The effects of wildfire wooden ember cover on hydrological behaviour and stability of silty volcanic slopes

This work presents an experimental investigation into the hydrological response of a silty volcanic soil covered by a thin layer (5 cm) of wooden ember granular material. This layer simulates the presence of wildland fire ash. The investigation was carried out using an instrumented lysimeter positioned outdoor and subjected to natural climatic loading. The experimental dataset was then compared with those previously collected on the silty layer only under bare and vegetated conditions. The results show that evaporative fluxes are reduced remarkably by the wooden ember covering layer generating higher water content in the silty volcanic soil making slopes more prone to instability.