Slope erosion after fire can prevent forest regrowth for centuries

Evidence

Thus the McIntyre Burn illustrated in the picture shows a mediumsteep hillside where the flow of water after a rain or a melting of snow naturally moves any loose soil down the slope. With the tree cover gone because of the fire, the erosion caused by water movement on a slope is increased, and the ability of the small grasses and herbs that grow up after a fire to prevent this erosion may not be enough. Thus a vicious circle of removal of the soil faster than it can be produced is set up, with trees prevented from coming back perhaps for centuries! — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods, 411

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Soil formation takes centuries, making its loss nearly irreparable — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 230; Slope position within a region shapes soil maturity and depth — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 242; Flat terrain and surviving seed trees allow quick conifer regrowth after fire — Vinson Brown, Reading the Woods: Seeing More in…, 414 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Hidden mycorrhizal networks allow logged or burned forests to regrow #complicates (0.75) — Jamal Awil, The Whispering Archive, 1683