Fire-Induced Soil Hydrophobicity Effects on Infiltration and Runoff

Introduction: Hydrophobicity of soil means that soil does not wet or penetrate dry soil (Fig. 1, Doerr et al., 2010). Understanding the hydrophobicity of the soil is very important for soil scientists and land managers because it directly affects runoff and erosion. The main cause of soil hydrophobicity is burning. The hydrophobicity of the soil after the fire reduces the permeability and increases the outflow and erosion after the fire (Doerr et al., 2010). This study focuses on the effect of fire induced hydrophobicity on invasion and spillage.

When the exposed soil surface is exposed to rain, soil erosion occurs in the water, rainfall intensity exceeds the soil ingestion rate or permeability, resulting in surface runoff. Soil erosion can occur in two stages: 1) separation of raindrop impacts, splash or soil particle flow; 2) transport of separated particles by splashing or running water. Therefore, soil erosion is a physical process that requires energy, and its control requires certain measures to consume this energy.

Introduction: Hydrophobicity of soil means that soil does not wet or penetrate dry soil (Fig. 1, Doerr et al., 2010). Understanding the hydrophobicity of the soil is very important for soil scientists and land managers because it directly affects runoff and erosion. The main cause of soil hydrophobicity is burning. The hydrophobicity of the soil after the fire reduces the permeability and increases the outflow and erosion after the fire (Doerr et al., 2010). This study focuses on the effect of fire induced hydrophobicity on invasion and spillage.

Surface water spill occurs as long as there is excess water on the slope that is not absorbed by the soil or trapped in the surface of the water. Decrease in penetration due to crust formation and freezing increases the amount of outflow due to soil compression. In the spring, the soil normally becomes saturated, the snow melts, the vegetation covering becomes very small, and the spill of the farmland is maximized. According to the physical properties of each soil, soil erosion is an estimate of the ability of the soil to resist erosion. Texture is the main feature that affects erosion, structure, organic matter, transparency also affect. Generally, the penetration rate is faster, the organic content is higher, and soils with improved soil structure are more resistant to erosion. Sand, sandy loam and loam are often more difficult to erode than silt, very fine sand and certain clayy soils.