Using hyperspectral imagery to predict post-wildfire soil water repellency

A principal task of evaluating large wildfires is to assess fire's effect on the soil in order to predict the potential watershed response. Two types of soil water repellency tests, the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and the mini-disk infiltrometer (MDI) test, were performed after the Hayman Fire in Colorado, in the summer of 2002 to assess the infiltration potential of the soil. Remotely sensed hyperspectral imagery was also collected to map post-wildfire ground cover and soil condition. Detailed ground cover measurements were collected to validate the remotely sensed imagery and to examine the relationship between ground cover and soil water repellency. Percent ash cover measured on the ground was significantly correlated to WDPT (r = 0.42; p-value < 0.0001), and the MDI test (r = − 0.37; p-value < 0.0001). A Mixture Tuned Matched Filter (MTMF) spectral unmixing algorithm was applied to the hyperspectral imagery, which produced fractional cover maps of ash, soil, and scorched and green vegetation. The remotely sensed ash image had significant correlations to the water repellency tests, WDPT (r = 0.24; p-value = 0.001), and the MDI test (r = − 0.21; p-value = 0.005). An iterative threshold analysis was also applied to the ash and water repellency data to evaluate the relationship at increasingly higher levels of ash cover. Regression analysis between the means of grouped data: MDI time vs. ash cover data (R² =0.75) and vs. Ash MTMF scores (R² = 0.63) yielded significantly stronger relationships. From these results we found on-the-ground ash cover greater than 49% and remotely sensed ash cover greater than 33% to be indicative of strongly water repellent soils. Combining these results with geostatistical analyses indicated a spatial autocorrelation range of 15 to 40 m. Image pixels with high ash cover (> 33%), including pixels within 15 m of these pixel patches, were used to create a likelihood map of soil water repellency. This map is a good indicator of areas where soil experienced severe fire effects—areas that likely have strong water repellent soil conditions and higher potential for post-fire erosion.     

Disentangling Fabiana imbricata (Solanaceae) regeneration: The importance of disturbance and rainfall

In Mediterranean ecosystems, fire influences plant population dynamics and changes plant community structure by affecting germination and establishment of seeder shrubs. Fabiana imbricata is a long-lived seeder shrub with a broad distribution in South America. In Northwestern Patagonia grasslands there are many records of F. imbricata recruitment after fires. We hypothesized that recruitment is promoted by: 1) soil erosion that exposes deeply buried seeds; 2) direct fire effects such as heat that could break seed dormancy; 3) indirect fire effects (i.e. increase of light availability and elimination of allelopathic substances) and 4) water availability in spring. In field conditions, we tested the effects of shading and soil disturbance on F. imbricata recruitment and seed availability and distribution in the soil profile. Under controlled conditions, we investigated the influence of leaf leachate, light, heat and water on seed germination and seedling emergence. Seed germination was inhibited by leachate, and seedling emergence was inhibited by seed heated to 80 °C and 120° for 5 min. F. imbricata seedlings only emerged in germination treatments that simulated wet and very wet spring conditions. Fire and postfire wind that favor seed exposure, combined with high precipitation early in the growing season, would be necessary for successful shrub recruitment. When F. imbricata shrubland colonizes the grassland, it strongly modifies local vegetation structure, reduces species richness and increases fuel loads. F. imbricata is a key species in the ecosystem specially related to fire regime. Information on the postfire regeneration of this species would provide valuable knowledge of the changes in biomass accumulation in a fire-prone Mediterranean ecosystem.     

Landform and Vegetation Change in the Greaves Creek Basin: An asymmetric hanging valley in the Blue Mountains,New South Wales

Greaves Creek has cut a hanging valley through the entire Triassic sandstone sequence near Blackheath in the western Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Downstream of Beauchamp Falls, it cuts into Permian strata in the Grose Gorge. The hanging valley has a valley-in-valley structure. The narrow inner valley is bounded by high cliffs and its floor is cut by a deep narrow slot canyon where stream incision has occurred without valley widening. The course of the creek is related to joint directions. Intense jointing, minor faulting and sapping influence the stability of cliffs but up to 30m of incision has occurred without valley widening in the slot canyon. Topographic asymmetry expressed as unequal slopes of the valley sides is related to differential insolation, erosion, vegetation cover, bioturbation and fire intensity. In the western Blue Mountains and elsewhere in the Sydney Basin asymmetric slopes occur in many other valley-ridge systems, particularly those whose long axes are oriented between about east-west and north-east-south-west. Vegetation structure and floristics within Greaves Creek valley are related to physiography of the valley and to aspect through their effects on fire, moisture availability, light availability, soil depth and temperature.     

