FIRE IMPACTS ON SOIL NUTRIENTS AND SOIL-EROSION IN A MEDITERRANEAN PINE FOREST PLANTATION

Detailed measurements of soil nutrients, runoff and sediment discharge were made in two plots about 200 m2 each in a plantation of Aleppo and Brutia pine in the Mediterranean climatic region of Israel. One of the plots was affected by a moderate wildfire at the end of summer 1988. The soil nutrient content in the burnt plot was increased significantly. Runoff and erosion rates were low in both plots. However, on the burnt plot they were lower than on the unburnt plot, due to increased infiltration capacity. These results suggest that light and moderate forest fires may increase soil fertility without causing a marked difference in soil runoff and erosion.