and USLE-family models are widely used to predict and control runoff and erosion in forest ecosystems. However, in the literature there is no evidence of their use in Mediterranean forests subjected to prescribed fire and soil mulching. To fill this gap, this study evaluates the prediction capability for runoff and soil loss of the SCS-CN, Horton, MUSLE, and USLE-M models in three forests (pine, chestnut, and oak) in Southern Italy. The investigation was carried out at plot and event scales throughout one year, after a prescribed fire and post-fire soil mulching with fern. The SCS-CN and USLE-M models were accurate in predicting runoff volume and soil loss, respectively. In contrast, poor predictions of the modelled hydrological variables were provided by the models in unburned plots, and by the Horton and MUSLE models for all soil conditions. This inaccuracy may have been due to the fact that the runoff and erosion generation mechanisms were saturation-excess and rainsplash, while the Horton and MUSLE models better simulate infiltration-excess and overland flow processes, respectively. For the SCS-CN and USLE-M models, calibration was needed to obtain accurate predictions of surface runoff and soil loss; furthermore, different CNs and C factors must be input throughout the year to simulate the variability of the hydrological response of soil after fire. After calibration, two sets of CNs and C-factor values were suggested for applications of the SCS-CN and USLE-M models, after prescribed fire and fern mulching in Mediterranean forests. Once validated in a wider range of environmental contexts, these models may support land managers in controlling the hydrology of Mediterranean forests that are prone to wildfire risks.
Highlights
Wildfire is one of the most dangerous threats to forest ecosystems, since it impacts almost all components
In two events (9 October 2019 and 14 July 2020), no runoff was collected in the unburned chestnut and oak forests and in all soil conditions of the pine and oak sites (Figure 3)
One month after the prescribed fire, the runoff was from 22.3 ± 1.35 mm to 31.3 ± 2.29 (Figure 3)
Summary
Wildfire is one of the most dangerous threats to forest ecosystems, since it impacts almost all components (air, soil, plants, fauna, surface water [1]). The frequency, extent, and intensity of wildfires have been associated with an increase in climate warming in the last three decades [5], due to specific weather conditions (e.g., low humidity, high temperature, and strong winds [6]), and hydrological regimes (extreme and flash storm events with heavy and erosive rainfalls [7,8]). To control fire severity and frequency, and at the same time mitigate the hydrological impacts in fire-affected areas, several pre- and post-fire management actions have been proposed. Many studies have demonstrated how lowintensity fires are effective for removing the fuel that can generate a high-intensity fire, and for reducing the wildfire risk in treated forests [11,12]. Soil mulching with vegetation residues is one of the most common post-fire management strategies to limit runoff and erosion in the short term, since mulch protects soil from rainsplash prior to vegetation regrowth [13,14]
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