The effects of vegetative ash on infiltration capacity, sediment transport, and the generation of progressively bulked debris flows

Through the alteration of the physical characteristics of a landscape, such as the destruction of vegetation and the formation of a hydrophobic layer, a fire can dramatically amplify erosion rates. On the basis of field observations, it has been proposed that the deposition of a layer of ash on the ground surface can enhance the erosion of mountainous terrain by surface runoff and might even be a necessary condition for the generation of progressively bulked debris flows. In this study, a flume was constructed to investigate the role of ash in increasing both the volume and the transport capacity of runoff. The experiments demonstrated that the presence of ash on the soil surface reduces the ability of flowing water to infiltrate; this effect is even greater when the ash has been pre-wetted. In addition, the ability of ash slurries to infiltrate decreases with increasing ash concentration. The results also indicate that the transport capacity of runoff is enhanced by the incorporation of ash into the flow because of the increased fluid density. However, the addition of ash reduces the boundary Reynolds number such that, at high ash concentrations and with fine-grained sediment, sediment transport declines as the flow becomes hydraulically smooth. The experimental results were also used to evaluate the ability of steep flow fronts, a common characteristic of debris flows and flash floods, to increase sediment transport rates. Finally, it is proposed that ash slurries may evolve into progressively bulked debris flows through a positive feedback between fluid density, transport capacity, and erosivity.     

绿洲农田土壤斥水性及其影响因素

土壤斥水性（Soil Water Repellency,SWR）指水分不能或很难湿润土壤颗粒表面的现象,对农业水管理、土壤水入渗、农化污染物运移及土壤侵蚀有重要影响,土壤斥水性在绿洲化过程中的变化特征及其影响因素尚不明确。在甘肃临泽绿洲分别选取未开垦的沙地（0年）及开垦10、30、50、100年绿洲农田表层土壤（0~5 cm）,分别测定土壤有机碳含量、土壤质地（砂粒、粉粒、黏粒）和土壤pH,并用毛管上升法测定土壤斥水性。结果表明：土壤斥水性随着开垦年限的增加而不断增加。不同开垦年限土壤的“土-水”接触角58°~89°,差异显著（P<0.001）。土壤有机碳含量、土壤质地和土壤pH均与“土-水”接触角存在显著的回归关系（P<0.001）。逐步回归分析的结果表明,绿洲化过程中土壤有机碳含量和pH共解释了土壤斥水性72.1%的变异。因此,在绿洲农田进一步研究土壤斥水性对土壤水运动的影响应更多关注土壤有机碳和pH两大因素。     

腾格里沙漠沙丘固定后土壤的斥水性特征研究

土壤斥水性是重要的土壤物理属性,对土壤水文过程和地貌过程有重要的影响。利用毛细上升法研究了腾格里沙漠东南缘沙丘固定后土壤的斥水性特征,分析了不同小地形、不同土壤深度和不同土壤粒径土壤的斥水性差异。结果表明,固沙植被建立后显著地改变了沙丘的土壤斥水性,且随沙丘固定时间增加而呈增强的趋势。丘间地和迎风坡的土壤斥水性大于丘顶和背风坡的斥水性。0~3 cm土层的土壤斥水性显著大于3~6 cm。随着粒径的不断增大,土壤斥水性呈减小趋势,不同粒径段土壤斥水性差异显著;且土壤斥水性与粒径分别为0~0.05 mm、0.05~0.01 mm、0.01~0.15 mm的土壤呈极显著正相关线性关系,与粒径大于0.15 mm的土壤呈显著负相关线性关系。植被区土壤斥水性的增加可能与大气降尘在固定沙丘表面不断沉积、生物土壤结皮形成,尤其是藻类和地衣的形成有关,斥水性的增强将影响到植物种在沙丘上的有效水分利用。     

