Abstract
AbstractWildfires are complex natural phenomena that exert significant impacts on landscapes, societies, and economies. Understanding the concept of resilience is crucial in mitigating its possible negative impacts, as it involves preparing for, responding to, and recovering from wildfires. This research aims to demonstrate the utility of in situ soil profile description in assessing land use resilience using an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) through an expert panel survey. The study examines a catchment located in the Balearic Islands, considering two fire occurrences (once and twice), comparing abandoned agricultural terraces and natural hillslopes. The results demonstrated that the priority ranking of variables to assess soil profile resilience against wildfires, determined by a panel of 10 experts, identified horizon depth (25.1%), slope inclination (21.5%), and hydrological connectivity (16.6%) as the most crucial factors. Other variables, such as number and size of roots, structure of pedal soil material, size class structure, and rock fragments, also contributed to resilience but to a lesser extent, with scores ranging from 5.7% to 9.6%. Analyzing the priorities established by the experts using AHP, the results showed that the least resilient soil horizon was H1 of the control hillslope, especially under high and low connectivity processes, which aligned with the loss of superficial soil horizons after one and two wildfires. Hillslopes showed greater changes in resilience after occurring wildfires compared to terraces, with the most significant alterations occurring after the second wildfire event. This study addresses a significant knowledge gap in the field by highlighting the interconnectedness of wildfires, resilience, and land use, providing insights into land management strategies for wildfire-prone regions.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC