Soil conservation after wildfires: Challenges, failures, and successes [Chapter 2]

Abstract

One of the largest impacts on forest soils, apart from logging disturbances, is wildfire. The physical disturbances include suppression activities, post-fire erosion during storm events, and slope failures. Biological and chemical disruptions to soil functioning can occur as well. Since soils are the key to site productivity and sustainability, conservation of soil resources in the post-wildfire environment are of the utmost importance. Some soil conservation measures can be employed during fire suppression as Best Management Practices conservation. The bulk of these activities fall into the category of Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER). Management actions initiated as part of the BAER process are a significant challenge since they have varying levels of success. Failures are often related to factors which are beyond control such as fire severity, slope, rainfall and topographical characteristics. Logistics, cost, resource availability, and timing are other important factors which go into decisions made regarding soil conservation.

Citation

Neary, Daniel G.; Leonard, Jackson M. 2021. Soil conservation after wildfires: Challenges, failures, and successes [Chapter 2]. In: Vieira, Antonio Avelino Batista; Goncalves, Antonio Jose Bento, eds. Soil Conservation: Strategies, Management and Challenges. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers. 36 p.