One of the most common post-fire management techniques is the construction of check dams in catchments. However, little research has explored how small check dams impact on bed profile, vegetation diversity and soil properties several years after their construction in Mediterranean ephemeral channels draining micro-catchments burned by severe wildfires. To fill this gap, this study has evaluated the effects of rock check dams installed about 10 years ago in small catchments after a wildfire in Castilla La Mancha (Central Eastern Spain). The changes in channel morphology, plant diversity as well as a large dataset of soil properties have been analysed close to the check dams in comparison to burned but non-regulated channels. Neither the channel slope nor bed sediment size significantly changed downstream and upstream of the structures in comparison to the non-regulated channels. Thanks to the unexploited retention capacity, the studied control works are still able to store the mobilised sediments on occasion of the most intense floods. Higher species richness in both upstream and downstream sections (+64%) was detected, while the plant evenness was not altered compared to the non-regulated channels. Regarding the soil properties, increases in organic matter (over 200%), nutrients (+72% for N and +152% for P) and some cations (+29% for Ca and +86% for Mg) were measured. Overall, the presence of the rock check dams in the burned micro-catchments, although improving many key plant and soil characteristics, did not sharply change the hydrological, geomorphological and ecological conditions compared with those of the non-regulated catchments.

中文翻译：

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西班牙中部东部森林微流域发生严重野火 10 年后小型石坝对河床、植被多样性和土壤性质的影响


最常见的火灾后管理技术之一是在集水区修建拦河坝。然而，很少有研究探讨小型拦河坝在地中海临时通道中建造几年后如何影响河床剖面、植被多样性和土壤特性，这些通道排出了严重野火烧毁的微集水区。为了填补这一空白，本研究评估了大约 10 年前在卡斯蒂利亚拉曼恰（西班牙中东部）发生野火后在小型集水区安装的岩石拦阻坝的影响。与被烧毁但未管制的河道相比，在检查坝附近对河道形态、植物多样性以及大量土壤特性的变化进行了分析。与非调节河道相比，结构下游和上游的河道坡度和河床沉积物尺寸均没有显着变化。由于未开发的保留能力，所研究的控制工程仍然能够在最严重的洪水发生时储存流动的沉积物。与非调节通道相比，上游和下游部分检测到更高的物种丰富度（+64%），而植物均匀度没有改变。关于土壤特性，测量了有机质（超过 200%）、养分（氮 +72%，磷 +152%）和一些阳离子（钙 +29%，镁 +86%）的增加。总体而言，烧毁的微流域中岩石拦阻坝的存在，虽然改善了许多关键的植物和土壤特性，但与非管制流域相比，并没有显着改变水文、地貌和生态条件。