A 2-year field experiment was undertaken to quantify the interacting effects of a late-spring prescribed burn and summer rainfall on seasonal runoff and erosion in a southern Arizona grassland. Six blocks with walled subplots (n = 24) were installed on a hillslope to measure changes to plant, soil, and hydrologic variables in response to treatments. Increased bulk density, erosion, and runoff volumes; and lowered plant cover and water intake rates were observed within the burned plots following the first summer season. In the second year, higher bulk density, runoff volumes, and erosion measures were again observed within the burned plots, as well as lower plant cover, aggregate stability, and water intake rates. The results of this study indicate that following late-spring burning, semi-desert grasslands are susceptible to greater summer runoff and erosion compared to unburned grasslands. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.