Maximum 30-min Rainfall Intensity Research Articles

The influence in rainfall erosivity calculation by using different temporal resolution in Mediterranean area

Rainfall erosivity (EI30) is crucial to characterize the rainfall effect on soil erosion based on storm intensity. Its calculation is highly sensitive to the time resolution used, in which using rainfall data at fixed time intervals (ΔΤ) >30-min results in large underestimation. Therefore, there is a need to explore the difference and correlation between EI30 calculated at different ΔΤ. One-minute rainfall data from 2006 to 2022 were collected from 6 stations over the Basilicata region in southern Italy to compute the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity (I30), total kinetic energy of storm (KE), EI30 and erosivity density values, for a total of 2516 storm events. These data constitute the actual values of I30, KE and EI30 and will be used as reference data. Underestimation of all the considered parameters were systematically evaluated using data aggregated at 5-, 10-, 15-, 30- and 60-min fixed interval. For ΔΤ ≤ 15 min the parameter responsible of the greatest underestimation turns out to be KE, whereas for coarser temporal resolution (ΔΤ > 30 min) I30 plays a dominant role in underestimating EI30. The use of coarse temporal resolutions also leads to >5 % loss of erosive events, especially those characterized by middle to high intensity/low duration (ΔΤ ≤ 45 min) events, as well as to an underestimation higher than 30 % in the estimated rainfall erosivity. The results show that an accurate estimation of the rainfall erosivity requires the use of rainfall data with a fixed time interval of length lower than 10 min.

Effect of fixed time interval of rainfall data on calculation of rainfall erosivity in the humid area of south China

Rainfall erosivity index (EI30) is an important factor used to characterize the effect of rainfall on soil erosion based on storm intensity. Due to the scarcity of breakpoint rainfall data, many scholars had used different fixed time intervals to deduce EI30 in different areas of the world. However, whether there were differences in rainfall erosivity calculated from rainfall data at various time intervals, how the differences were converted, and whether the functional relationship between rainfall erosivity and sediment erosion changes need to be further studied. In this study, 258 storm events collected from a soil and water conservation experimental station in the humid area of southern China were used in the calculation of maximum 30-min rainfall intensity (I30), total kinetic energy of storm (E), and EI30 at different fixed time intervals of 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 30-, and 60-min, respectively. At the same time, 86 rainfall erosion sediment yield data of the station were obtained and used them to calculate the relationships between rainfall erosivity and erosion sediment at each time interval. The results showed that the longer the time interval, the greater the underestimation value of I30, E, and EI30. Compared with E value, I30 value played a dominant role in underestimating EI30 value using coarser fixed-interval rainfall data. Nevertheless, there is a significant proportional relationship for EI30 with each other at different fixed time intervals, as well as I30 and E. The basic relationships between EI30 and soil erosion did not change with time interval, but the slope coefficient varied and needed to be calibrated. In order to accurately estimate the rainfall erosivity, it is recommended that the fixed time interval of the rainfall data should not be greater than 30 min.

Identifying optimal ridge practices under different rainfall types on runoff and soil loss from sloping farmland in a humid subtropical region of Southern China

