Post-fire soil erosion mitigation at the scale of swales using forest logging residues at a reduced application rate

Mulching with forest residues has proved to be highly effective in reducing post-fire soil losses at the plot scale. However, its effectiveness has not been quantified at the application rates that are typically used in operational post-fire land management (2–3 Mg ha^-1 using straw), as well as at scales larger than 100 m². The present study compared post-fire erosion rates for six convergent hillslopes or swales of 500 to 800 m², three of which were left untreated while the other three were mulched immediately after the fire with shredded eucalypt bark at a rate of 2.4 Mg ha^-1. Erosion rates were monitored at irregular intervals during the first three post-fire years, whilst ground cover was assessed yearly. Selected topsoil properties (0–2 cm) such as organic matter content and aggregate stability were determined at a single occasion – two years after the wildfire, for three micro-environments separately: bare soil, and under mulch/litter and vegetation. Soil losses on the untreated swales decreased with post-fire year from 2.2 to 0.4 and 0.11 Mg ha^-1 yr^-1 (respectively for the first, second and third post-fire years), while the mulched swales produced 84%, 77% and 38% less soil losses than the untreated swales. Soil losses also depended on slope aspect, with the north-facing swales producing less erosion than the west-facing ones. This could be linked to their significant differences in bare soil, vegetation and stone cover, or a combination thereof. The type of micro-environment also played a significant role in topsoil properties (stone content, bulk density, resistance to penetration/shear stress, porosity and organic matter content). The present results add to the increasing evidence that forest residues should be duly considered for operational post-fire land management. Forest residues were highly effective in reducing erosion from swales at application rates as low as the typical 2 Mg ha^-1 of post-fire straw mulch. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) for the assessment of peat properties: a case study of the Całowanie Fen,Central Poland

Complex studies were carried out to recognize the fen structure and peat properties in the Ca?owanie Fen area, belonging to the Natura 2000 network. The studies were conducted in two study areas that differ significantly in terms of peat thickness. Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) was used to identify the properties of the peat and its substrate, such as thickness and electrical resistivity. Comparison of the field studies with the laboratory tests has shown that the ash content rises electrical resistivity in peat. In addition, the study has shown that the application of non-invasive geophysical methods in protected areas is justified. The fen, as a medium containing mostly water, was a proper test area for the ERI measurements.     

Correlation of late Holocene terrestrial and marine tephra markers, north Iceland: implications for reservoir age changes

The tephrochronology of the last 3000 years has been investigated in soil sections in north Iceland and in a marine sediment core from the north Icelandic shelf, 50 km offshore. Tephra markers, identified with major element geochemical analysis of volcanic glass shards, serve to correlate the marine and terrestrial records. Hekla 3, the largest Holocene tephra marker from the volcano Hekla, in south Iceland, dated to 2980 years BP, is used as the basal unit in the tephra stratigraphy. AMS ¹⁴C dating of molluscs in the sediment core shows variable deviation from the tephrochronological age model, indicating that the reservoir age of the seawater mass at the coring site has varied with time. A standard marine reservoir correction of 400 ¹⁴C years appears to be reasonable at the present day in the coastal and shelf waters around Iceland, which are dominated by the Irminger Current. However, values over 500 years are observed during the last 3000 years. We suggest that the intervals with increased and variable marine reservoir correction reflect incursions of Arctic water masses derived from the East Greenland Current to the area north of Iceland.     

Comparing the activity of aluminum in two B horizons developed from volcanic ash deposits in Japan, dominated by short-range ordered aluminosilicates and crystalline clay minerals, respectively

Mechanisms controlling the activity of free aluminum (Al) in Bw1 horizons of soils developed from volcanic ash deposits in Japan were investigated by means of acid-base titrations and kinetic studies. In a Bw1 horizon, with a high content of acid-oxalate extractable Al, soil solution reached equilibrium with short-range ordered aluminosilicates in the order of days. Relatively fast kinetics of the release and precipitation of Al and Si indicate a high reactivity of short-range ordered aluminosilicates in the soil. In the Bw1 horizon of an adjacent soil, with a high content of crystalline clay minerals like halloysite and interlayered vermiculite, solution remained well undersaturated with respect to short-range ordered aluminosilicates and aluminum hydroxide. Apparent equilibrium with respect to halloysite occurred after more than 30 days. This halloysite ( (25 °C)) has a solubility that is less than that reported in the literature ( (25°C)). Our findings suggest that different reactive aluminosilicates may control the activity of free Al in sub-surface horizons of volcanic ash soils with different mineralogy.     

Probabilistic analysis of landslide potential of an inclined uniform soil layer of infinite length: theorem

A critical relation for mobilization (failure) of an inclined, uniform soil layer is developed, based on the requirement for balancing the driving stress and the resistance stress acting on the soil layer. Taking into consideration of the uncertainties of parameters of the considered soil layer, the equation of the failure probability (Eq. 18) and the equation of the critical slope at various probabilities of failure (Eq. 22) for the soil layer by applying the first-order second-moment method (FOSM) were developed. The failure probabilities at various mean relative water depths subject to the upper and lower values of the coefficients of variations of parameters and two inclined angles of the soil layers are also estimated by using the Monte Carlo simulation method (MCSM) as well as by using FOSM for comparisons. The results obtained by FOSM are in good agreement with that obtained by MCSM, but the former is more efficient. Given the mean values and the coefficients of variation of related parameters of the soil layer, one can easily estimate the failure probability and the critical failure slope of the soil layer by applying the equations or graphs developed in the present study.     

Transmitted waves in the vicinity of the interface beyond the critical point

Summary The space (time) delay of transmitted waves in the vicinity of the interface beyond the critical point is investigated on two-dimensional seismic models of a low velocity channel; results of laboratory experiments are compared with the conclusions of the theory. The effect of the time delay in field measurements is demonstrated by means of two typical geological formations.     

Warmer early instrumental measurements versus colder reconstructed temperatures: shooting at a moving target

Comparison of tree-ring-based warm-season temperature reconstructions and their instrumental target data reveals substantial divergence between (warmer) early instrumental measurements and (colder) proxy estimates. Here we detail this systematic misfit for the Northern Hemisphere before 1900 and the European Alps before 1850. Five hypotheses related to both proxy and target uncertainties are presented towards explaining this phenomenon. These include: (1) tree-ring detrending methods, (2) biological persistence in the proxy time-series, (3) uncertainties and instabilities in the growth response to given climatic parameters, (4) reduced instrumental station availability back in time, and (5) instrumental data homogeneity. We suggest that uncertainties in the choice of instrumental targets at the hemispheric scale, and instrumental data inhomogeneities at the Alpine and possibly also the hemispheric-scale are the most important factors in explaining this offset. Assessment of homogeneity at larger scales remains challenging. Attention is drawn to possible warm biases in early thermometer shelters and the relevance of proxy/target discrepancies for understanding and quantifying the amplitude of both recent anthropogenic and past natural forced climate fluctuations.