Effectiveness of needle cast from burnt conifer trees on reducing erosion

Pannkuk, C.D.; Robichaud, P.R.; Brown, R.E. 2000. Effectiveness of needle cast from burnt conifer trees on reducing erosion. Paper no. 00-5018. Presented at the 2000 ASAE annual international meeting, Milwaukee, WI, July 9-12, 2000. St. Joseph, MI: ASAE. 15 p.

Keywords: Residue cover, Forest, Surface runoff, Erosion, Fires, needle cast

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Abstract: Wildfires in steep forest environments can often produce disasterous runoff and soil loss after rainstorms. There is often needle cast from partially burnt conifer trees that generally falls to the soil surface within several months after the fire. These needles offer protection from soil erosion that is not fully understood. A laboratory experiment was conducted using rainfall simulation to determine the interaction of needle type and percent cover on soil erosion. Results indicate that needle type and percent cover greatly impact soil erosion processes. A log-decay relationship provided a good fit of the data. These relationships will be useful for the assessment of erosion potential after forest fires from a practical as well as a modeling standpoint.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2000s