Spending on postfire emergency watershed rehabilitation has increased during the past decade. A west-wide evaluation of USDA Forest Service burned area emergency rehabilitation (BAER) treatment effectiveness was undertaken as a joint project by USDA Forest Service Research and National Forest System staffs. This evaluation covers 470 fires and 321 BAER projects, from 1973 through 1998 in USDA Forest Service Regions 1 through 6. A literature review, interviews with key Regional and Forest BAER specialists, analysis of burned area reports, and review of Forest and District monitoring reports were used in the evaluation. The study found that spending on rehabilitation has increased to over $48 million during the past decade because the perceived threat of debris flows and floods has increased where fires are closer to the wildland-urban interface. Existing literature on treatment effectiveness is limited, thus making treatment comparisons difficult. The amount of protection provided by any treatment is small. Of the available treatments, contour-felled logs show promise as an effective hillslope treatment because they provide some immediate watershed protection, especially during the first postfire year. Seeding has a low probability of reducing the first season erosion because most of the benefits of the seeded grass occurs after the initial damaging runoff events. To reduce road failures, treatments such as properly spaced rolling dips, water bars, and culvert reliefs can move water past the road prism. Channel treatments such as straw bale check dams should be used sparingly because onsite erosion control is more effective than offsite sediment storage in channels in reducing sedimentation from burned watersheds. From this review, we recommend increased treatment effectiveness monitoring at the hillslope and sub-catchment scale, streamlined postfire data collection needs, increased training on evaluation postfire watershed conditions, and development of an easily accessible knowledge base of BAER techniques.

/pdf/evaluating-the-effectiveness-of-postfire-rehabilitation-3gmvyqchas.pdf

Evaluating the Effectiveness Of Postfire Rehabilitation Treatments

Large, high-severity wildfires remove vegetation cover and expose mineral soil, ofen causing ero- sion and runoff during postfire rain events to increase dramatically. Land-management agencies in the United States are required to assess site conditions after wildfire and, where necessary, implement emergency water- shed rehabilitation measures to help stabilize soil; control movement of water, sediment, and debris; prevent permanent impairment of ecosystem structure and function; and mitigate significant threats to human health, safety, life, property, or downstream values. One of the most common postfire treatments is broadcast seeding of grasses, usually from aircraft. Non-native annual or perennial grasses typically are used to provide quick, temporary ground cover to hold soil in place until native plants are reestablished. Critics argue that seeded grasses compete with native vegetation and do not effectively reduce erosion. Few data exist on the effectiveness of erosion control; less than half of the studies I reviewed showed reduced sediment movement with seeding. In all vegetation types, successful growth of seeded grasses—enough to affect erosion—appears to displace native or naturalized species, including shrub and tree seedlings. Due to the competitiveness of seeded grasses, they are used to attempt suppression of noxious weeds in some postfire seeding operations. In burned sagebrush range, postfire seeding is frequently used to replace non-native cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum) with native or introduced bunchgrasses, with at least short-term success. In recent years, native species and sterile cereal grains have increasingly been used for seeding. Use of aerially applied straw mulch has increased as well, with the risk of weed introduction from contaminated bales. More research on the effectiveness and ecosystem impacts of these alternatives is needed.

https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/beyers/psw_2004_beyers001.pdf

Postfire Seeding for Erosion Control: Effectiveness and Impacts on Native Plant Communities

Forest fires can greatly increase runoff and surface erosion rates. Post-fire soil erosion control measures are intended to minimize this response and facilitate ecosystem recovery. In a few recent cases, hydromulch has been applied, and this consists of a mixture of organic fibers, water and seeds. The objectives of this research were to (i) analyze the effectiveness of hydromulch in reducing post-fire runoff and sediment production and (ii) determine the underlying processes and mechanisms that control post-fire runoff and erosion. After a wildfire occurred in August 2008, 14 plots ranging in size from 0·25 to 10 m2 were installed on a 25 degree slope in a burnt pine plantation that had also been subjected to salvage logging. Half of the plots were randomly selected and treated with hydromulch. One of two slope strips adjacent to the plots was also hydromulched and used for monitoring some soil properties. Measurements made in each of the first 3 years following the wildfire included (i) the plot-scale runoff volumes and sediment yields; (ii) soil shear strength, soil moisture, and soil water repellency; and (iii) surface cover. The hydromulch reduced overland flow volume by 70% and soil erosion by 83%. The decrease in runoff was attributed to the increase in soil water retention capacity and the decrease in soil water repellency, whereas the reduction in soil erosion was initially attributed to the protective cover provided by the hydromulch and lately to an enhanced vegetative regrowth in the third year after burning. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effectiveness of Hydromulching to Reduce Runoff and Erosion in a Recently Burnt Pine Plantation in Central Portugal

Forest Fire in the Fossil Record SECTION I: FIRE EFFECTS ON SOIL: Forest Fire Effects on Geomorphic Processes Fire Effects on Soil Infiltration Physical and Chemical Effects of Fire on Soil Forest Fire Effects on Soil Microbiology Soil Erosion after Forest Fire Soil Water Repellency: A Key Factor in Post-fire Erosion Effects of Fire on Forest Nutrient Cycles The Effect of Forest Fire on Vegetation SECTION II: REHABILITATION AND RESTORATION STRATEGIES: Post-fire Stabilization and Rehabilitation Non-native and Native Seeding Using Erosion Barriers for Post-fire Stabilization Post-fire Mulching Long-term Restoration Strategies and Techniques SECTION III: REGIONAL STRATEGIES: The Portuguese Experience in Managing Fire Effects Effects of Forest Fires and Post-fire Rehabilitation: A Colorado Case Study Fire Landscape in Canada: How to Restore or Prevent Them Fire, Catchment Runoff and Erosion Processes, and Post-fire Rehabilitation Programs: Recent Australian Experience Rehabilitation Strategies after Fire: The California Experience Fire Disturbance Regimes, Ecosystem Recovery and Restoration Strategies in Mediterranean and Temperate Regions of Chile Summary and Remarks

Fire Effects on Soils and Restoration Strategies

Native plant regeneration and introduction of non-natives following post-fire rehabilitation with straw mulch and barley seeding.

Aerial seeding of Italian annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is a common, but controversial, emergency rehabilitation practice following wildfire in California. Replicated study plots, with and without ryegrass, established after a summertime chaparral wildfire on California's central coast revealed the following: 1. Ryegrass-seeded plots developed significantly greater total plant cover than unseeded plots in the first year. 2. Regeneration and growth of native species were significantly depressed in the presence of ryegrass. 3. Soil erosion was significantly greater on ryegrass-seeded plots than on unseeded plots. 4. Pocket gopher activity was greater on ryegrass-seeded plots than on unseeded plots. These results suggest that ryegrass seeding for emergency rehabilitation of burned areas can be ineffective, and even counterproductive, in certain cases.

https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr109/psw_gtr109_115.pdf

Wildfire, ryegrass seeding, and watershed rehabilitation

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Wildfire, ryegrass seeding, and watershed rehabilitation