Fire increases dust production from chaparral soils

• Soil heating produced dust-sized particles from the soil surface.
• Intact soil has a higher thermal conductivity than loose soil.
• Heated soils are more susceptible to rainsplash than unheated soils.

By altering the physical and chemical properties of a landscape, fire may increase its vulnerability to erosive processes. Whereas sediment transport by surface runoff after fires has been often investigated, less is known about the role of wind erosion in burned terrain. To examine how fire might increase a soil's vulnerability to aeolian transport, intact soil samples were collected from a chaparral landscape in southern California and heated with a propane torch with temperatures ranging from 250 to 1025 °C and for durations of 5–60 min to simulate a variety of burn severities. The samples were then subjected to simulated wind and the amounts of eroded sediment were measured. Results indicate a linear increase in the production of wind-erodible sediment with applied heat up to ~ 10 MJ/m2. The increase was not due to a reduction in the threshold shear velocity of the soil surface but, instead, to the role of heat in detaching erodible material. In these soils, organic material may be an important binding agent destroyed at high temperatures. The relationship between fire and erodibility is complex, however, because heating may also help to aggregate soil particles. Experiments performed here also suggest a synergistic effect between fire and rain whereby heated soils are more vulnerable to the erosive power of raindrop impacts. Additionally, the soil heating experiments were used to measure and compare the thermal conductivities of intact and disturbed soils. Finally, it is concluded that soil heating may increase the emission of dust through the detachment of erodible particles, a result that may help in the anticipation of respiratory problems for those living downwind of burned areas.