Present Effects of Past Wildfires on Leaf Litter Breakdown in Stream Ecosystems

We investigated the present effects from a 10-year-old wildfire on leaf litter breakdown rates in 3 headwater streams in central Idaho. These systems experienced a massive debris flow one year after the fire. Based on soil instability and burn patterns, we identified 3 stream conditions: unburned, burned only, and burned/scoured. We placed leaf bags containing willow leaves (Salix sp.) in each stream type and removed bags at various time intervals until all bags were collected 100 days after their introduction. Leaf material was dried and weighed, and decay rate coefficients were calculated. Macroinvertebrates colonizing the bags were enumerated and identified, and selected taxa were placed into trophic groups. We found that the unburned stream had the fastest leaf litter breakdown rate, the lowest level of incident light reaching the stream, and the largest amount of benthic organic matter. The burned/scoured stream was nearly opposite in all respects. Numbers of 2 detritivore invertebrate taxa, Serratella tibialis and Zapada oregonensis, were highest in the unburned stream but lowest in the burned/scoured stream. A third taxon, Baetis sp., showed the opposite relationship. Presence of predatory invertebrates did not affect detritivore abundance or leaf decay rate in the bags. Our research suggests that recovery response variables of some stream systems may not have returned to prefire levels even a decade after the initial wildfire. In this study, the recovery of our streams appears to be connected to the return of the riparian zone, though fire-induced debris flows may slow or alter final recovery of the stream system

Linkage of sediment supply and transport processes in Miyagawa Dam catchment, Japan

Linkages between sediment supply by episodic geomorphic processes, obtained from aerial photographs and field surveys, and sediment transport, estimated from changes in sediment deposition behind a large dam, were investigated in the Miyagawa Dam catchment, central Japan. A total of 6667 landslides were confirmed in the period from 1965 to 2000 based on seven temporal pairs of aerial photographs. Both the occurrenceof landslides and discharge into the dam lake affect sediment yield, indicating thatfluvial systems in Miyagawa Dam catchment are supply-limited with respect tosediment. Sediment yields are not only affected by the initial failed volume oflandslides but also the mobility of landslides and debris flows. In Miyagawa Damcatchment, percentages of landslides reaching channels varied from 56% in 1997–2000to 75% in 1976-1981, and were correlated with maximum hourly rainfall. In addition,the mobility of debris flows was higher during periods with high maximuminstantaneous discharge compared to lower discharge, suggesting that the water contentboth in initially failed materials and transported sediment controlled their mobility.Topography also affected the mobility of landslides/debris flows. For catchments >0.1km2, the percentage of channel network length impacted by debris flows decreased withincreasing catchment area due to reduced channel gradient. Thus, both the magnitude ofrainfall-runoff events and catchment topography affect how landslide sediment contributes to sediment yield at the large catchment scale.Index terms: Hydrology (1800), Catchment (1804), Debris flow and landslides (1810), Hillslope geomorphology (1826); and Sediment transport (1862).Key words: landslide, debris flow, sediment budget, dam deposits, forest roads, andhillslope-channel linkage

Runoff volume and soil loss from forest roads under normal rainfall conditions

Foram determinados o volume total de água escoada e a perda de solo através da produção de sedimentos provenientes de segmentos de estradas florestais em condições de chuva natural, com diferentes valores de precipitações. As inclinações dos segmentos de 1 e 7% foram analisadas, enquanto os comprimentos variaram de 20 e 40 m, com 4 m de largura. Os segmentos de estrada foram delimitados com tábuas de 0,30 m de largura, envolvidas em lona plástica, para sua impermeabilização. Os dados de volume e intensidade de precipitação diária foram obtidos com a instalação de pluviômetro e pluviógrafo no local. O período de coleta de dados foi de um ano, concentrando-se na época das chuvas. O volume de enxurrada foi mais afetado pelo comprimento do segmento, ao passo que a massa de solo sofreu maior influência da declividade. A massa de solo erosinado cresceu exponencialmente em função do incremento do volume de enxurrada. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: The total runoff volume and soil loss caused by the production of sediments derived from forest road segments under normal rainfall conditions were determined. Segment slopes from 1 and 7% were analyzed, with segment lengths ranging from 20 and 40 m and width of 4 m. The road segments were marked with 0.30 m wide boards, protected with a plastic, waterproof film. Rainfall volume and intensity data were daily obtained by means of pluviometers and pluviographs. Data collection period was one year, concentrated in the rainy season. Runoff volume was most affected by segment length while soil loss was most affected by steepness. Soil sediment mass increased exponentially in function of the increased runoff volume

