Influence of landscape moisture sources and topography on rock weathering patterns associated with wildfire

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Date

2022

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Wiley

Abstract

From 9 March 2015, a wildfire burned an area of 25.7 km2, or approximately half of the Jonkershoek catchment (Western Cape, South Africa), over the course of 3 days. During this period, large areas of fynbos and commercial forest plantations were razed, and rocks, including boulders and smaller rocks, were exposed to high temperatures. While a substantial body of work has been carried out to investigate the effects of wildfire on landscape development, less is known about the effect of wildfire on rock weathering within a landscape. Previous studies have reported the overall effect of wildfire on rock deterioration, but the effect of intra-fire temperature differences associated with heat behaviour on a slope has not been sufficiently addressed. In this study we investigate the effects of topography and proximity to moisture on rock deterioration processes.

Description

Keywords

Climate change, Topography, Wildfire, Geography, Geoscience

Citation

Mol, L., & Grenfell, M. (2022). Influence of landscape moisture sources and topography on rock weathering patterns associated with wildfire. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 47(7),1761–1777. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5345