Project properties
Title HESOM-Modeling the Hydrologic and Erosion responses following wildfires and its mitigation.
Group Soil Physics and Land Management group
Project type thesis
Credits 24-39
Supervisor(s) Joao Pedro Nunes / Jantiene Baartman
Examiner(s) Coen Ritsema
Contact info joao.carvalhonunes@wur.nl
Begin date 2021/05/25
End date
Description Wildfires can lead to considerable changes in geo-morphological and hydrological processes. Researchers have shown strong and sometimes extreme responses in post-fire runoff and soil erosion, especially during the earlier stages of the so-called “window-of-disturbance”. Most of the remaining soil organic matter can be eroded off-site of the burned area or emitted to the atmosphere, but the long termeffects are still poorly understood. Soil erosion models have been used to predict the effects of soil disturbances and help decision making on mitigation measures, but they are still untested to accurately predict the long term (c.a. 10 years) effects of the application of these treatments. The application of mitigation measures, such aspost-fire mulch, can hinder soil degradation, but a thorough cost-effects analysis of this application is till missing.

Research Objective/Question: The main aim of the work is to improve the prediction of post-fire runoff and soil losses in burned soils and its mitigation on the long term. The specific objectives are to:

1. Compile, complete and analyze existing long-term datasets for hydrology, soil erosion and organic matter losses in the Western Iberian Front, and collect ancillary data (rainfall characteristics, ground cover, etc);
2. Assess the suitability of an empirical soil erosion model (MMF –Morgan MorganFinney) to predict the hydrologic and erosion responses using the above-mentioned dataset;
3. Assess the cost-effects of applying mitigation measures to reverse soil and OM losses.

What is expected from the student (type of research): The workplan involves the following tasks:

1.compilation of existing erosion plot data and additional field data collection;
2.multivariate statistical analysis of erosion data and ancillary data, with a special focus on rainfall (amount and intensity), ground cover (vegetation, stone, bare) and soil descriptors;
3.runoff-erosion modelling with MMF, including initial parametrization, model calibration and validation.
4.Cost-effective analysis of the application of treatments throughout its life cycle at the long-mid term.
Used skills
Requirements Basic knowledgement on soil sciences, meteorology, hydrology and erosion modelling.