Impacts of wildfire on soil erosion and fine-grained sediment dynamics in forested aquatic systems

野火事件有一个显着的和可衡量的影响，在很宽的空间和时间尺度上的森林集水区的沉积动力学。该项目将确定沉积物来源的反应，并评估加拿大北方内陆森林环境野火造成的沉积物（矿物和有机物）在不同空间和时间尺度上通过水生系统的再分布。2004年的一项成功的可行性研究表明，在一个研究集水区的沉积物系统进行调查是野火干扰的反应，证明了改变沉积物来源和沉积物通量后野火。本项目将应用一套综合技术，将当代的反应与野火干扰的长期恢复联系起来。具体而言，将开展一项实地取样和实验室方案，其中包括三个相互关联的部分：（a）在一个山坡单位进行订明的（即诱发的）烧伤，（B）成对集水区比较研究（即一个天然燃烧集水区及附近一个性质相若的未燃烧集水区）及（c）一项古湖沼学研究，探索已知火灾历史的湖泊集水区沉积物性质的变化。将在对比空间尺度（山坡到集水区）和火灾历史（现在，最近，几十年和几个世纪）的研究领域开展工作。这些研究的结果将用于了解集水区对火灾的反应，以便将短期过程知识与沉积过程的长期数据联系起来，为调查森林燃烧的潜在影响提供工具。

Wildfire events have a significant and measurable impact on the sediment dynamics of forested catchments over wide spatial and temporal scales. This project will determine the response of sediment sources and evaluate sediment (mineral and organic) redistribution through aquatic systems due to wildfires in northern interior forest environments in Canada over contrasting spatial and temporal scales. A successful feasibility study in 2004 indicated that the sediment system in one of the study catchments to be investigated is responding to wildfire disturbance, as evidenced by changing sediment sources and sediment fluxes following a wildfire. The present project will apply a suite of integrated techniques to link contemporary responses to long term recovery from wildfire disturbance. Specifically, a field sampling and laboratory programme will be undertaken comprising three interlinked parts: (a) measurement and sampling on a hillslope unit before and after a prescribed (i.e. induced) burn, (b) a paired-catchment comparative study (i.e. a naturally burnt catchment and a nearby unburnt catchment with similar characteristics) and (c) a palaeolimnological study exploring changes in deposited sediment properties in lake catchments with known fire histories. Work will be undertaken in study areas of contrasting spatial scale (hillslope to catchment) and fire history (present, recent, decades and centuries). The results of these will be utilised to understand the response of catchments to fire in order to link short-term process knowledge with longer term data on sedimentary processes, in order to provide tools for investigating scenarios of potential impacts of burning in forests.