元谋干热河谷坡耕地土壤侵蚀造成的土地退化

在元谋干热河谷土壤侵蚀特征分析的基础上，对坡耕地土壤侵蚀造成的土地退化进行了模拟研究。结果表明，土壤侵蚀造成表层耕作土壤的物理性能下降、养分流失和水分入渗能力降低。表层耕作土壤的容重比下层土壤低12．7％，总孔隙度高10．9％，有机质高37．3％，120min累计入渗总量是下层土壤的1．6-2．2倍。模拟土壤侵蚀与土地生产力关系的小区试验结果显示，坡耕地每流失1cm表土，土地生产力水平平均下降4．54％。     

Fallout radionuclide tracers identify a switch in sediment sources and transport-limited sediment yield following wildfire in a eucalypt forest

Fire can alter sediment sources and transport rates in river basins, changing landforms and aquatic habitats and degrading downstream water quality. Variability in the response between environments, between fires, and with time since fire makes predicting the catchment-scale effect of individual fires difficult. This study applies the fallout radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_xs to trace the sources and transport of fine sediment through a river network following a wildfire of moderate to extreme severity in the 629-km² eucalypt-forested Nattai River water-supply catchment near Sydney, Australia. The tracer analysis showed that post-fire erosion caused a switch in fine (< 10 µm) sediment sources from 80% subsoil derived from gully and river bank erosion to 86% topsoil derived from hillslope surface erosion. The fine sediment phosphorus content increased 4–10 fold over pre-fire levels. Annual post-fire sediment yields estimated from suspended solids rating curves were 109–250 times higher than they would have been without fire. A large additional amount of sediment remained stored within the river network for at least four years, particularly in lower-gradient reaches. Analysis of a sediment core showed that surface erosion following a previous fire had supplied at least 29% of total catchment sediment yield over the past 36 years. It is concluded that wildfire can alter catchment sediment budgets in two ways. Firstly, a spatially-diffuse pulse of elevated erosion is associated with moderate or intense rainfall events in post-fire years. Secondly, pulses of elevated catchment sediment yield are driven by the timing and river sediment transport capacity of runoff events. Severe post-fire erosion and high interannual hydrologic variability can result in large sediment stores persisting within the river network for many years. Fallout radionuclide tracers are shown to be useful in quantifying fine sediment sources and transport dynamics following wildfire, and the contribution of wildfire to catchment sediment yield.     

Modeling impacts of erosion and deposition on soil organic carbon in the Big Creek Basin of southern Illinois

Land use land cover (LULC) plays an important role in influencing the spatial intensity of water erosion which is the primary governor of horizontal translocation of soil organic carbon (SOC). The fate of redistributed SOC through erosion remains debatable and the mineralization rate of exposed SOC protected in soil aggregates is the major focus of this argument. Cohesive spatially explicit modeling of SOC and erosion can potentially reduce some of the controversy. To this end we simulated erosion/deposition, and photosynthetic (in situ) flux of SOC in a small watershed of ~ 28.42 ha, located in the Big Creek basin of southern Illinois. The main objectives of this research were: (a) to study erosion and deposition dynamics under different LULC, (b) to examine the extent of carbon dislocation and deposition possible in the study area, and (c) to determine the net SOC accretion and reduction possible by accounting for gains through annual photosynthesis and deposition, and losses from erosion under different LULC scenarios. To fulfill our objectives, we combined GeoWEPP, an erosion/deposition process model, with CENTURY 4.0, an ecosystem model used for simulating SOC. Our results show that between 11 and 31% of the eroded soil gets deposited in the same basin depending on the LULC type, leaving the remainder to be transported downstream. Additionally, as expected, SOC flux due to erosion and deposition varies with the type of management practices. In the case of conservation management practices, the flux associated with erosion and deposition remains below 10% in comparison to in situ SOC transformations due to annual photosynthesis. However in the case of non-conservation management practices this proportion rises above 50%.     