The relationship between different rainfall types, different soil management practices, and soil erosion is not yet fully understood. In-situ observations of soil and water loss on sloping farmland in the red soil region of southern China with a subtropical monsoon environment were taken at 12 runoff plots with four treatments, i.e, downslope ridges, downslope ridges with hedgerow intercropping, contour ridges, and bare flat land as control, over a seven-year period from 2012 to 2018. During this time, 253 natural rainfall events were classified into three rainfall types by K-means clustering according to the rainfall depth, maximum-30 min rainfall intensity and rainfall duration, and surface runoff and soil erosion processes in relation to the rainfall types under different ridge practices were analyzed. The results show that water-induced soil erosion on the flat land control was significant, with average annual soil loss of 76.73 t·ha−1·yr−1, reaching the “intense erosion” classification, and ridge practices were confirmed to reduce annual runoff and soil loss in all rainfall events by 18.9–62.0% and 68.9–86.3%, respectively. On the whole, rainfall events can be divided into three types: intense, normal, and long-duration. Among them, intense and normal rainfall cause the majority of soil (88.5–93.7%) and water (75.0–83.8%) loss in this area, but the efficiencies in runoff and soil reduction during long-duration rainfall events were the lowest, or even negative on farmlands with only downslope ridges. 20% of the total rainfall events, in which 84.3–92.2% were intense and normal rainfall events, contributed to 29–33% of the total rainfall depth, 68–89% of the total runoff depth, and 94–98% of the total soil loss. Rainfall depth played a dominant role in generating runoff, while runoff accumulation was a main factor influencing on soil loss. Findings from our study indicate that by choosing a more appropriate ridge practice according to different rainfall types, there can be a positive effect on soil and water conservation.

Water-Saving Soil Conservation Measures Should Be Used in Northern China: Evidence from Runoff Plot Data

Most of the current studies on soil conservation measures mainly focus on their soil control effect, neglecting their impact on water quantity. In the present study, the latest seven years (2014–2020) of monitored data from 22 runoff plots in the upstream catchment of the Miyun Reservoir, Beijing were used to evaluate the effects of slope, rainfall, and soil conservation measures on soil and water loss, and some implications were given in this water-scarce region. Excluding the impact of soil conservation measures, soil loss increased with the slope gradient and slope length. Runoff and soil loss were greatly affected by the rainfall amount and maximum 30-min rainfall intensity on the bare and cultivated slopes, or by rainfall amount and rainfall duration on almost all of the plots with soil conservation measures. The results indicated that the bare soil suffered the most severe soil loss, with a mean annual soil loss rate (SLR) of 4325 t km−2 year−1, followed by the cultivated lands without any measure, with an annual SLR of above 3205 t km−2 year−1. Contour tillage cannot effectively control soil loss on steep slopes. The vegetation measures and terrace, level bench, and fish scale pits, as well as their combinations, can decrease runoff by above 86% and decrease soil loss by 95%, respectively. Water-saving measures should be implemented in the study region. The measures, such as vegetation coverage, terracing, contour tillage, etc., should be carefully implemented on slopes. Bare and cultivated lands should further be implemented with soil conservation measures in this and similar regions in the world.

Hydrological behavior of a semi-dry forest in Northern Mexico: Factors controlling surface runoff

The understanding of the hydrological processes in transitional zones between semi-arid and temperate ecosystems is essential since these areas are particularly sensitive to changes in precipitation and land cover. The objectives were to (1) determine the most critical factors in the generation of surface runoff during one rainy season; and (2) analyze the effect of different rainfall variables and soil moisture on the amount of surface runoff. The study area is in a semi-dry forest in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Vegetation, soil, and precipitation variables were monitored on three micro-catchments (0.19–0.27 ha) in 2018. Maximum 30-min rainfall intensity, rainfall depth, and soil moisture were the main variables controlling surface runoff. Rainfall intensity was better related to the amount of surface runoff, with an increase in runoff when rainfall intensities were greater than 25 mm h−1. The highest runoff coefficients (10%) occurred only when rainfall intensity exceeded 30 mm h−1. Similarly, surface runoff was only activated when rainfall depth exceeded 20 mm, or when the maximum volumetric water content by rainfall event exceeded 30%. Only 10% of storms exceeded these thresholds, indicating the difficulty of runoff generation in transitional zones. The interception (36%; s.d. = 30.7%), and the drastic decrease in soil moisture after each storm, suggest that more than 90% of the rainfall was lost by evapotranspiration. Our findings suggest that the groundwater recharge in a given year in these transitional zones is highly related to the number of low intensity and long duration rainfall events.

