Before the very large wildfire season in 2003, the topic of the hydrological effects of wildfire had hardly received any attention in British Columbia.
In the immediate aftermath of that landmark fire season, Dr. David Scott, FRBC Research Chair in Watershed Management, identified the presence on fire-induced water repellency in severely burned soils and, together with his extension partners, organized a fire site field day for government and industry partners in October 2003. Subsequently, they were able to document and highlight the important effects of wildfires, and the associated risks of flooding, erosion and sedimentation. Working with research scientists in the Ministry of Forests, a new approach to risk assessment of wildfire sites was established, which is now generally applied after wildfires on Crown Land in British Columbia. Forestry consultants in British Columbia are also familiar with the potential that water repellent soils have to alter risk profiles after wildfires.
Dr. Scott’s research has concentrated on characterizing water repellent soils, including the factors that pre-dispose forestry sites to this phenomenon, the duration of the effect and means of rehabilitating burned sites. Since then, he has participated in several international meetings to advance the understanding of the effects of wildfires on soils and hydrology, and means of managing the erosion risk following wildfires.
Read more about Dr. David Scott.