Short- and long-term hydrologic controls on smouldering fire in wetland soils

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dc.contributor.authorSchulte, Morgan L.en
dc.contributor.authorMcLaughlin, Daniel L.en
dc.contributor.authorWurster, Frederic C.en
dc.contributor.authorVarner, J. Morganen
dc.contributor.authorStewart, Ryan D.en
dc.contributor.authorAust, W. Michaelen
dc.contributor.authorJones, C. Nathanen
dc.contributor.authorGile, Bridgeten
dc.contributor.departmentForest Resources and Environmental Conservationen
dc.contributor.departmentSchool of Plant and Environmental Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-30T13:47:05Zen
dc.date.available2019-08-30T13:47:05Zen
dc.date.issued2019-02-21en
dc.description.abstractSmouldering fire vulnerability in organic-rich, wetland soils is regulated by hydrologic regimes over short (by antecedent wetness) and long (through influences on soil properties) timescales. An integrative understanding of these controls is needed to inform fire predictions and hydrologic management to reduce fire vulnerability. The Great Dismal Swamp, a drained peatland (Virginia and North Carolina, USA), recently experienced large wildfires, motivating hydrologic restoration efforts. To inform those efforts, we combined continuous water levels, soil properties, moisture holding capacity and smouldering probability at four sites along a hydrologic gradient. For each site, we estimated gravimetric soil moisture content associated with a 50% smouldering probability (soil moisture smoulder threshold) and the water tension required to create this moisture threshold (tension smoulder threshold). Soil properties influenced both thresholds. Soils with lower bulk density smouldered at higher moisture content but also had higher moisture holding capacity, indicating that higher tensions (e.g. deeper water tables) are required to reach smouldering thresholds. By combining thresholds with water level data, we assessed smouldering vulnerability over time, providing a framework to guide fire prediction and hydrologic restoration. This work is among the first to integrate soil moisture thresholds, moisture holding capacities and water level dynamics to explore spatiotemporal variation in smouldering fire vulnerability.en
dc.description.notesThis work was funded by the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. J. M. Varner was supported by funds from the National Fire Plan. C. N. Jones was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center under funding received from the National Science Foundation (grant number DBI-1052875).en
dc.description.sponsorshipVirginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; National Fire Plan; National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center; National Science Foundation [DBI-1052875]en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1071/WF18086en
dc.identifier.eissn1448-5516en
dc.identifier.issn1049-8001en
dc.identifier.issue3en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/93321en
dc.identifier.volume28en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectGreat Dismal Swampen
dc.subjectignition thresholdsen
dc.subjectmoisture holding capacityen
dc.subjectorganic soilen
dc.subjectsoil propertiesen
dc.titleShort- and long-term hydrologic controls on smouldering fire in wetland soilsen
dc.title.serialInternational Journal of Wildland Fireen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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