Effects of Soil and Water Conservation Measures on Runoff and Sediment Yield in Red Soil Slope Farmland under Natural Rainfall

This paper analyzes the relationship between runoff, soil erosion, sediment particles, and natural rainfall characteristics on sloping farmland in the red soil region of southern China. The surface runoff and soil loss data were measured on runoff plots during 66 natural rainfall events from 2015 to 2018 in Jiangxi Province. The results show that the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity (I30) is positively related to the runoff depth, soil erosion modulus, and sediment mean weight diameter (MWD). With the increase in I30 during rainfall, the coarse sand content increases, and the fine sand content decreases. The average annual runoff of slope tillage, hedgerows with slope tillage, straw mulching with conventional tillage, and contour tillage decreased by 32.56%, 65.87%, 83.99%, and 87.30%, respectively, compared with that of bare land. Soil and water conservation measures can significantly reduce slope runoff. The flow-reduction effect of contour tillage and straw mulching with conventional tillage increases as I30 increases, and the flow-reduction effect of hedgerows with slope tillage first increases and then decreases as I30 increases. The coefficients of variation and standard deviations of the flow-reduction effects of different soil and water conservation measures decrease with increasing I30. The average annual soil erosion moduli of slope tillage, hedgerows with slope tillage, contour tillage, and straw mulching with conventional tillage decreased by 59.33%, 91.29%, 97.17%, and 98.45%, respectively, compared with that of bare land. Soil and water conservation measures can significantly reduce the sediment yield on slopes. The flow-reduction effects of hedgerows with slope tillage, contour tillage, and straw mulching with conventional tillage all increase with I30, and their coefficients of variation and standard deviations decrease with I30. The average single rainfall erosion sediment MWD of decreased by 5.91%, 8.33%, 9.69%, and 13.32%, respectively, compared with that of bare land. Straw mulching with conventional tillage can significantly reduce the MWD of erosion sediment, effectively reduce the content of coarse sand, and increase the content of fine sand. Straw mulching with conventional tillage is a very good soil and water conservation measure for sloping farmland. It not only has the best effect on reducing flow and sediment, but also can effectively intercept coarse sand and reduce the MWD of erosion sediment.

Comparing CLIGEN-Generated Storm Patterns with 1-Minute and Hourly Precipitation Data from China

AbstractClimate Generator (CLIGEN) is a stochastic weather generator that has been widely used to generate daily precipitation and storm patterns for hydrological and erosion prediction models. Rainfall data with measurement intervals ≤ 30 min are required to compute two parameters for generating storm patterns, namely, the cumulative distribution of the time to peak rainfall intensity (TimePk) and the mean daily maximum 30-min rainfall intensity (MX.5P). High-resolution rainfall data, however, are not widely available around the world. One-minute precipitation data for 18 stations in eastern and central China were aggregated into hourly intervals to evaluate methods to optimally prepare TimePk and MX.5P for CLIGEN. Four sets of the two parameters were used to run CLIGEN for comparison: C0, using the original 1-min data; C1, replacing TimePk with those computed with hourly data; C2, replacing MX.5P with those computed with hourly data with an adjustment factor; and C3, replacing both parameters with those computed with hourly data, and the MX.5P was adjusted as for C2. Results showed that 1) MX.5P computed with hourly data was systematically lower than that computed with the 1-min data, and the bias could be corrected by multiplying by an adjustment factor of 1.40; 2) the difference in generated storm patterns between C0 and C1 was insignificant; and 3) results from C2 and C3 agreed well with those generated from C0. Hourly precipitation data can be used to prepare CLIGEN input parameter values for generating storm patterns for sites where only hourly data are available.