Modelling net erosion responses to enviroclimatic changes recorded upon multisecular timescales

Land use change has been recognized throughout the Earth as one of the most important factors influencing the occurrence of rainfall-driven geomorphological processes. However, relating the occurrence of historical soil erosion rates is difficult because of the lack of long-term research projects in river basins. Also, complex models are not adequate to reconstruct erosion rate changes because they require significant input data not always available on long timescales. Given the problems with assessing sediment yield using complex erosion models, the objective of this study is to explore a parsimonious scale-adapted erosion model (ADT) from the original Thornes and Douglas algorithms, which aims at reconstruction of annual net erosion (ANE) upon multisecular timescales. As a test site, the Calore River basin (3015 km² in southern Italy) provides a peculiar and unique opportunity for modelling erosion responses to climate and land cover changes, where input-data generation and interpretation results were also supported by documented hydrogeomorphological events that occurred before and after land deforestation. In this way, ANE_ADT-values were reconstructed for the period 1675–2004 by using precipitation indexes, complemented by recent instrumental records, and by using land cover statistics from documented agrarian sources. Pulses of natural sedimentation in the predeforestation period have been related to Vesuvius volcanic activity and changes in rainstorm frequency. After deforestation, the basin system became unstable with sudden fluctuations in the hydrogeomorphological regime contributing significantly to increased erosion and, in turn, sediment transport sequences via river drainage towards the Tyrrhenian coast.     

硬化地面与黄土高原水土流失

在界定硬化地面概念的基础上,进一步将硬化地面分为道路、城镇街区、农家场院三大类。并利用黄土高原400~600mm集流能力试验公式,对甘肃省陇东黄土高原沟壑区不同硬化地面的集流能力、侵蚀量进行分类实例分析研究,发现硬化地面集流能力远大于自然地面,因此城镇、道路、村庄附近的土壤侵蚀尤其严重。在黄土高原地区,不仅与之相关的沟壑的形成和发育,而且相关沟谷和河流的溯源侵蚀之力度大小也要受其影响。随着人口的增加,硬化地面面积越来越大,受其影响水土流失更加严重,这是历史时期黄土高原水土流失日益加剧的重要原因之一。今后黄土高原的水土保持工作,须将防治水土流失与解决水资源紧缺有机结合起来。其最佳解决途径,就是用硬化地面所集中的雨水,作为工农业生产和生活用水,以解决黄土高原水资源之不足。     

A 42-yr soil erosion record inferred from mineral magnetism of reservoir sediments in a small carbonate-rock catchment,Guizhou Plateau,southwest China

Shibanqiao Reservoir (25°56′56.5′′ N, 105°26′44.5′′ E and ∼1400 m a.s.l.), southwest Guizhou Plateau, SW China, was built in 1958. It lies in an area of sub-tropical monsoon humid climate in a carbonate-rock-dominated catchment of 6 km². Two sediment cores (24 and 23 cm long) were retrieved from the reservoir, and four soil profiles were sampled in the catchment. Mineral magnetism was measured on all sediment and soil samples. Soil and sediment magnetic measurements together with analyses of sediment ¹³⁷Cs activity, particle-size, TOC, and C/N revealed changes in soil erosion between 1960 and 2002. During some phases, erosion (probably as splashing and/or sheeting) was relatively low and tended to take place only in the topsoil as indicated by high ARM/SIRM of the sediments. During other phases, erosion (probably as rilling and/or initial gullying) was relatively intense and thus disturbed the deeper soils, as expressed by high IRM_−100mT/SIRM. Most of the changes in relative intensity of erosion can be ascribed to fluctuations in precipitation. Changes in land use/land cover or human activities may account, in part, for changes in soil erosion inferred for four more roughly identified periods.     

