Measurement method has a larger impact than spatial scale for plot-scale field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) after wildfire and prescribed fire in forests
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
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Abstract
Abstract
Wildfires raise risks of floods, debris flows, major geomorphologic and sedimentologic change, and water quality and quantity shifts. A principal control on the magnitude of these changes is field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs), which dictates surface runoff generation and is a key input into numerical models. This work synthesizes 73 Kfs datasets from the literature in the first year following fire at the plot scale (≤ 10 m2). A meta-analysis using a random effects analysis showed significant differences between burned and unburned Kfs. The reductions in Kfs after fire, expressed by the ratio of Kfs Burned / Kfs Unburned, were 0.46 (95% confidence interval of 0.31-0.70) combining wildfire and prescribed fire and 0.3 (95% confidence interval of 0.13-0.71) for wildfire. No significant differences for Kfs were observed between wildfire and prescribed fire or moderate and high fire severity. Both Kfs magnitude and variability depended more on measurement method than measurement support area at the plot scale, with methods applying head ≥0.5 cm producing larger estimates of Kfs. It is recommended that post-fire efforts to characterize Kfs for modeling or process-based interpretations use methods that reflect the dominant infiltration processes: tension infiltrometers and simulated rainfall methods when soil matrix flow dominates and ponded head methods when macropore flow is critical.
Suggested Citation
Ebel, B., 2019, Measurement method has a larger impact than spatial scale for plot-scale field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) after wildfire and prescribed fire in forests: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 44, no. 10, p. 1945-1956, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4621.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Measurement method has a larger impact than spatial scale for plot-scale field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) after wildfire and prescribed fire in forests |
| Series title | Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |
| DOI | 10.1002/esp.4621 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Publication Date | May 16, 2019 |
| Year Published | 2019 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Contributing office(s) | WMA - Earth System Processes Division |
| Description | 12 p. |
| First page | 1945 |
| Last page | 1956 |