Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study
In the Mediterranean region, the high frequency of fire events is combined with climatic conditions that hinder vegetation recovery. This underscores the urgent need for a post-fire restoration of natural ecosystems and implementation of emergency rehabilitation measures to prevent further degradati...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Fire |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/7/269 |
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| author | Nikolaos D. Proutsos Stefanos P. Stefanidis Alexandra D. Solomou Panagiotis Michopoulos Athanasios Bourletsikas Panagiotis Lattas |
| author_facet | Nikolaos D. Proutsos Stefanos P. Stefanidis Alexandra D. Solomou Panagiotis Michopoulos Athanasios Bourletsikas Panagiotis Lattas |
| author_sort | Nikolaos D. Proutsos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the Mediterranean region, the high frequency of fire events is combined with climatic conditions that hinder vegetation recovery. This underscores the urgent need for a post-fire restoration of natural ecosystems and implementation of emergency rehabilitation measures to prevent further degradation. In this study, we investigated the performance of three types of erosion control structures (log dams, log barriers, and wattles), two years after fire, in three Mediterranean areas that were burnt by severe forest fires in 2021. The wooden structures’ ability to infiltrate precipitation was evaluated by 100 infiltration experiments in 25 plots, one and two years after the wildfires. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K was determined at two zones formed between consecutive wooden structures, i.e., the erosion zone (EZ) where soil erosion occurs, and the deposition zone (DZ) where the soil sediment is accumulated. These zones showed significant differences concerning their hydraulic behavior, with DZ presenting enhanced infiltration ability by 130 to 300% higher compared to EZ, during both years of measurements. The findings suggest that the implementation of emergency restoration actions after a wildfire can highly affect the burned forest soils’ ability to infiltrate water, preventing surface runoff and erosion, whereas specific structures such as the log dams can be even more effective. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-03373cf692c747f8a09b488dc6204153 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj-art-03373cf692c747f8a09b488dc62041532025-08-20T03:36:18ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552025-07-018726910.3390/fire8070269Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year StudyNikolaos D. Proutsos0Stefanos P. Stefanidis1Alexandra D. Solomou2Panagiotis Michopoulos3Athanasios Bourletsikas4Panagiotis Lattas5Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA, 11528 Athens, GreeceForest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA, Vasilika, 57006 Thessaloniki, GreeceInstitute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA, 11528 Athens, GreeceInstitute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA, 11528 Athens, GreeceInstitute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA, 11528 Athens, GreeceForest Department of Pyrgos, Forests Directorate General of Ilia, 42 Alfiou, 21731 Pyrgos, GreeceIn the Mediterranean region, the high frequency of fire events is combined with climatic conditions that hinder vegetation recovery. This underscores the urgent need for a post-fire restoration of natural ecosystems and implementation of emergency rehabilitation measures to prevent further degradation. In this study, we investigated the performance of three types of erosion control structures (log dams, log barriers, and wattles), two years after fire, in three Mediterranean areas that were burnt by severe forest fires in 2021. The wooden structures’ ability to infiltrate precipitation was evaluated by 100 infiltration experiments in 25 plots, one and two years after the wildfires. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K was determined at two zones formed between consecutive wooden structures, i.e., the erosion zone (EZ) where soil erosion occurs, and the deposition zone (DZ) where the soil sediment is accumulated. These zones showed significant differences concerning their hydraulic behavior, with DZ presenting enhanced infiltration ability by 130 to 300% higher compared to EZ, during both years of measurements. The findings suggest that the implementation of emergency restoration actions after a wildfire can highly affect the burned forest soils’ ability to infiltrate water, preventing surface runoff and erosion, whereas specific structures such as the log dams can be even more effective.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/7/269post-fire restorationsoil hydraulic propertieswater infiltrationburnt soilsforest ecosystemsMediterranean |
| spellingShingle | Nikolaos D. Proutsos Stefanos P. Stefanidis Alexandra D. Solomou Panagiotis Michopoulos Athanasios Bourletsikas Panagiotis Lattas Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study Fire post-fire restoration soil hydraulic properties water infiltration burnt soils forest ecosystems Mediterranean |
| title | Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study |
| title_full | Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study |
| title_short | Impact of Post-Fire Rehabilitation Treatments on Forest Soil Infiltration in Mediterranean Landscapes: A Two-Year Study |
| title_sort | impact of post fire rehabilitation treatments on forest soil infiltration in mediterranean landscapes a two year study |
| topic | post-fire restoration soil hydraulic properties water infiltration burnt soils forest ecosystems Mediterranean |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/8/7/269 |
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