The consequences of land-cover changes on soil erosion distribution in Slovakia

Soil erosion is a complex process determined by mutual interaction of numerous factors. The aim of erosion research at regional scales is a general evaluation of the landscape susceptibility to soil erosion by water, taking into account the main factors influencing this process. One of the key factors influencing the susceptibility of a region to soil erosion is land cover. Natural as well as human-induced changes of landscape may result in both the diminishment and acceleration of soil erosion. Recent studies of land-cover changes indicate that during the last decade more than 4.11% of Slovak territory has changed. The objective of this study is to assess the influence of land-cover and crop rotation changes over the 1990–2000 period on the intensity and spatial pattern of soil erosion in Slovakia. The assessment is based on principles defined in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) modified for application at regional scale and the use of the CORINE land cover (CLC) databases for 1990 and 2000. The C factor for arable land has been refined using statistical data on the mean crop rotation and the acreage of particular agricultural crops in the districts of Slovakia. The L factor has been calculated using sample areas with parcels identified by LANDSAT TM data. The results indicate that the land-cover and crop rotation changes had a significant influence on soil erosion pattern predominately in the hilly and mountainous parts of Slovakia. The pattern of soil erosion changes exhibits high spatial variation with overall slightly decreased soil erosion risks. These changes are associated with ongoing land ownership changes, changing structure of crops, deforestation and afforestation.     

Soil erosion assessment tools from point to regional scales—the role of geomorphologists in land management research and implementation

Geomorphological research has played an important role in the development and implementation of soil erosion assessment tools. Because policy and management approaches include the use of soil erosion assessment tools, soil erosion research directly affects the public in terms of providing information on natural hazards and human impacts, and also as the basis for regulatory policy on land management. For example, soil loss calculations and geomorphological expertise are used to support soil conservation planning, both through agricultural legislation that defines maximum tolerable soil loss rates, and through federal and local legislation that requires soil erosion controls on many construction sites.To be useful for decision makers, soil erosion models must have simple data requirements, must consider spatial and temporal variability in hydrological and soil erosion processes, and must be applicable to a variety of regions with minimum calibration. The growing use of erosion models and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in local to regional scale soil and water conservation raises concerns about how models are used. This has prompted interest in methods to assess how models function at management scales and with the types of data that are commonly available to users. A case study of a GIS-based soil erosion assessment tool using the process-based Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) shows that using commonly available data rather than research grade data can have (predictably) a significant impact on model results. If model results are then used in management decisions, it is critical to assess whether the scale and direction of variation in results will affect management and policy decisions. Geomorphologists provide unique perspectives on soil erosion and can continue to affect policy through soil erosion research. This research should focus on fundamental processes, but equally important is continued development and evaluation of models that are matched to real world data availability, geomorphic settings, and information needs.     

The Response of Aboriginal Burning Practices to Population Levels and El Niño–Southern Oscillation Events during the mid- to late-Holocene: a case study from the Sydney Basin using charcoal and pollen analysis

Pollen and macroscopic charcoal have been analysed from a sedimentary sequence representing approximately 6100 years from a site within Wollemi National Park. This is located to the north-west of Sydney and forms a part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The overall aim of the work was to examine the prehistoric interrelationships between vegetation, fire and human activity. There were relatively minor changes in the vegetation over the last ～6000 years, perhaps reflecting the climate- and fire-resilient nature of the sclerophyllous vegetation found on Hawkesbury Sandstone throughout the Sydney Basin. Casuarinaceae declined in the late Holocene, a trend that has been detected in numerous palaeoecological studies throughout south-eastern Australia. This decline was unrelated to fire, which has been a persistent feature at the site over the entire analysed sequence. The fire regime at the site changed from 5.7 ka, which is interpreted as reflecting the onset of increased climatic variability associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Another dramatic change in the fire regime occurred at 3 ka, which was coeval with archaeological changes in the region. It is possible that the change in fire activity from 3 ka represented an alteration to Aboriginal management strategies associated with an increasing population and/or the increased risk of conflagrations in an ENSO-dominated climate.     

黄河中游土壤侵蚀与下游古河道三角洲演化的过程响应

根据黄土高原土壤侵蚀的周期特点，结合华北平原古河道，古三角洲的演化过程，应用泥沙输移的过程响应,分析了晚更新世以来黄河中游黄土高原土壤侵蚀与下游古河道，三角洲演化的关系，在人类历史之前，黄土高原土壤侵蚀基本上遵循自在生态环境演化规律，强裂侵蚀期发生在干冷向湿湿气候转化的过渡期，在强裂侵蚀的初期是古道形成期，强烈侵蚀期发生在干冷向温湿气候转化的过渡期，在强裂侵蚀的期是古河道形成期，强烈侵蚀的外营力迭加了人为作用，黄河下游河游泳以改道，三角洲横向扩展发生在强烈侵蚀的衰退期，人类历史时期，土壤侵蚀的外营力迭加了人为作用，破坏了地质历史时期的规律性，土壤侵蚀强度越来越强，基本上按照旱涝变化频率而演化，干冷期降雨不均匀系数增加，土训侵蚀加重，径流量较少，河床以淤积为主，是古河道形成期，正常年黄河泥少输移比接近于一，是三角洲进积期，温湿期降雨量增加，径流量加大，下游河流改道，三角洲横向发展。     

