An in-situ method for assessing soil aggregate stability in burned landscapes

Due to soil repellency in burned areas, slope runoff and soil erodibility escalates following forest fires, increasing the vulnerability to post-fire debris flows. Soil aggregate stability is a critical determinant of soil infiltration capacity and erosion susceptibility. The prevalent method of assessing soil aggregate stability in burned areas, the counting the number of water drop impacts (CND) method, is time-intensive and impractical for in-situ measurements. In response, this study introduces a novel technique based on the shock and vibration damage (SVD) effect for evaluating soil aggregate stability in burned areas. Thirteen distinct soil aggregate types were meticulously prepared for indoor simulated fire testing, with due consideration to factors such as bulk weight, organic matter content, and water repellency, which influence stability of soil aggregates. Employing a custom-built test apparatus, the mass loss rate (MLR) of soil aggregates was determined through orthogonal experiments using the SVD method and compared against the standard CND technique's quantification of water droplet-induced aggregate destruction. The findings demonstrated that SVD method, employing Test Scheme 6 (testing 20 aggregates, 1-meter impact height, 40% water content, and five impacts), exhibits excellent agreement (Kendall coefficient = 0.797) and correlation (R² = 0.634) with CND method outcomes. This testing scheme, characterized by rapid determination and effective discrimination, is identified as the optimal testing approach. The SVD testing apparatus is straightforward, portable, and easily disassembled, rendering it suitable for on-site use. It can be used to distinguish the stability level of soil aggregates swiftly and quantitatively under various fire intensities in burned areas in situ, which is an important guiding significance for the study of soil erosion, erosion control, and post-fire debris flow initiation mechanism in burned areas.