The Warrumbungle Post-Fire Recovery Project—raising the profile of soils

Tulau, MJ; McInnes-Clarke, SK; Yang, X; McAlpine, RA; Karunaratne, SB; Zhu, Q; Morand, DT

The Warrumbungle Post-Fire Recovery Project—raising the profile of soils

Tulau, MJ McInnes-Clarke, SK Yang, X McAlpine, RA Karunaratne, SB Zhu, Q

Morand, DT

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Publisher:: Wiley
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Soil Use and Management, 2019, 35, (1), pp. 63-74
Issue Date:: 2019-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Tulau, MJ
dc.contributor.author	McInnes-Clarke, SK
dc.contributor.author	Yang, X
dc.contributor.author	McAlpine, RA
dc.contributor.author	Karunaratne, SB
dc.contributor.author	Zhu, Q https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2371-4626
dc.contributor.author	Morand, DT
dc.date.accessioned	2020-05-18T23:09:27Z
dc.date.available	2020-05-18T23:09:27Z
dc.date.issued	2019-03-01
dc.identifier.citation	Soil Use and Management, 2019, 35, (1), pp. 63-74
dc.identifier.issn	0266-0032
dc.identifier.issn	1475-2743
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/140796
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 British Society of Soil Science The impacts of a wildfire and subsequent rainfall event in 2013 in the Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales, Australia were examined in a project designed to provide information on post-fire recovery expectations and options to land managers. A coherent suite of sub-projects was implemented, including soil mapping, and studies on soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N), erosion rates, groundcover recovery and stream responses. It was found that the loss of SOC and N increased with fire severity, with the greatest losses from severely burnt sandstone ridges. Approximately 2.4 million t of SOC and ~74,000 t of N were lost from soil to a depth of 10 cm across the 56,290 ha affected. Soil loss from slopes during the subsequent rainfall event was modelled up to 25 t ha−1, compared to a long-term mean annual soil loss of 1.06 t ha−1 year−1. Groundcover averages generally increased after the fire until spring 2015, by which time rates of soil loss returned to near pre-fire levels. Streams were filled with sand to bank full levels after the fire and rainfall. Rainfall events in 2015–2016 shifted creek systems into a major erosive phase, with incision through the post-fire sandy bedload deposits, an erosive phase likely related to loss of topsoils over much of the catchment. The effectiveness of the research was secured by a close engagement with park managers in issue identification and a communications programme. Management outcomes flowing from the research included installation of erosion control works, redesign of access and monitoring of key mass movement hazard areas.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Wiley
dc.relation.ispartof	Soil Use and Management
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/sum.12467
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	0503 Soil Sciences, 0703 Crop and Pasture Production
dc.subject.classification	Agronomy & Agriculture
dc.title	The Warrumbungle Post-Fire Recovery Project—raising the profile of soils
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	35
utslib.for	0503 Soil Sciences
utslib.for	0703 Crop and Pasture Production
utslib.for	0503 Soil Sciences
utslib.for	0703 Crop and Pasture Production
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2020-05-18T23:09:15Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	35
utslib.start-page	63
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

© 2018 British Society of Soil Science The impacts of a wildfire and subsequent rainfall event in 2013 in the Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales, Australia were examined in a project designed to provide information on post-fire recovery expectations and options to land managers. A coherent suite of sub-projects was implemented, including soil mapping, and studies on soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N), erosion rates, groundcover recovery and stream responses. It was found that the loss of SOC and N increased with fire severity, with the greatest losses from severely burnt sandstone ridges. Approximately 2.4 million t of SOC and ~74,000 t of N were lost from soil to a depth of 10 cm across the 56,290 ha affected. Soil loss from slopes during the subsequent rainfall event was modelled up to 25 t ha−1, compared to a long-term mean annual soil loss of 1.06 t ha−1 year−1. Groundcover averages generally increased after the fire until spring 2015, by which time rates of soil loss returned to near pre-fire levels. Streams were filled with sand to bank full levels after the fire and rainfall. Rainfall events in 2015–2016 shifted creek systems into a major erosive phase, with incision through the post-fire sandy bedload deposits, an erosive phase likely related to loss of topsoils over much of the catchment. The effectiveness of the research was secured by a close engagement with park managers in issue identification and a communications programme. Management outcomes flowing from the research included installation of erosion control works, redesign of access and monitoring of key mass movement hazard areas.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/140796