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Monitoring Effectiveness of Postfire Rehabilitation Treatments
and Salvage Logging at Small Watershed Scales
May 2000
Co-leaders: Pete Robichaud (Research), Jeff Bruggink (R-4), Bruce Sims (R-1)
Team members: Jeff Bruggink, Region 4 Soil Scientist, Ogden, UT; Bruce Sims, Region 1 Hydrologist, Missoula, MT; Pete Robichaud and Bill Elliot, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, ID.
Key Question #1: Are BAER treatments effective at the watershed scale?
We propose to answer the following four critical management questions:
1) How much sediment is generated by a given watershed following a fire?
2) Do erosion mitigation measures reduce watershed sediment yields and affect riparian areas following fire?
3) Are the current types and levels of BAER treatments meeting the agency objectives including protection of downstream life, property, and water quality?
4) Does salvage logging affect sediment yield from small watersheds?
Requested: $473,000
RMRS Matching: $255,000
Description of Proposal:
We propose to monitor small (about 20 ha - 50 acres) watersheds following wildfires to determine the effectiveness of burned area emergency rehabilitation (BAER) treatments and salvage logging. The watersheds will be in a set of three, with one watershed receiving a postfire mitigation treatment, one being salvaged logged, and the other providing an untreated control burned watershed. Sites will be located after high severity wildfires in Regions 1 and 4. Treatments will be determined in consultation with the Forest Specialists (Hydrologist, Soil Scientists) but could include contour-felled logs or LEBs, straw wattles, raking, mulching, etc. The installed treatments and their subsequent monitoring will be implemented through Forest and Research partnerships; funds requested are intended to cover both the cost of the treatment and installation from fire crews, and the cost of monitoring for both the cooperating Forest and Research personnel. We propose to install one set in Region 1 and one set in Region 4 during the next two years. Each of the six watersheds will be monitored for three years after installation.
The direct products of the proposal will be runoff and sediment yields from six different watersheds (two treated, two salvage logged, and two untreated) across two Regions for a period of three years for each set. These results will help future BAER teams determine which treatments are most effective and cost-efficient to meet the goals of limiting runoff and erosion following wildfires and address the impact of salvage logging. The sediment and runoff collected will be also be available for evaluating water quality risks and the impacts of post-fire erosion on forest soil productivity (see proposal: Monitoring Soil Productivity Changes After Fire by D. Page-Dumroese, J. Nesser, J. Bruggink, M. Jurgensen, T. Rice). By combining these proposals, both the short- and long-term effects (nutrient loss) of soil erosion can be evaluated. Also, the data will be available to assist specialists in evaluating erosion prediction tools after fires. Erosion data will also be used to correlate wildfire erosion and nutrient losses to prescribed fire values. Sediment and nutrient effects from prescribed fires have already been collected.
The sites will have high runoff/erosion potential, identified during the BAER assessment, and will be accessible. Close cooperation with Forest/BAER personnel and Research personnel is essential so that treatments can be installed before the first likely storm event.
Progress reports and preliminary results will be provided to BAER coordinator and participating Forests. Initial results will be available following the first storm events in the sampled wildland fire area. Peer-reviewed scientific publications on treatment effectiveness will be provided through General Technical Reports and scientific journals. Technology transfers of the results will be provided via presentations at Regional BAER training, a website, and guideline summary articles in popular journals such as Fire Management Today.
Current Work:
A recent review of our current knowledge of BAER practices indicated inadequate scientific evaluation of current BAER treatments (Robichaud et al. 2000, RMRS-GTR-63). Various efforts are under way to evaluate contour-felled logs in similarly designed studies in collaboration with Regions 1, 5, and 6 (Bitterroot NF, Montana; San Bernardino NF, California; and Wenatchee NF, Washington). With this experience, we have developed the methods, skills, and instrumentation necessary to expand the effectiveness monitoring to a wider range of postfire treatments and conditions. The effectiveness monitoring in this proposal at the small watershed scale will complement previous and current site and treatment-specific monitoring. Previous research has shown little effect from prescribed fire activities on sediment yields, therefore our focus will be on BAER treatments and salvage logging. Other research groups (ARS-Boise) are planning research activities to address grazing re-introduction and are not covered by this proposal.
| Project Activity | RMRS matching | Requested |
| FY 2001: |
| Requested for labor, equipment, travel, mitigation, indirect costs | | $205,500 |
| Matching for RMRS labs, computer support, labor, vehicles | $55,000 | | |
FY 2002 | | Requested for labor, equipment, travel, mitigation, indirect costs | | $205,500 |
| Matching for RMRS | 50,000 | | | FY 2003 |
| Requested for maintenance, travel, indirect costs | | 18,000 |
| Matching for RMRS labs, computer support, labor, vehicles | 50,000 | | | FY 2004 | | Requested for maintenance, travel, data reduction, indirect costs | | 23,000 |
| Matching for RMRS as above plus analysis and publications | $60,000 | |
| FY 2005 | |
Requested for maintenance, travel, data reduction, indirect costs | | 21,000 |
| Matching for RMRS as above plus analysis and publications | 40,000 | |
| Total for five years | 473,000 | 255,000 | |
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