Short-term post-wildfire dry-ravel processes in a chaparral fluvial system

Dry ravel, the transport of sediment by gravity, transfers material from steep hillslopes to valley bottoms during dry conditions. Following wildfire, dry ravel greatly increases in the absence of vegetation on hillslopes, thereby contributing to sediment supply at the landscape scale. Dry ravel has been documented as a dominant hillslope erosion mechanism following wildfire in chaparral environments in southern California. However, alteration after initial deposition is not well understood, making prediction of post-fire flood hazards challenging. The majority of Big Sycamore Canyon burned during the May 2013 Springs Fire leaving ash and a charred layer that covered hillslopes and ephemeral channels. Dry-ravel processes following the fire produced numerous deposits in the hillslope-channel transition zone. Field data focus on: 1) deposition from an initial post-wildfire dry-ravel pulse; and 2) subsequent alteration of dry ravel deposits over a seven-month period between September 2013 and April 2014. We quantify geomorphic responses in dry ravel deposits including responses during the one small winter storm that generated runoff following the fire. Field measurements document volumetric changes after initial post-wildfire deposition of sediment derived from dry ravel. Erosion and deposition mechanisms that occurred within dry-ravel deposits situated in the hillslope-channel transition zone included: 1) mobilization and transport of a portion or the entire deposit by fluvial erosion; 2) rilling on the surface of the unconsolidated deposits; 3) deposition on deposits via continued hillslope sediment supply; and 4) mass wasting that transfers sediment within deposits where surface profiles are near the angle of repose. Terrestrial LiDAR scanning point clouds were analyzed to generate profiles quantifying depth of sediment erosion or deposition over remaining dry ravel deposits after the first storm season. This study contributes to the understanding of potential effects of wildfire on fine sediment delivery to fluvial systems in chaparral ecosystems.