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Literature Review Post Wildfire Parameter Adjustments
The table below presents an overview of studies that have collected soil hydraulic data and applied it to model post-wildfire conditions. These investigations focused on watersheds that have experienced fire-related disturbances, with models undergoing calibration to account for fire-induced changes. The comparison of calibrated values from pre-fire to post-fire scenarios provides insight into parameter adjustments, which can guide hydrologic modelers in adapting parameters for various hydrologic methods. The primary purpose of this table is to offer post-wildfire modelers examples of burned soil parameter values and adjustments. The table compiles information for modeling post-wildfire events, including:
- The location that experienced a fire event and its burn severity
- Soil loss methods (with the Green and Ampt method being the most commonly used)
- Soil and vegetation types
- Burn-to-unburn ratios that can be applied to calibrated unburned watersheds to reflect burned conditions
Journal | Location | Fire Event and Year | Soil Collection Date | Storm Event | Burn Severity | Soil Loss Method | Transform Method | Burn/Unburn Ratios | Burned Soil Parameters (All values reported in metric units) | Soil Type | Vegetation | Notes |
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Ebel, Brian A., and John A. Moody. “Parameter Estimation for Multiple Post‐Wildfire Hydrologic Models.” Hydrological Processes, vol. 34, no. 21, 4 Aug. 2020, pp. 4049–4066, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13865. Accessed 7 Jan. 2022. | Santa Barbara County, Ventura, County, California | December 2017 - January 2018 Thomas Fire |
| Not Available |
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| NA | Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
Sorptivity
Wetting Front
Saturated Soil Content
|
Table 2 of report | Loam, gravelly clay loam, channery loam, channery silt clay loam, clay loam, stony fine sandy loam Table 1 of report | Chaparral vegetation and manzanita |
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Rengers, F. K., McGuire, L. A., Kean, J. W., Staley, D. M., & Youberg, A. (2019). Progress in simplifying hydrologic model parameterization for broad applications to post‐wildfire flooding and debris‐flow hazards. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(15), 3078–3092. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4697 | San Gabriel Mountains | August - September 2009 Station Fire | Not Available | 18 January 2010 | Moderate to High | Green and Ampt | Kinematic Wave | Not available |
| Not mentioned | Chaparral |
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Liu, T., McGuire, L.A., A. Youberg, Gorr, A. and Rengers, F.K. (2023). Guidance for parameterizing post‐fire hydrologic models with in situ infiltration measurements. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5633. |
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| Design Storms |
| Green and Ampt | Kinematic Wave | Not available | Dataset available at: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5fa0924fd34e198cb7919339 https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/96351adbdacc45e793d8fb5a740d8ac4/ | Pinal - Sandy Loam Buzzard - Silt Loam Bush - Sandy Loam Woodbury - Sandy Loam |
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Pradhan, N.R.; Floyd, I. Event Based Post-Fire Hydrological Modeling of the Upper Arroyo Seco Watershed in Southern California. Water 2021, 13, 2303. https:// | Los Angeles National Forest, Upper Arroyo Seco | August 2009 Station Fire | Not Available |
| 95% burned at low (18%), Medium (42%) to high (35%) severity | Green And Ampt | Diffusion Wave | Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
Manning's Roughness
| Not Available | Sandy Loam | Not Mentioned |
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Ebel, B.A., Rengers, F.K. and Tucker, G.E. (2016). Observed and simulated hydrologic response for a first-order catchment during extreme rainfall 3 years after wildfire disturbance. Water Resources Research, 52(12), pp.9367–9389. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016wr019110. | Sugarloaf Mountain Boulder, Colorado | September 2010 Fourmile Canyon |
| September 9 - 16, 2013 | Not mentioned | Richard's Equation | Diffusion wave | Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
Sorptivity
(Table 2 report) | Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity (mm/hr)
Sorptivity (mm/hr^{0.5})
Soil water Content Saturated
Soil water Content Residual
Alpha
N (soil water retention curve fitting parameter)
(Table 1 and 2 of report) | Gravelly Sand | Douglas fire, Limber pine, and some Aspen |
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McGuire, L.A., Youberg, A.M., Rengers, F.K., Abramson, N.S., Ganesh, I., Gorr, A.N., Hoch, O., Johnson, J.C., Lamom, P., Prescott, A.B., Zanetell, J. and Fenerty, B. (2021). Extreme Precipitation Across Adjacent Burned and Unburned Watersheds Reveals Impacts of Low Severity Wildfire on Debris‐Flow Processes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126(4). doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jf005997 | Superstition Mountains, Arizona Northern edge of the Woodbury Fire perimeter | June 2019 Woodbury Fire |
| September 23, 2019 | 23% unburned, 53% low severity, 24% moderate severity, <1% high severity | Not Available | Not Available | Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
Wetting Front
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| High exposed bedrock, sandy loam | Sonoran Desertscrub, cactus, succulents, shrubs | Conversion for Sorptivity to Wetting front h_f=S^2/(2K_s(\theta_s-\theta_r) \theta_s=0.41 \theta_r=0.065 Measurements made at the top 1 cm of soil |
McGuire, L.A., Rengers, F.K., Kean, J.W., Staley, D.M. and Mirus, B.B. (2018). Incorporating spatially heterogeneous infiltration capacity into hydrologic models with applications for simulating post-wildfire debris flow initiation. Hydrological Processes, 32(9), pp.1173–1187. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11458. | Santa Ana Mountains, California near town of Silverado | September 2014 Silverado fire | 23 measurements made on November 12, 2014 and April 11, 2015 |
| Moderate to high severity | Green and Ampt | Kinematic Wave | Not available |
| Fine sandy loam | California sagebrush and chaparral | Method for converting hydraulic conductivity field estimates to a single basin wide estimate K_e(R,\mu,CV)=\mu[1+1/\tilde{R}]^{}^{-1/p} \tilde{R} = R/\mu (scaled rainfall, R = steady state rainfall) p = \beta(\lambda)/(cv^m) m = 0.85 \beta=5\lambda^{-0.29} \lambda = values of 4 or 6 have been suggested (correlated fields) Measurements made at the top 1 cm of soil |
Tang, H., McGuire, L.A., Rengers, F.K., Kean, J.W., Staley, D.M. and Smith, J.B. (2019). Evolution of Debris‐Flow Initiation Mechanisms and Sediment Sources During a Sequence of Postwildfire Rainstorms. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 124(6), pp.1572–1595. doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jf004837. | San Gabriel Mountains, California Las Lomas Debris basin | Summer of 2016 Fish Fire |
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| Moderate to High Severity | Green and Ampt | 2-D nonlinear Shallow Water Equation coupled with a set of advection equations | Not available |
Table 1 of report | Fine Sandy Loam | Not mentioned |
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Ebel, Brian A., and John A. Moody. "Synthesis of Soil-hydraulic Properties ad Infiltration Timescales in Wildfire-affected Soils." Hydrological Processes, no.2, Wiley, Nov. 2016, pp. 324-40. doi:10.1002/hyp.10998 | Multiple locations within Western U.S and Australia | Multiple fires analyzed | Multiple measurements analyzed | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
Sorptivity
Wetting Front
\theta_s
| Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity (mm/hr)
Sorptivity (mm/hr^{0.5})
Wetting Front (mm)
\theta_s
| Not available | Not available |
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Covington, W.W.; Sackett, S.S. 1990. Fire effects on ponderosa pine soils and their management implications. In: Krammes, J. S., tech. coord. Effects of fire management of southwestern natural resources. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-191. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. p. 105-111. | Southwestern United States | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
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| Ponderosa Pine Forests | Not available |
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