Changes in post world war ii distribution and status of monsoon rainforests in the Darwin area

Monsoon rainforests in the Darwin area occur as isolated patches ranging in size from 2 to 112 ha. Aerial photographic records over a 45 year period indicate a 60 per cent reduction in the cover of pre‐1945 rainforest. Urban development, cyclone damage, weed invasion and wildfire were identified as the major causes of this contraction. Urban development contributed 40 per cent of the total rainforest loss during this period. Rainforests occurring on dry substrates have been most affected by urban development. Cyclonic storm damage and indirect human affects such as weed invasion and anthropogenic fires continue to disturb the remaining rainforest patches. Although the largest expanses of rainforest presently occur within parks and reserves, providing adequate protection from further urban encroachment, smaller remnants occurring on vacant crown land are vulnerable to changes in land use. As well as the introduction of appropriate legislation, the control of fire and weeds should be given the highest priority by land managers to ensure the stability and long‐term maintenance of this remnant vegetation.     

Fire severity and surface rock fragments cause patchy distribution of soil water repellency and infiltration rates after burning

Although fire‐induced soil water repellency (SWR) and its effects on soil hydrology and geomorphology have been studied in detail, very few studies have considered the effect of rock fragments resting on the soil surface or partly embedded in soil. In this research, we have studied the effect of rock fragments on the strength and spatial distribution of fire‐induced SWR at different fire severities. A fire‐affected area was selected for this experiment and classified into different zones according to fire severity (unburned, low, moderate and high) and rock fragment cover (low, <20% and high, >60%). During 7 days after fire, SWR and infiltration rates were assessed in the soil surface covered by individual rock fragments and in the midpoint between two adjacent rock fragments (with maximum spacing of 20 cm). SWR increased with fire severity. Rock fragments resting on the soil surface increased the heterogeneity of the spatial distribution of fire‐induced SWR. SWR increased significantly with rock fragment cover in bare areas under moderate and high fire severity, but quantitatively important changes were only observed under high fire severity. In areas with a low rock fragment cover, water repellency from soil surfaces covered by rock fragments increased relative to bare soil surfaces, with increasing SWR. In areas with a high rock fragment cover, SWR increased significantly from non‐covered to covered soil surfaces only after low‐severity burning. Rock fragment cover did not affect infiltration rates, although it decreased significantly in soil surfaces after high‐severity burning in areas under low and high rock fragment cover. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological regimes in a tropical valley of New Caledonia (SW Pacific): Impacts of wildfires and invasive fauna

In New Caledonia wildfires and invasive mammals (deer and wild pigs) constitute the major agents of land surface degradation. Our study reveals the linkage between land cover and water balance on the northeast coast of New Caledonia (2400 mm annual rainfall) located on a micaschist basement. The hydrological regime of characteristic and representative land surfaces is assessed using a 1-year record from three 100 m² plots each, located in a forest area degraded by an invasive fauna, in a woody savannah which is regularly burned, and in a healthy forest area. The three plots present highly contrasting hydrological regimes, with annual and maximum runoff/rain ratios during a rain event of, respectively, 0.82, 0.16, 0.03, and 2.7, 0.7, 0.2, for the degraded forest, the savannah and the healthy forest. Such results suggest that subsurface flow originating from the contributing area above the degraded forest plot should exfiltrate inside the plot. A conceptual model for the degraded forest plot shows that water exfiltrating inside the plot represents 61% of the observed runoff. In savannahs, water should mainly be transferred downstream by subsurface flow within a thick organic soil layer limited by an impervious clay layer at a 20–30 cm depth. Savannahs are generally located above forests and generate the transfer of rainwater to downslope forests. Exfiltration into the forests can be the result of this transfer and depends on the thickness and permeability of the forest topsoils and on topographic gradients. Water exfiltration in forest areas highly degraded by pigs and deer enhances erosion and increases further degradation. It probably also limits percolation in the areas located downstream by increasing the amount of superficial runoff concentrated in gullies.     

