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Project properties |
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| Title | Effects of contour bunds and organic amendments on plant survival and erosion in recently burned areas |
| Group | Soil Physics and Land Management group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Joao Pedro Nunes |
| Examiner(s) | Coen Ritsema |
| Contact info | Basic knowledge in soil science, ecology and hydrology |
| Begin date | 2021/05/25 |
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| Description | Wildfires create a range of problems connected to the complete loss of aboveground biomass and vegetation cover.The resulting uncovered soil is extremely susceptible to erosion and microclimatic conditions that could help with the establishment of newplants are absent due to high solar irradiation and elevated temperatures. At the same time there is an increasing likelihood of invasive species spread after fire events.In the experimental setup of this study, we aim to evaluate a potential win-win solution that aims to improve soil properties and help reforestation of burned areas: By creating contour bunds (CB) along hill slopes and mulching the ditches with chipped plant biomass, we intend to create beneficial microclimatic conditions to increase survival rates of freshly planted trees and spontaneous vegetation. The biomass types used in this setup are woodchips (WC) as a measure to tackle erosion and decrease soilevaporation as well as compost (C) sourced from local invasive species that may additionally provide a nutrient source, thus leading to higher seedling survival rates. These three treatments (CB, WC, GWC) will be compared to mechanical removal of the vegetationwith heavy machinery and the natural regeneration without intervention.
Research Objective/Question The main aim of the proposed work is to assess the effects of some post-fire soil restoration interventions on post-fire vegetation recovery, soil losses, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses.The specific objectives are to: 1. Measure and analyse vegetation cover and growing success of target tree species in each treatment in the field during the first year; 2. Determine soil erosion and organic matter losses after a wildfire in a set of 16 m2erosion plots set up in southern Portugal and ancillary data collection (rainfall characteristics, ground cover, etc); 3. Measure and analyse vegetation cover, growing success and soil nutrient status in each treatment in controlled lab conditions. What is expected from the student (type of research) The student should be motivated and flexible, as the project includes both field and lab work. Methods covered are maintenance and readout of sediment traps, ecological methods for in-situdata collection of vegetation (photography, height measurements, tree survival rates, etc.) as well as laboratory work. Lab work will cover water content and organic matter determination as well as total C and N determination, which can be also extended to include soil nutrient analysis. Furthermore, basic plant response to sediment typeswill be assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. |
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