Assessment of Soil Protection to Support Forest Planning: an Experience in Southern Italy

Aim of study: to support landscape planning when soil-erosion control and water cycle regulation represent relevant issues for forest management. A methodological approach - based on simplified index – is proposed in order to assess the protective efficacy of forests on soils (indirect protection). This method is aimed at supporting technicians who are requested to define the most suitable management guidelines and silvicultural treatments.Area of study: Southern Apennines (Alto Agri district – Basilicata Region - Italy), where a landscape planning experimentation was implemented. Material and Methods: The data to estimate the parameters used for the simplified index calculation are retrieved from a non aligned systematic forest inventory. The method considers: 1) the tendency towards instability, 2) the protective action of forest cover and 3) different silvicultural options.Main results: For the analysed forest categories, the results indicate the situations in which hydrogeological hazard is high. The cross-reading of these data with the values based on years of partial and total uncovering of the ground according to different silvicultural options (for each forest category in the reference period of 100 years) has supported the definition of silviculture treatments and management options suitable for the considered forest formations.Research highlights: The proposed method can effectively support technicians in the field by highlighting situations of major hazard risk. Thanks to the joined assessment of different silvicultural options for each forest category, a series of silvicultural treatments, capable of better protecting the soil, can be already defined in the field survey phase.Key words: Alto Agri district (Italy); Forest Landscape Management Planning (FLMP); management; silvicultural treatment; protective function and soil erosion.</p

The distributional ecology of Hemileucon hinumensis and its relationship with soft sediment tube building species in Coos Bay, Oregon

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46)

Effects of hydrophobicity on splash erosion of model soil particles by a single water drop impact

Raindrop impact can be a major contributor to particle mobilization for soils and other granular materials. In previous work, water repellent soils, comprised of hydrophobic particles, have been shown to exhibit greater splash erosion losses under multiple drop impact. However, the underlying principle differences in splash behavior between hydrophobic and hydrophilic granular surfaces have not been studied to date. In this study the effects of particle hydrophobicity on splash behaviour by a single water drop impact were examined using high-speed videography. Water drops (4 mm in diameter) were dropped on beds of hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass beads (sieved range: 350–400 µm), serving as model soil particles. The drop velocity on impact was 2.67 m s-1, which corresponds to ~30% of the terminal velocity of a raindrop of similar size. The resulting impact behaviour was measured in terms of the trajectories of particles ejected from the beds and their final resting positions. The response to the impacting water drop was significantly different between hydrophilic and hydrophobic particles in terms of the distance distribution, the median distance travelled by the particles and number of ejected particles. The greater ejection distances of hydrophobic particles were mainly the result of the higher initial velocities rather than differences in ejecting angles. The higher and longer ejection trajectories for hydrophobic particles, compared with hydrophilic particles, indicate that particle hydrophobicity affects splash erosion from the initial stage of rainfall erosion before a water layer may be formed by accumulating drops. The ~10% increase in average splash distance for hydrophobic particles compared with hydrophilic particles suggests that particle hydrophobicity can result in greater net erosion rate, which would be amplified on sloping surfaces, for example, by ridges in ploughed agricultural soils or hillslopes following vegetation loss by clearing or wildfire