engleski

Estimation of water repellency effect on soil hydraulic properties in a burned forest site

Soil water repellency (SWR) is a phenomenon usually caused by the presence of various hydrophobic coatings on soil particles and/or drying conditions, possibly leading to a significant reduction of soil water infiltration capacity. For example, forest fires may cause a SWR, known as a “fire induced SWR”, by exposing the soil organic particles to the extreme temperatures and resulting in their hydrophobicity or a formation of hydrophobic coatings on the nearby mineral particles. Thus, the goal of this research was to estimate the SWR possibly occurring after the forest fire and its potential effects on soil hydraulic properties. Field measurements were performed near Šibenik (Croatia) in 2016, after a large pine forest fire on three selected locations, differing in the severity of burning (A-heavily burned, B-burned and C-control). Tension disc infiltration measurements with water and ethanol were conducted, after which an inverse modeling of the infiltration experiments using the HYDRUS suite was performed to numerically estimate soil hydraulic parameters. Infiltration experiments showed differences between the measurements with water and ethanol, indicating the presence of SWR. A large effect of SWR on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was observed. The change of Ks can significantly influence water flow and balance in the soil, by different water distribution between infiltration, surface runoff and seepage.

forest fire, soil water balance, hydrophobicity, numerical modeling

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