Key factors controlling the post-fire hydrological and erosive response at micro-plot scale in a recently burned Mediterranean forest

The impacts of wildfires on the hydrological and erosive response of forest ecosystems have been extensively studied worldwide. Nevertheless, few studies have measured post-fire runoff and erosion over large time scales in Mediterranean-climate type environments and even fewer studies considered the effects of pre-fire land management practices on post-fire hydrological and erosive processes. In a previous study in the Colmeal study area, Vieira et al. (2016) revealed that post-fire runoff and erosion may not follow the classic window of disturbance model, since the peak of post-fire response occurred in the second and third years after fire. This previous study also showed that pre-fire land management can substantially influence the post-fire response, since annual runoff and erosion were lower in pre-fire unplowed than plowed sites. In this follow-up work, a multiple regression model (MRM) analysis was performed to understand how several key factors influence the hydrological and erosive response of a burned Mediterranean forest, taking into account the wildfire; pre-fire land management practices (unplowed, downslope plowed, and contour plowed) and soil moisture conditions.Based on the results of the present study, post-fire runoff was largely explained by rainfall amounts and soil water repellency (SWR)-related variables, whereas erosion processes were better explained by rainfall intensity and ground cover variables. Fewer factors were found to control the hydrological response of plowed sites when compared to the unplowed site. Aside from rainfall intensity, which was the major factor controlling sediment losses, bare soil cover also seems to have been important for erosion processes at the unplowed site, whereas at the plowed sites stone cover was the second most relevant factor. Rainfall-related variables (rainfall and maximum 30-min rainfall intensity) were more important for explaining runoff and erosion under dry conditions than under wet conditions. The results of the MRM analysis are an important contribution to understand the dynamics of burned forest areas and should be considered when adapting hydrological and erosion models to post-fire environments.

Effects of rainfall patterns and land cover on the subsurface flow generation of sloping Ferralsols in southern China.

Rainfall patterns and land cover are two important factors that affect the runoff generation process. To determine the surface and subsurface flows associated with different rainfall patterns on sloping Ferralsols under different land cover types, observational data related to surface and subsurface flows from 5 m × 15 m plots were collected from 2010 to 2012. The experiment was conducted to assess three land cover types (grass, litter cover and bare land) in the Jiangxi Provincial Soil and Water Conservation Ecological Park. During the study period, 114 natural rainfall events produced subsurface flow and were divided into four groups using k-means clustering according to rainfall duration, rainfall depth and maximum 30-min rainfall intensity. The results showed that the total runoff and surface flow values were highest for bare land under all four rainfall patterns and lowest for the covered plots. However, covered plots generated higher subsurface flow values than bare land. Moreover, the surface and subsurface flows associated with the three land cover types differed significantly under different rainfall patterns. Rainfall patterns with low intensities and long durations created more subsurface flow in the grass and litter cover types, whereas rainfall patterns with high intensities and short durations resulted in greater surface flow over bare land. Rainfall pattern I had the highest surface and subsurface flow values for the grass cover and litter cover types. The highest surface flow value and lowest subsurface flow value for bare land occurred under rainfall pattern IV. Rainfall pattern II generated the highest subsurface flow value for bare land. Therefore, grass or litter cover are able to convert more surface flow into subsurface flow under different rainfall patterns. The rainfall patterns studied had greater effects on subsurface flow than on total runoff and surface flow for covered surfaces, as well as a greater effect on surface flows associated with bare land.

Estimation of Peak Flow Rates for Small Drainage Areas

Runoff plots are important for soil loss measurements, and increasing numbers of plots use automatic equipment. To choose equipment with appropriate capacities, the peak flow rate must be known. The peak flow rate is also an important parameter in the modified universal soil loss equation (MUSLE) which calculate the soil loss from upland slope. The available peak flow rate equations are primarily for the watershed scale, not for small drainage areas like runoff plot. This study’s purpose was to derive an equation suitable for the small drainage areas. A total of 149 runoff events on 5 runoff plots were used to develop a peak flow rate equation for the hillslope scale. All plots are located in the Tuanshangou catchment, Zizhou county, Shaanxi province, China. Dimensionless analyses were used to determine the equation form of linear regression analyses. The results revealed that the peak flow rate was significantly correlated with plot area, slope steepness, runoff depth, rainfall depth and the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity. Two equations were developed to estimate peak flow. The model efficiencies of both equations exceeded 0.9. The equations developed in this study represent an important complement to existing peak flow rate equations. These new equations will facilitate the design of soil conservation practices and/or the selection of flow-observation equipment for small drainage areas.

