After a fire, many homeowners wonder what to do with the trees in their landscape. It is important to determine which trees might recuperate and which will need to be removed. A publication by the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension tells how to take care of residential trees after wildfire.
Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID
Using mulch to control erosion after a wildfire is a very common practice. Research has shown that mulching is the only treatment which consistently and significantly reduced erosion rates after a burn by immediately increasing the percent of ground cover, compared to gradually increasing cover by growing vegetation such as grass.
Mulch is used to cover the soil, thereby reducing rain impact, overland flow, soil erosion and the rapid …
Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID
One of the first activities most people plan after a burn is reforesting their forestland after a wildfire. Reforestation is the process of establishing a new stand of trees on a previously forested site following a disturbance such as fire. There are two ways to re-establish a stand of trees. Natural regeneration is when you let nature handle the job of revegetating a site with trees, whereas artificial regeneration…
Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID
Using barriers to control erosion after a wildfire is a common practice. Barriers are installed on hillslopes and in streams to slow water flow, increase infiltration, and trap sediment. There are several types of barriers:
Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID
It is important to determine the burn severity of a wildfire as many post-fire assessment and management decisions will be based on this information. Plant mortality, regeneration and reproduction are closely tied to how hot and how long a wildfire burns and will determine the make-up of post-fire plant communities. Burn severity also effects wildlife habitat, changes in the soil, erosion potential and many components of aquatic environments.
Assessing the erosion potential after a wildfire is an important step of post-fire management. Erosion is a natural process occurring on landscapes at different rates and scales, depending on geology, topography, vegetation, climate and weather, and is defined as the movement of individual soil particles by wind or water. Erosion is a function of the forces available, the amount of protection to the soil surface, the type of the soil and soil stabilizing components such as roots. It is usually …
Article Written by:
Yvonne Barkley, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow, ID
Though not the most successful method, grass seeding is the most commonly used treatment to control erosion after a wildfire. Grass seed is applied to burned sites from the ground or by air with the intention of increasing vegetative cover on the site during the first few critical years after a fire and by doing so, decrease or prevent erosion.
Grasses are particularly suited for this purpose because their …
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Wildfire affects streams and rivers in a multitude of ways, and the health and wealth of a stream environment are reflections of the condition of the surrounding watershed. Stream ecosystems are constantly changing and are often altered by episodic floods and droughts. Erosion is a natural process. Its effects on a stream are highly variable. Add a high-intensity wildfire, and conditions in the stream or river at the bottom of the hill can change rapidly. All of these naturally occurring …
Erosion is probably one of the most common concerns after a wildfire. Post-fire erosion depends on many factors, but generally erosion hazard increases as slope increases and vegetative cover decreases. To be safe, assume all drainages in steep hilly areas can carry debris flows and that they are vulnerable after a wildfire.
Erosion is a natural process. The amount of erosion after a burn depends on storm events, burn severity, slope, soil type, and the condition of the post-fire …
