| Institution: | 1. College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments Program, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, Idaho, USA;2. Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments Program, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, Idaho, USA;3. Conservation and Biodiversity Program, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Davis, California, USA |
| Abstract: | Post-fire catchment and water utility managers throughout the world use predictive models to estimate potential erosion risks to aid in evaluating downstream impacts of increased runoff and erosion, and to target critical areas within a fire for applying mitigation practices. Erosion prediction can be complicated by forest road networks. Using novel GIS technology and soil erosion modelling, this study evaluated the effect of roads on surface runoff, erosion and sediment yields following a wildfire and determined that the predictive models were providing reasonable results. The GeoWEPP model was used to simulate onsite erosion and offsite sediment delivery before and after fire disturbance using a 2-m resolution DEM as the terrain layer. Erosion rates in excess of 4 Mg ha−1 year−1 were predicted mainly from steep moderate and high severity burn areas. Roads influenced surface runoff flow path distributions and sub-catchment delineations, affecting the spatial distribution of sediment detachment and transport. Roads tended to reduce estimated erosion on slopes below the roads but increases in erosion rates were estimated for road fillslopes. Estimated deposition amounts on roads and in sediment basins were similar to measured amounts. The results confirm that road prisms, culverts and road ditches influence sedimentation processes after wildfire, and they present opportunities to detain eroded sediments. |