Effects of vegetation cover on sediment particle size distribution and transport processes in natural rainfall conditions on post-fire hillslope plots in South Korea

Sediments were collected from four slow vegetation recovery plots, six fast vegetation recovery plots and five unburned plots at a post-fire site on a rainfall event basis and sorted for size distribution. The aim was to evaluate the effects of vegetation cover, soil aggregate stability, slope and rainfall intensity on sediment size distribution, transport selectivity and erosion processes between the burned and unburned treatment plots. Sediment detachment and transport mechanisms and the particle size transport selectivity of the eroded sediment were assessed based on enrichment ratios (ER) and mean weighted diameter (MWD) methods. The most eroded particle size class in all treatment plots was the 125–250μm class and, generally, the percentage of eroded particle sizes did not increase with slope and rainfall intensity. Higher MWD of the eroded sediment was related to a higher percentage of bare soil exposed and gravel content associated with high soil burn severity and soil disaggregation in the slow vegetation recovery plots. The enrichment of finer clay silt particle sizes increased with varying maximum 30-min rainfall intensity (I30) in the slow vegetation recovery plots, and reflected increased aggregate breakdown and transport selectivity, whereas no good relationship was found in the fast vegetation recovery and unburned plots with varying I30. A minimum I30 of <3.56mmh–1 and a maximum of 10.9mmh–1 were found to be the threshold rainfall intensity values necessary for aggregate breakdown and transport of finer particles by both rainsplash and rainflow in the slow vegetation recovery plots, whereas the response was weak in the fast vegetation recovery and unburned plots following varying I30 dominated only by rainsplash transport closer to the plot sediment collector. The results show that higher vegetation cover in the fast vegetation recovery and unburned plots reduces erosive rainfall energy by 5.6- and 17.7-fold respectively, and runoff energy by 6.3- and 21.3-fold respectively, limiting aggregate breakdown and transport selectivity of finer particles compared with the slow vegetation recovery plots.

Effect of temporal resolution on rainfall erosivity estimates in zones of precipitation caused by frontal systems

The R-factor of the Universal Soil Loss Equation is a commonly used erosivity index for predicting soil loss from agricultural hillslopes. This factor is calculated from the total kinetic energy (E) and the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity of a storm (I30), requiring sub-hourly rainfall information. However, sub-hourly rainfall data are usually scarce worldwide, whereas hourly and other coarser resolutions are readily available. This paper analyzes the sensitivity of rainfall erosivity to the temporal resolution in zones of precipitation produced by frontal systems and proposes a method to compute it using rainfall records with a resolution of up to 24h. Hourly pluviographic records from 30 sites located in Central Chile (415years of data and 18,012 storms) were aggregated to obtain temporal resolutions of 1 to 24h. Rainfall erosivity, I30, and E were computed for all the sites, in addition to the conversion factors to estimate their values with different temporal resolutions. Rainfall erosivity and I30 showed a nonlinear relationship with temporal resolution for a time interval of 1–24h, whereas E was practically unaffected by the timespan. However, the conversion factors for erosivity, I30, and E proved to have a linear relationship with temporal resolution (R2 between 0.89 and 0.99). The similarity between the regression lines of the conversion factors of rainfall erosivity and I30 shows that the sensitivity of erosivity to the temporal resolution of rainfall data is controlled almost entirely by I30. However, the regression lines of the E conversion factors, with average slopes of 0.01, intercepts of 0.99 and R2 of 0.89, demonstrated that E is not sensitive to temporal resolution in the study sites. By extending the regression lines of the conversion factors to a time interval of 0.5-h, rainfall erosivity and I30 were predicted for a temporal resolution of 0.5h. The results were compared with those obtained using non-linear IDF curves, as no 0.5-h rainfall records are readily available for the study sites. Significant similarities were found between the methods (R2=0.99), showing that, for frontal systems the simple linear regressions obtained in this study can provide the same erosivity and I30 as nonlinear IDF curves.

