Pacific Southwest

Title: Ash Leachate Can Reduce Surface Erosion

Author: Holcomb, George J.; Durgin, Philip B.

Date: 1979

Source: Res. Note PSW-RN-342. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 4 p

Station ID: RN-PSW-342

Description: In laboratory analyses of the Larabee soil from north-western California, ash leachate flocculated the clay fractions. As a result, the soil quickly settled out of suspension. To test the hypothesis that field plots on disturbed areas treated with ash leachate would be more resistant to erosion than nontreated plots, a study was done in July and August 1978, on two skid trails on the Humboldt State University Forest near Freshwater, in northwestern California. A rainfall simulator was used to measure differential erosion rates. Ash-leachate treated plots had 36 percent less erosion than nontreated plots. Differences in total sediment yield were statistically significant at the 97.5 percent level of confidence, as shown by a paired t-test of seven plots.

Keywords: fire, surface erosion, ash, rainfall simulator, soil structure, flocculation, skid trails

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Citation

Holcomb, George J.; Durgin, Philip B.  1979.  Ash Leachate Can Reduce Surface Erosion.   Res. Note PSW-RN-342. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 4 p.