## Breadcrumb

-  Publications 
-  Articles 

#           Multi-stage soil-hydraulic recovery and limited ravel accumulations following the 2017 Nuns and Tubbs wildfires in Northern California      

      June 4, 2022    

Wildfire can impact soil-hydraulic properties by reducing saturated hydraulic conductivity and sorptivity, making recently burned landscapes prone to debris flows and flash floods. The post-fire hazard window can range from years to decades. In Northern California, where wildfire frequency is steadily increasing, the impact and soil-hydraulic recovery from wildfires is unknown. Following the October 2017 Nuns and Tubbs fires in the Northern Bay Area of California, we established 41 monitoring sites for repeat tension-disc infiltrometer measurements of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) over 3.5 years. Our site arrays, which encompass grasslands, chaparral, and oak and conifer forests across a range in lithology, show a marked decrease in Kfs following the wildfires and a swift partial recovery following the initial post-fire rainy season. Our time series reveals a complex path to soil-hydraulic recovery marked by distinct seasonal stages. Analysis of changing Kfs, sorptivity, and infiltration model residuals collectively suggests that these stages are related to transitions between soil-hydraulic processes like structural soil sealing from rainsplash, thermal cracking of bare soil, and vegetation regrowth. While soil infiltration rates were strongly impacted by the 2017 fires, dry ravel estimates are an order of magnitude less for similar slopes than the 2009 Station fire in the San Gabriel mountains of Southern California, suggesting that limited ravel flux may insufficiently load channels for debris flows that initiate from within-channel failure. Our analysis suggests that burned landscapes in the Northern Bay Area of California may experience rapid soil-hydraulic recovery and limited pathways toward post-fire debris flow initiation.

## Citation Information

## Related Content

                  -              Science           
                  -              Data           
                  -              Connect           

link

April 26, 2019

####                 GeoMapping for Integrated Science              

Earthquake Hazards Program, Landslide Hazards Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Earthquake Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Big Sur Landslides

link

April 26, 2019

####   GeoMapping for Integrated Science

Learn More

June 9, 2022

####                 Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity time series and sediment accumulations following the 2017 Nuns and Tubbs wildfires, Napa and Sonoma Counties, CA, USA              

National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

#### Jonathan P Perkins

##### Research Geologist

Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

jperkins@usgs.gov

650-439-2828

#### Skye C Corbett

##### Geologist

Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

scorbett@usgs.gov

650-439-2819

#### Corina Cerovski-Darriau

##### USGS-USAID Landslide Hazards Advisor

Landslide Hazards Program

ccerovski-darriau@usgs.gov

#### Jonathan Stock

##### Director

National Innovation Center

jstock@usgs.gov

650-439-2868

## Related Content

link

April 26, 2019

####                 GeoMapping for Integrated Science              

Earthquake Hazards Program, Landslide Hazards Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Earthquake Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Big Sur Landslides

link

April 26, 2019

####   GeoMapping for Integrated Science

Learn More

June 9, 2022

####                 Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity time series and sediment accumulations following the 2017 Nuns and Tubbs wildfires, Napa and Sonoma Counties, CA, USA              

National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

#### Jonathan P Perkins

##### Research Geologist

Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

jperkins@usgs.gov

650-439-2828

#### Skye C Corbett

##### Geologist

Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

scorbett@usgs.gov

650-439-2819

#### Corina Cerovski-Darriau

##### USGS-USAID Landslide Hazards Advisor

Landslide Hazards Program

ccerovski-darriau@usgs.gov

#### Jonathan Stock

##### Director

National Innovation Center

jstock@usgs.gov

650-439-2868

### Study Area

### Contact

####               Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center          

Building 19, 350 N. Akron Rd.P.O. Box 158Moffett Field, CA94035United States

### Explore Search

                  - Climate
                  - Geology
                  - Maps and Mapping
                  - Natural Hazards
                  - United States
                  - Pepperwood Preserve
                  -  Sugarloaf  Ridge  State  Park
                  - california

View All **