Effects of land use, land cover and rainfall regimes on the surface runoff and soil loss on karst slopes in southwest China

Abstract Surface runoff and soil loss from 2007 to 2010 related to land use and rainfall regimes in karst hill slopes in Guizhou Province, southwest China, were analyzed. Using the hierarchical clustering method, sixty-one rainfall events under the subtropical monsoon climate condition were classified into 5 types of rainfall regimes according to the depth, maximum 30-min intensity, and duration of rainfall. In our study, we first demonstrated that the amounts of surface runoff and soil loss on the karst hill slopes were very small compared to the non-karst areas, because the dual hydrological structure in the karst region, including ground and underground drainage systems, could influence the processes of rainfall recharge and runoff generation. Most rainfall water was transported underground through limestone fissures and fractures, while little was in the form of surface runoff. Second, the runoff and soil loss were affected by land use management and vegetation cover. Soil loss was intensified in a descending order to five types of land uses: pastureland > burned area > cropland > combination vegetation land > young forestland. Third, the runoff and soil loss exhibited remarkable variances among different rainfall regimes. Large runoff and soil loss were mainly created by heavy rainfall storms with a rainfall depth of more than 40 mm and a maximum 30-min rainfall intensity of over 30 mm h− 1. In addition, rainfall storms with large antecedent precipitations could also produce large runoff and soil loss. These observations indicated that limestone fissures and fractures play important roles in surface runoff generation on karst limestone slopes due to their large storage capacity and high infiltration rate. Lastly, the soil erosion risk in the karst pure limestone slope is quite high and should be paid particular attention, especially in regards to over-grazing because the soil loss created by a single heavy rainstorm in pastureland was 5 times the annual soil loss tolerance.

강우 운동에너지식에 따른 한국의 강우침식인자 평가

A particular empirical equation for rainfall kinetic energy is needed to compute rainfall erosivity, calculated by the annual sum of the product of total rainfall energy and maximum 30-min rainfall intensity. If rainfall kinetic energy equation was different, rainfall erosivity will be produced differently. However, the previous studies in Korea had little concern about rainfall kinetic energy equation and it was not clear which rainfall kinetic energy is suitable for Korea. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the difference of the rainfall erosivity based on different rainfall kinetic energy equations obtained from previous studies. This study introduced new rainfall erosivity factors based on rainfall kinetic energy equation of Noe and Kwon (1984) that is only regression model developed in Korea. Data of annual rainfall erosivity for 21 weather stations in 1980~1999 were used in this study. The result showed that rainfall erosivity factors by the previous equations had been about 10~20% overestimated than rainfall erosivity by Noe and Kwon (1984)'s equation in Korea.

Estimation of rainfall erosivity using 5- to 60-minute fixed-interval rainfall data from China

