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Impacts of Burning on Catchment Hydrology and Management

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Forest Hydrology and Catchment Management

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Abstract

The role of fire in Australian forest hydrology is becoming appreciated. Fire affects forest hydrology in many ways. Firstly it modifies the existing forests. For some species including mountain ash it may completely kill off mature forests, leading to massive regeneration. This has a characteristic forest water use as a function of age. Other species may suffer crown degrade, which in turn leads to the development of epicormic crowns in which transpiration is less regulated. Fire leads to increased water repellency and sediment supply on catchment slopes. This appears to be associated with short-lived but unusually high flows of massive erosion capacity. As such, fire is likely to be an important force in the formation of stream networks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Creswick, Victoria, Australia

    Leon Bren

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  1. Leon Bren
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Bren, L. (2015). Impacts of Burning on Catchment Hydrology and Management. In: Forest Hydrology and Catchment Management. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9337-7_8

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