Erosion Rates from Forests and Rangelands following Fuel Management

Abstract. In both forest and rangelands, fuel reduction operations are now common practices. Mechanical thinning followed by prescribed fire is common in forests, while fire is frequently applied to rangelands. Studies at different scales (50 sq m to 389 ha) measure the erosion from fuel management. This presentation compares runoff and erosion from these studies. Plot size has the greatest influence on runoff, with larger watersheds generating more runoff. Runoff ranged from zero on a number of 4-ha forested watersheds to 376 mm on a 386 ha forested watershed. Erosion rates were most influenced by surface cover. Observed erosion rates on rangelands were about 0.04 Mg ha on undisturbed plots and 0.06 Mg ha on burned plots. On forests, measured erosion rates were zero to 0.03 Mg ha y, increased up to 0.1 Mg ha y for prescribed fire, and up to 6.7 Mg ha y following wildfire.