The 30-min rainfall erosivity index ( EI 30) is commonly used in the Universal Soil Loss Equation for predicting soil loss from agricultural hillslopes. EI 30 is calculated from the total kinetic energy and the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity of a storm. Normally, EI 30 values are calculated from breakpoint rainfall information taken from continuous recording rain gauge charts, however, in many places in China and other parts of the world the detailed chart-recorded rain gauge data relative to storm intensities are not readily available, while hourly rainfall is readily available. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of EI 30 estimations based on 5-, 10-, 15-, 30-, and 60-min time-resolution rainfall data as compared to EI 30 estimations from breakpoint rainfall information. 456 storm events from five soil conservation stations in eastern China were used. The values of EI 30 based on the fixed-time-interval data were less than those calculated from breakpoint data. The average conversion factors (ratio of values calculated from the breakpoint data to those from the fixed-interval data) for the five stations decreased from 1.105 to 1.009 for the estimation of E values, from 1.668 to 1.007 for I 30 values, and from 1.730 to 1.014 for EI 30 values as the time resolution increased from 60 to 5 min. The maximum 30-min rainfall intensity was the major source of error in estimating EI 30 for 60-min fixed-interval data, while storm kinetic energy played a proportionately more significant role as the fixed-interval data decreased from 60 to 5 min.

Adjustment of CLIGEN parameters to generate precipitation change scenarios in southeastern Australia

Global climate model predictions are often downscaled with stochastic weather generators to produce suitable climate change scenarios for impact analysis. Proportional adjustment to generated daily precipitation and direct adjustment to parameter values for weather generators have been used for assessing the impact of climate change on runoff and soil loss. Little is known of how these parameter values should be realistically adjusted, the amount of adjustment, and whether the adjustments are correlated among different parameters. Rainfall in southeastern Australia has significantly increased since the late 1940s. Rainfall records in Sydney show a similar trend. Long term daily and 6-min intensity data from Sydney have made it possible to examine how CLIGEN parameter values have changed in relation to the underlying significant increase in rainfall. This study shows that for Sydney, most of the increase in rainfall is a result of the increase in wet day precipitation. The increase in the standard deviation of wet-day precipitation is greater than that in the mean, implying a greater rainfall variability during wetter periods. The wet-following-wet transition probability, and maximum 30-min rainfall intensity are all positively and significantly correlated with the change in wet-day precipitation. The change in peak intensity is about half the change in rainfall. No significant relationship can be established between the changes in mean monthly rainfall and those in the skewness coefficient for wet day precipitation and wet following dry transition probability for the site. Simultaneous adjustment of all these parameters is needed for generation of precipitation change scenarios for the region. Using simple proportional adjustment to generated precipitation sequences would lead to maximum impacts on runoff and soil loss predicted with WEPP, while attributing precipitation change equally to the change in wet day precipitation and the number of wet days would under-estimate the magnitude of the impacts considerably for the site.

Initial hydrologic and geomorphic response following a wildfire in the Colorado Front Range

AbstractA wildfire in May 1996 burned 4690 hectares in two watersheds forested by ponderosa pine and Douglas fir in a steep, mountainous landscape with a summer, convective thunderstorm precipitation regime. The wildfire lowered the erosion threshold in the watersheds, and consequently amplified the subsequent erosional response to shorter time interval episodic rainfall and created both erosional and depositional features in a complex pattern throughout the watersheds.The initial response during the first four years was an increase in runoff and erosion rates followed by decreases toward pre‐fire rates. The maximum unit‐area peak discharge was 24 m3 s−1 km−2 for a rainstorm in 1996 with a rain intensity of 90 mm h−1. Recovery to pre‐fire conditions seems to have occurred by 2000 because for a maximum 30‐min rainfall intensity of 50 mm h−1, the unit‐area peak discharge in 1997 was 6.6 m3 s−1 km−2, while in 2000 a similar intensity produced only 0.11 m3 s−1 km−2. Rill erosion accounted for 6 per cent, interrill erosion for 14 per cent, and drainage erosion for 80 per cent of the initial erosion in 1996. This represents about a 200‐fold increase in erosion rates on hillslopes which had a recovery or relaxation time of about three years. About 67 per cent of the initially eroded sediment is still stored in the watersheds after four years with an estimated residence time greater than 300 years. This residence time is much greater than the fire recurrence interval so erosional and depositional features may become legacies from the wildfire and may affect landscape evolution by acting as a new set of initial conditions for subsequent wildfire and flood sequences. Published in 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.