引滦工程对滦河三角洲的影响

本文根据滦河三角洲地区的野外调查及收集的大量资料，以引滦工程对滦河水文的影响为基础，全面系统地分析、论述了三角洲自然环境的变化：三角洲海岸侵蚀后退，地下水位下降，滦河口盐水入侵，土壤盐渍化，河床冲刷、拓宽，河口淤积，预测了三角洲环境演变的趋势，提出了控制三角洲变化的决策。     

乌兰布和沙漠典型植物群落土壤风蚀可蚀性研究

为探明植被恢复对乌兰布和沙漠土壤风蚀可蚀性的影响,以乌兰布和沙漠内不同沙地固 定阶段的 8 种典型植物群落及群落内表土作为研究对象,对土壤物理因子（可蚀性颗粒含量、土壤 含水量、有机质含量）、土壤结皮因子、植被因子 3 类土壤风蚀可蚀性因子指标进行监测,分析土壤 风蚀可蚀性因子在不同植物群落类型间、沙地固定阶段间的差异。结果表明：（1）在乌兰布和沙漠 典型植物群落中,沙蓬、沙生针茅、盐爪爪等草本植物群落的土壤风蚀可蚀性最强,白刺、梭梭、沙 冬青等灌木植物群落土壤风蚀可蚀性弱于草本植物群落,说明灌木林能显著降低土壤风蚀作用。 （2）随着沙地的不断固定,土壤结构不断发育,土壤可蚀性不断降低,土壤风蚀可蚀性强弱表现为 固定沙地<半固定沙地<流动沙地。（3）土壤可蚀性颗粒含量、土壤有机质含量、土壤含水量、土壤结 皮、植被因子与植被类型及沙地固定阶段具有显著相关关系。因此,在沙区生态建设工程中,为了 减少土壤风蚀量,不仅要考虑物种的选择,还要促进人工生态系统的演替和恢复,从而有效降低土 壤风蚀可蚀性。研究结果可为乌兰布和沙区植被生态系统服务功能的科学评价、防沙治沙工程的 建设与管理提供一定参考。     

地球化学示踪在现代土壤侵蚀研究中的应用

土壤侵蚀导致土地退化、农产品产量和品质下降、水环境污染等诸多问题 ,引起各方面的广泛关注 ,而且这个问题随着持续增长的人口压力和农业生产方式深刻变革的影响而日益严重。由于目前广泛使用的高差法、遥感研究法、RUSLE、野外调查法、水土流失监测点法等土壤侵蚀研究方法存在着一些不足 ,因此 ,核素地球化学示踪法、稀土元素示踪法、土壤地球化学指标法等地球化学示踪方法应运而生 ,在土壤侵蚀研究中发挥其独特作用。在比较了各种传统的土壤侵蚀研究方法的优势和不足的基础上 ,作者认为 :1 137Cs、 2 10 Pb可用于研究 30、 40年左右平均土壤侵蚀速率 ,7Be可用于示踪季节性土壤侵蚀和一次降雨事件的土粒运移 ,并说明这些核素的示踪原理和侵蚀速率的定量依据 ;2人为施放稀土元素 ( REE)示踪法适合定量一次或多次降雨事件的侵蚀速率 ,可用于土壤侵蚀理论的研究 ,尤其适合于室内模拟实验的研究 ;3土壤磁化率法和土壤理化性质指标法研究土壤侵蚀是一种处于起步阶段的侵蚀研究方法 ,适用于土壤质量退化研究 ,但要用于土壤侵蚀研究特别是侵蚀速率的定量研究还很不成熟。