Carbonate tufas as archives of climate and sedimentary dynamic in volcanic settings,examples from Gran Canaria (Spain)

Three Holocene tufas from Gran Canaria volcanic island were studied with the aim of deciphering their sedimentary evolution through space and time. Las Temisas tufa (south-eastern arid part of the island) is dominantly composed of oncoids, intraclasts, phytoclasts, coated stems, minor thin stromatolites, and a high amount of siliciclastics. It was deposited in a fluvial system with variable flow velocities and palustrine conditions areas, which alternated with high energy events. Azuaje tufa (northern humid part of the island) is composed of coated stems, stromatolites, oncoids and phytoclasts, with relatively low amounts of siliciclastics, suggesting slow-flowing and palustrine conditions and a relatively low incidence of (high energy) floodings. Los Berrazales tufa (north-west of Gran Ganaria, the most humid one), is mainly composed of coated stems and crystalline crusts, formed in a laminar flow regime. Dominant clastic sedimentation in Las Temisas and high calcite growth rates in Los Berrazales led to a poor development of stromatolites in comparison with Azuaje. Las Temisas and Azuaje deposits have similar upward evolution with decreasing trend in siliciclastics and increasing trend in carbonates. However, Las Temisas has higher siliciclastic and lower phytoclastic contents suggesting a less vegetated area and more arid climate than in the other deposits. Additionally, tufas record local events common in volcanic terrains. Azuaje presents three units bounded by erosive discontinuities, which reveal significant erosion by enhanced runoff that could be caused by loss of vegetation due to wildfires related to volcanic eruptions at headwaters. Las Temisas record a possible interruption in sedimentation represented by aligned boulders due to rockfalls from the hillsides. These deposits formed from waters with similar chemistry providing to the carbonates their similar signals in δ¹³C–δ¹⁸O stable isotopes and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios like that of the volcanic rocks. This work shows how, in volcanic areas, tufas are unique archives of the climate, vegetation and volcanic-related processes, because all imprint the sedimentary regime of tufa deposition.     

An Assessment of Surface and Atmospheric Conditions Associated with the Extreme 2014 Wildfire Season in Canada’s Northwest Territories

Weather and climate are major factors influencing worldwide wildfire activity. This study assesses surface and atmospheric conditions associated with the 2014 extreme wildfires in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada. Hot and dry conditions led to the NWT experiencing the most severe wildfire season in its recorded history. The season included a record number of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes and set a record for area burned. Lightning was the dominant ignition source and accounted for about 95% of the wildfires. Prolonged periods of smoke led to dramatic reductions in visibility, frequent road closures, and reduced air quality resulting in numerous health alerts. Temporal and spatial patterns of lightning characteristics in 2014, derived from Canadian Lightning Detection Network data, were different from those in other years with, for example, far more positive flashes from 0600 to 1200?utc (midnight to 6:00 am local time). The highest fraction of positive cloud-to-ground flashes (43.1%) occurred in the smoke-dominated North Slave region, which was more than in the Dehcho, South Slave, or Sahtu regions. Mid-tropospheric atmospheric circulation over a large region that included the NWT was classified into the six most common summer patterns. Results showed that ridging and ridge displacements occurred more frequently during 2014 although lightning was associated with all circulation patterns. This study has advanced the understanding of the roles of weather, lightning, and mid-tropospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme wildfires in northwestern Canada.     

Wildfires and seasonal aridity recorded in Late Cretaceous strata from south-eastern Arizona, USA

Lithostratigraphic and organic chemostratigraphic studies of fluvial/lacustrine sediments in the Late Cretaceous Fort Crittenden Formation in south-eastern Arizona USA, reveal changes in palaeoclimate and tectonics as well as associated fluctuations in lake level. The lower Fort Crittenden is dominated by marginal wetland to deep-water lake deposits, whereas the upper Fort Crittenden is characterized by wetland to deltaic deposits. Abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and reflectance of fusinite substantiate the impact of wildfires within the watershed. Organic geochemical evidence of wildfires is linked with sedimentological indicators of seasonal aridity suggesting that wildfires were common occurrences. Sedimentological evidence for seasonal aridity includes mottles and pseudoslickensides on ped structures within wetland mudstones. Distinct variations in PAH assemblages, characterized by the number of aromatic rings, indicate that there were variations in the intensities of wildfires, assuming no variations in the types of fuel. Fusinite reflectance values are consistent with combustion temperatures from 470 to 550 °C observed in modern wildfires.     

