The influence of fire history, plant species and post-fire management on soil water repellency in a Mediterranean catchment: the Mount Carmel range, Israel

Fire is a key factor impacting soil hydrology in manyMediterranean catchments. Soilwater repellency (SWR) can stimulate land degradation processes by reducing the affinity of soil and water thereby triggering a reduction in soil fertility and increasing soil and water losses. The effects of two consequent fires (1989 and 2005) on SWR were assessed in the Carmel Mountains, Israel. Fire history, plant recovery and post-fire management (14 treatments)were investigated as determining factors in a time dependent system. In total 210 locationswere investigated 9 times fromOctober 2011 to February 2012,which totals 1890water drop penetration tests thatwere performed. During each visit to the field (9 times) a soilmoisture contentwas measured for each treatment. SWR was highest in the N50 years unburnt plots, where soil under Pinus halepensis is most hydrophobic. In the most disturbed soils (twice burnt), many sites have a low to absent SWR even if the soil is very dry. The dynamics and fluctuations in SWR differ in magnitude under different plant species. The areas treated with CC (chipping of charred trees) showed a much higher SWR than areas left untreated. From these insights, a conceptual model of the reaction of SWR on multiple fires was developed

Species Selection and Management Under Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration in Dodoma, Tanzania

Farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is promoted as a cost-effective technique to restore degraded arable drylands. Evidence comes mainly from the West-African Sahel, where it is a traditional practice, and it is now being promoted across the African continent. In this study, we evaluated the role of the farmer affecting natural regeneration under farmer managed natural regeneration in the highly degraded Dodoma region in Tanzania. We systematically assessed the linkages between species selection, perceived benefits and management practices as reported by 57 farmers in 13 villages involved in FMNR. On average, farmers list 2.8 species to be promoted on their farms as part of the practice of FMNR. In total, a list of 69 species was promoted by the practice, of which most (51) were only mentioned by one or two farmers, indicating that FMNR may contribute substantially to on-farm regional diversity. Most species selected were associated with a range of benefits and the diversity of benefits, not any single benefit, explained species selection under FMNR. Management of FMNR species goes beyond pruning, a practice promoted within FMNR, and is characterized by 10 different practices that are differentially applied to the selected species and individuals. We conclude that species selection and management under FMNR is driven by farmers autonomous decisions, making FMNR both diverse and complex and complicates predicting the extent to which FMNR may successfully contribute to achieving specific restoration outcomes. Monitoring farms over extended periods may increase outcome prediction capacity