Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > WF > WF06138
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 17(5)

Analysis of the evolution of soil erosion classes using multitemporal Landsat imagery

J. Marquínez A , E. Wozniak A , S. Fernández A B and R. Martínez A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Natural Resources and Territorial Planning Institute (INDUROT), University of Oviedo, Mieres Campus, E-33600 Mieres, Spain.

B Corresponding author. Email: smdez@indurot.uniovi.es

International Journal of Wildland Fire 17(5) 549-558 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF06138
Submitted: 20 October 2006  Accepted: 3 April 2008   Published: 3 October 2008

Abstract

A cartographic method based on satellite images was completed in order to analyse the evolution of soil erosion in areas under humid climate conditions that experience frequent small forest fires. The method uses indicators, recognisable in the images, for the spatial and temporal analysis of the soil erosion status in burnt areas where the vegetation recovers quickly after fires. The continuity of the organic horizon, the surface stoniness and the vegetation cover degradation or regeneration were the indicators of the erosive soil class used in the multitemporal analysis of nine Landsat images. The study area is located in the western sector of the Cantabrian Range (NW Spain). The indicators selected were useful to show clearly the erosive status of the soils. Also, the use of multitemporal satellite image analysis seems to be a suitable method for studying soil erosion evolution in areas prone to forest fire. The application of the proposed method showed that in a study area of 48 857 ha, the soil cover was recovering in 7377 ha owing to the smaller frequency of forest fires, and degrading in 2326 ha.

Additional keywords: forest fires, soil erosion indicators.


References


Andrew OH, Prosser IP, Stevenson J, Scott A, Gallant J, Moran CJ (2001) Gully erosion mapping for the national land and water resources audit. CSIRO Land and Water, Technical Report 26/01. (Canberra)

Ben-Door E , Banin A (1994) Visible and near-infrared (0.4–1.1 μm) analysis of arid and semiarid soils. Remote Sensing of Environment  46, 246–267.
Coehlo CO, Shakesby RA, Walsh RD, Terry J, Ferreira A (1990) Responses of surface and sub-surface soil water movement and soil erosion to forest fires in Eucalyptus globulus and Pinus pinaster forest, Agueda Basin, Portugal. In ‘Proceedings of International Conference on Forest Fire Research’, 19–22 November 1990, Coimbra, Portugal. (Ed. DX Viegas) (University of Coimbra: Coimbra, Portugal)

De Jong SM, Sommer S, Lacaze B, Scholte K, van der Meer F (1998) The DAIS La Peyne experiment: using airborne imaging spectrometry for land degradation survey and modelling. In ‘Proceedings of the 18th EARSeL Symposium on Operational Remote Sensing for Sustainable Development’, 11–14 May 1998, Enschede, the Netherlands. (A. A. Balkema: the Netherlands)

DeBano LF, Rice RM, Conrad CE (1979) Soil heating in chaparral fires: effects on soil particles, plant nutrients, erosion, and runoff. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Research Paper PSW-145. (Berkeley, CA)

Díaz-Fierros F, Rubio JL (1990) Metodologías de estudio de los procesos de erosión hídrica del suelo en España. Seminario de Estudos Galegos, Ediciones do Castro, Cuadernos da área de ciencias agrarias 12. (La Coruna, Spain)

Díaz-Fierros F, Benito E , Pérez R (1987) Evaluation of the USLE for the prediction of erosion in burnt forest areas in Galicia (NW Spain). Catena  14, 189–199.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Fernández EM (1996) El tiempo y el clima. In ‘Gran Atlas del Principado de Asturias’. (Ed. EM Fernandez-Álvarez) pp. 82–99. (Ediciones Nobel: Oviedo, Spain)

Fernández S, Marquínez J , Menéndez Duarte RA (2005) A susceptibility model for post-wildfire soil erosion in a temperate oceanic mountain area: Cantabrian Range of Spain. Catena  61, 256–272.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Flanagan DC, Nearing MA (1995) USDA-water erosion prediction project: hillslope profile and watershed model documentation. USDA-ARS, National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, NSREL Report 10. (West Lafayette, IN)

Frazier BE , Yaan C (1989) Remote sensing of soils in the Eastern Palouse region with Landsat Thematic Mapper. Remote Sensing of Environment  28, 317–325.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Giovannini G (1994) The effect of fire on soil quality. In ‘Soil Erosion and Degradation as a Consequence of Forest Fires’. (Eds M Sala, JL Rubio) pp. 15–27. (Geoforma Ediciones: Logroño, Spain)

He Q, Walling DE, Wallbrink PJ (2002) Alternative methods and radionuclides for use in soil-erosion and sedimentation investigations. In ‘Handbook for the Assessment of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation using Environmental Radioactivity’. (Ed. F Zapata) pp. 185–216. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht, the Netherlands)

Hill J , Schütt B (2000) Mapping complex patterns of erosion and stability in dry Mediterranean ecosystems. Remote Sensing of Environment  74, 557–569.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Le Bissonnais Y (1990) Soil characteristics and aggregate stability. In ‘Soil Erosion, Conservation, and Rehabilitation’. (Ed. M Agassi) pp. 41–60. (Marcel Dekker: New York)

Le Bissonnais Y (1996) Aggregate stability and assessment of soil crustability and erodibility: theory and methodology. European Journal of Soil Science  47, 425–437.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Marquínez J, Menendez R, Jiménez-Alfaro B, Fernandez S, García P, Lastra J (2003) Los incendios forestales. In ‘Riesgos Naturales en Asturias’. (Ed. J Marquinez) pp. 87–118. (KRK Ediciones: Oviedo, Spain)

Martínez-Casasnovas JA (2003) A spatial information technology approach for the mapping and quantification of gully erosion. Catena  50, 293–308.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Menendez R, Fernández S, Soto J (2007) Rates of soil loss in burnt areas: quantitative data from 137Cs measurements. In ‘Proceedings of the International Meeting of Fire Effects on Soil Properties’, 31 January–3 February 2007, Barcelona, Spain. (Eds X Úbeda, L Outeiro) (University of Barcelona: Barcelona, Spain)

Merritt WS, Letcher RA , Jakeman AJ (2003) A review of erosion and sediment transport models. Environmental Modelling & Software  18, 761–799.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Sancho C, Benito G, Gutierrez M (1991) Agujas de erosión y perfiladores micro-topográficos. In ‘Cuadernos Tecnicos de la SEG N° 2’. p. 28. (Geoforma Ediciones: Logroño, Spain)

Sano EE, Huete AR, Troufleau D, Moran MS , Vidal A (1998) Relation between ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar data and measurements of surface roughness and moisture content of rocky soils in a semiarid rangeland. Water Resources Research  34, 1491–1498.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Vélez R (2000) Combustibles forestales: combustibilidad. In ‘La Defensa contra Incendios Forestales – Fundamentos y Experiencias’. (Ed. R Vélez) pp. 120–150. (McGraw-Hill: Madrid)

Vigiak O, Okoba BO, Sterk G , Groenenberg S (2005) Modelling catchment-scale erosion patterns in the East African Highlands. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms  30, 183–196.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Wishmeier WH, Smith DH (1978) Predicting rainfall erosion losses – a guide to conservation planning. USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 537. (Washington, DC)