Post‐fire hydrological response and suspended sediment transport of a terraced Mediterranean catchment

In July 2013, a wildfire severely affected the western part of the island of Mallorca (Spain). During the first three post‐fire hydrological years, when the window of disturbance tends to be more open, the hydrological and sediment delivery processes and dynamics were assessed in a representative catchment intensively shaped by terracing that covered 37% of its surface area. A nested approach was applied with two gauging stations (covering 1.2 km² and 4.8 km²) built in September 2013 that took continuous measurements of rainfall, water and sediment yield. Average suspended sediment concentration (1503 mg L^?1) and the maximum peak (33 618 mg L^?1) were two orders of magnitude higher than those obtained in non‐burned terraced catchments of Mallorca. This factor may be related to changes in soils and the massive incorporation of ash into the suspended sediment flux during the most extreme post‐fire event; 50 mm of rainfall in 15 min, reaching an erosivity of 2886 MJ mm ha^?1 h^?1. Moreover, hysteretic counter‐clockwise loops were predominant (60%), probably related to the increased sensitivity of the landscape after wildfire perturbation. Though the study period was average in terms of total annual precipitation (even higher in intensities), minimal runoff (2%) and low sediment yield (6.3 t km^?2 y^?1) illustrated how the intrinsic characteristics of the catchment, i.e. calcareous soils, terraces and the application of post‐fire measures, limited the hydrosedimentary response despite the wildfire impact. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Community Economic Impacts of Large Wildfires: A Case Study from Trinity County,California

Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency in the American West, but there is limited understanding of their economic effects at the community level. We conducted a case study of the impacts of large wildfires in 2008 in Trinity County, California, by examining labor market, suppression spending, and qualitative interview data. We found that the 2008 fires had interrelated effects on several economic sectors in the county. Labor market data indicated a decrease in total private-sector employment and wages and an increase in public-sector employment and wages during the summer of 2008 compared to the previous year, while interviews captured more nuanced impacts for individual businesses.     

Freeze–thaw processes degrade post-fire water repellency in wet soils

Wildfires are a cause of soil water repellency (hydrophobicity), which reduces infiltration whilst increasing erosion and flooding from post-fire rainfall. Post-fire soil water repellency degrades over time, often in response to repeated wetting and drying of the soil. However, in mountainous fire-prone forests such as those in the Western USA, the fire season often terminates in a cold and wet winter, during which soils not only wet and dry, but also freeze and thaw. Little is known about the effect of repeated freezing and thawing of soil on the breakdown of post-fire hydrophobicity. This study characterized the changes in hydrophobicity of Sierra Nevada mountain soils exposed to different combinations of wet–dry and freeze–thaw cycling. Following each cycle, hydrophobicity was measured using the Molarity of Ethanol test. Hydrophobicity declined similarly across all experiments that included a wetting cycle. Repeated freezing and thawing of dry soil did not degrade soil water repellency, but freeze–thaw cycles decreased hydrophobicity in wet soils. Total soil organic matter content was not different between soils of contrasting hydrophobicity. Macroscopic changes such as fissures and cracks were observed to form as soil hydrophobicity decayed. Microscopic changes revealed by scanning electron microscope imagery suggest different levels of soil aggregation occurred in samples with distinct hydrophobicities, although the size of aggregates was not clearly correlated to the change in water repellency due to wet–dry and freeze–thaw cycling. A 9-year climate and soil moisture record from Providence Critical Zone Observatory was combined with the laboratory results to estimate that hydrophobicity would persist an average of 144 days post-fire at this well-characterized, typical mid-elevation Sierra Nevada site. Most of the breakdown in soil water repellency (79%) under these climate conditions would be attributable to freeze–thaw cycling, underscoring the importance of this process in soil recovery from fire in the Sierra Nevada.