Hydrologic-based modelling of burn depth potentials in degraded peat soils

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dc.contributor.authorLink, Nicholas T.en
dc.contributor.authorMcLaughlin, Daniel L.en
dc.contributor.authorStewart, Ryan D.en
dc.contributor.authorStrahm, Brian D.en
dc.contributor.authorVarner, J. Morganen
dc.contributor.authorWord, Clayton S.en
dc.contributor.authorWurster, Frederic C.en
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-09T13:44:46Zen
dc.date.available2023-06-09T13:44:46Zen
dc.date.issued2023-01en
dc.description.abstractPeatland drainage may degrade system resilience to high intensity, soil-consuming fires. Peat soil fires are unique in that they can smoulder vertically through the soil column, with a multitude of consequences including large carbon emissions, altered hydrology, and dramatic shifts in vegetation communities. In this work we developed and verified a new method to model peat burn depths with readily available water level and peat hydraulic property data at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (VA and NC, USA). To model peat burn depths across 11 sites in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge we combined water table time series data and soil moisture release curves, developed at multiple depths, with moisture-to-ignition thresholds. A subset of the results from this empirical modelling approach of peat burn depth severity were compared against those made using a mechanistic model of soil moisture, HYDRUS 1-D. By comparing modelled burn depth potentials between these two approaches for a range of peats, we confirmed that our simpler, water table-based approach had similar performance to HYDRUS 1-D in drained and degraded peats, like those found in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. A comparative analysis of modelled burn depths across our study site found that water table position and peat water holding capacity were the key governing controls on burn depth potential. Our findings suggest that drainage weakens both short- and long-term controls on peat burn depths by reducing soil moisture and by decreasing peat water holding capacity. This new approach offers land managers with an additional tool for assessing risk while offering insight into the drivers of peatland wildfire severity.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14808en
dc.identifier.eissn1099-1085en
dc.identifier.issn0885-6087en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/115390en
dc.identifier.volume37en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherWileyen
dc.rightsPublic Domain (U.S.)en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/en
dc.subjectfireen
dc.subjectgreat dismal swampen
dc.subjecthydrologyen
dc.subjectHYDRUS-1Den
dc.subjectmodellingen
dc.subjectpeaten
dc.titleHydrologic-based modelling of burn depth potentials in degraded peat soilsen
dc.title.serialHydrological Processesen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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Scholarly Works, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Scholarly Works, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences