Effects on erosion of two post-fire management practices: clear-cutting versus non-intervention

The different erosion responses derived from two contrasting post-fire management approaches were evaluated: the clear-cutting and immediate removal of the burnt trees and the non-intervention, that is, leaving the vegetation untouched and the burnt trees standing. Erosion rates were obtained from 200 m(2) experimental plots, large enough to include the complete processes of rill and inter-rill erosion. Erosion rates of the clear-cut plot were very similar to those of the non-modified plot. Part of the burnt trees was still economically usable. The trees left in situ gradually decayed and were tumbled by the wind; the fire risk incremented. The opening of timber track networks without conservation measures was one of the most important erosion problems associated with clear-cutting. The complementary practice of brushwood dike-construction would need a preliminary study before being applied. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.