How soil temperatures during prescribed burning affect soil water repellency, infiltration and erosion

Abstract

Fire can create, strengthen or destroy soil water repellency, with potential implications for soil infiltration, surface runoff and erosion. Laboratory studies suggest fire-induced changes to water repellency relate to soil temperatures during the burn. However, relations between temperature and repellency are rarely tested in the field where spatial variations in fuel type, soil type and soil moisture may lead to more complex responses to fire. Furthermore, few studies link point-scale water repellency measurements to hydro-geomorphic effects at larger spatial scales. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to (1) measure soil temperatures during prescribed burns, (2) investigate the in-..