Temporal patterns of solute loss following wildfires in Central Portugal
A. J. D. Ferreira A B C , C. O. A. Coelho A , A. K. Boulet A and F. P. Lopes A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, P-3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
B Centro de Estudos dos Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Sociedade, Department of Pure and Environmental Sciences, ESAC, IPC, Bencanta, P-3040-316 Coimbra, Portugal.
C Corresponding author. Telephone: +351 239 802 969; fax: +351 239 802 979; email: aferreira@esac.pt
International Journal of Wildland Fire 14(4) 401-412 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF05043
Submitted: 31 March 2005 Accepted: 2 September 2005 Published: 25 November 2005
Abstract
The present paper studies the hydrological implications of forest fire and the associated export of nutrients as solutes at the micro-plot, plot and catchment scales immediately after fire. The use of three different spatial scales provides improved insights into the mechanisms that drive hydrological and solute movement processes as they change with time following forest fire. Rainfall simulations were performed for 1 h, right after forest fires. Plots were monitored during and after rainfall events, and catchments were instrumented continuously with water level recorders. Samples were collected weekly to determine some of the main nutrients present over a period of 14 months. At all scales, the main hydrological processes were assessed and samples collected for chemical analysis. Measurements were made at burned Pinus pinaster locations in the central region of Portugal. These are ordinarily placed in poor, shallow Humic Cambisol soils located in steep slopes. The results show that there was a rapid and widespread export of nutrients during the first 4 months following the wildfire. The amount of nutrients lost decreased gradually over those 4 months in response to the exhaustion of the ash source. After this period, nutrient peak losses occurred only in response to extreme rainfall events.
Additional keywords: atmospheric input; catchment; forest fire; hydrological processes; micro-plot; multiple scale approach; plot; solute loss; sustainability.
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