Erosion

Hydrologic and erosion responses to wildfire along the rangeland–xeric forest continuum in the western US: A review and model of hydrologic vulnerability

View article. We present a conceptual model for evaluating post-fire hydrologic vulnerability and risk. We suggest that post-fire risk assessment of potential hydrologic hazards should adopt a probability-based approach that considers varying site susceptibility in conjunction with a range of potential storms and that determines the hydrologic response magnitudes likely to affect values-at-risk. Our review…

Incorporating hydrologic data and ecohydrologic relationships into ecological site descriptions

View article. The purpose of this paper is to recommend a framework and methodology for incorporating hydrologic data and ecohydrologic relationships in Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) and thereby enhance the utility of ESDs for assessing rangelands and guiding resilience-based management strategies. Resilience-based strategies assess and manage ecological state dynamics that affect state vulnerability and, therefore,…

Structural and functional connectivity as a driver of hillslope erosion following disturbance

View article. Hydrologic response to rainfall on fragmented or burnt hillslopes is strongly influenced by the ensuing connectivity of runoff and erosion processes. Yet cross-scale process connectivity is seldom evaluated in field studies owing to scale limitations in experimental design. This study quantified surface susceptibility and hydrologic response across point to hillslope scales at two…

Short-term effects of tree removal on infiltration, runoff, and erosion in woodland-encroached sagebrush steppe

View article. This study used artificial rainfall and overland flow experiments (9–13 m²) and measures of vegetation and ground cover to investigate short-term (1–2 yr) responses to tree removal at two woodland-encroached sites. Plots were located under trees (tree zone) and in the intercanopy (shrub-interspace zone, 75% of area). Before tree removal, vegetation and ground…

Hydrologic and erosion responses of sagebrush steppe following juniper encroachment, wildfire, and tree Cutting

View article. This study used rainfall (0.5 m² and 13 m² scales) and concentrated flow simulations and measures of vegetation, ground cover, and soils to investigate hydrologic and erosion impacts of western juniper encroachment into sagebrush steppe and to evaluate short-term effects of burning and tree cutting on runoff and erosion responses. The overall effects…

Developing a parameterization approach for soil erodibility for the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM)

View article. Soil erodibility is a key factor for estimating soil erosion using physically based models. In this study, a new parameterization approach for estimating erodibility was developed for the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM). The approach uses empirical equations that were developed by applying piecewise regression analysis to predict the differences of erodibility…

Effectiveness of prescribed fire to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and ecohydrologic function on woodland-encroached sagebrush rangelands, Great Basin, USA: Part I: Vegetation, hydrology, and erosion responses

View article. The experimental results demonstrate pinyon and juniper removal by prescribed fire can effectively re-establish a successional trajectory towards sagebrush steppe vegetation structure and thereby improve ecohydrologic function. Responses to burning at the more degraded site suggest results should be interpreted with caution however. Although burning substantially increased perennial grass cover and reduced fine-scale…

Vegetation, hydrologic, and erosion responses of sagebrush steppe 9 yr following mechanical tree removal

View article. Our results indicate improved hydrologic function through sagebrush steppe vegetation recruitment after mechanical tree removal on mid- to late-succession woodlands can require more than 9 yr. We anticipate intercanopy runoff and erosion rates will decrease over time at both sites as shrub and grass cover continue to increase, but follow-up tree removal will…

Long‐term evidence for fire as an ecohydrologic threshold‐ reversal mechanism on woodland‐encroached sagebrush shrublands

View article. We evaluated whether tree removal by burning can decrease late‐succession woodland ecohydrologic resilience by increasing vegetation and ground cover over a 9‐year period after fire and whether the soil erosion feedback on late‐succession woodlands is reversible by burning. To address these questions, we employed a suite of vegetation and soil measurements and rainfall…

Effectiveness of prescribed fire to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and ecohydrologic function on woodland-encroached sagebrush rangelands, Great Basin, USA: Part II: Runoff and sediment transport at the patch scale

View article. In the western USA, encroachment of pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) tree species into sagebrush steppes poses a threat to the proper ecohydrological functioning of these ecosystems. Prescribed fire has been proposed and used as one rangeland improvement practice to restore sagebrush steppe from pinyon-juniper encroachment. Short-term effects of burning on…

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