Honors College Thesis
 

Effects of wildfire on soil hydraulic properties on hillslopes in southwestern Oregon

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/z603r032v

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  • The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wildfire on soil hydraulic properties of forested hillslopes. The study site was located within the Stouts Creek wildfire, which burned approximately 10,705 ha of forest in southwestern Oregon in summer 2015. Three soil hydraulic properties (soil moisture, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, and sorptivity) were measured along hillslope transects at 1 m, 5 m, and 10 m from the stream in burned and unburned catchments. Mean soil moisture in the burned hillslope was 1.2 – 1.5 times higher in the reference compared to the burned hillslope. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was approximately the same at the soil surface in the unburned and burned catchments, but conductivity at 10 cm depth in the soil was lower along the burned hillslope compared to the unburned hillslope. Sorptivity was lower at the soil surface, but unchanged at depth in the burned hillslope. A dye tracer experiment, to visually analyze subsurface flow in soil, was also conducted on burned and unburned hillslopes with highly variable results. Overall, results suggest the wildfire impacted soil structure at the surface, with likely impacts on surface runoff and subsurface flow. Key Words: infiltration, hydrology, subsurface flow, soil moisture, hydraulic conductivity, water repellence, fire
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