CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Gallaway, J.M.
Date : 2005.
Title : Sediment supply and transport processes on burned hillslopes in mountainous forests of interior British Columbia.
Publication : 42nd Annual Conference, Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Friday, March 4, 2005.
Issue :
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Abstract
Wildfire is a natural disturbance in many landscapes, and many western Canadian forests are susceptible to stand-replacing crown fires (e.g. Masters 1989). Past studies on geomorphic effects of wildfire (e.g. Cannon et al. 2001) have generally focused on single processes, and few studies have considered post-fire erosional processes in western Canada. This project investigates post-fire erosional processes in eastern B.C., looking at the integration of biogenic and mechanical sediment disturbance and transport mechanisms. The research is part of a multi-year interdisciplinary effort sponsored by the G8 Legacy Chair in Wildlife Ecology. The team is investigating the site of a 2003 wildfire in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, with the overall objective of understanding impacts of wildfire on joint ecological/geomorphic systems. Within this context, my M.Sc. research project specifically investigates the post-wildfire impacts on: (i) tree topple and uprooting that disturbs large amounts of sediment, and (ii) rainsplash and overland flow processes that are expected to accelerate on severely burned hillslopes due to removal of the forest canopy, ground vegetation, and duff layer. A summer field program in 2004 and 2005 will collect data to provide estimates of tree topple rates, and the volume of sediment disturbed. Hillslope sediment movement will be monitored using sediment traps and year-over-year comparisons of micro-DEMs captured using laser survey. Field data will be analyzed to unravel relations that exist amongst tree toppling, sediment movement and various controlling factors. Contrary to findings reported for other study areas (e.g. Wondzell and King 2003), preliminary field data indicate little sediment is being transported to the hillslope base via overland flow, despite severely burned hillslopes and an increase in sediment supply from exposed root wads. Pit-mound topography created by root wads, as well as the fallen tree trunks, provides storage locations for mobilized sediment, thus reducing transport distances and retaining the mobilized sediment on the hillslopes.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology