Effect of Prescribed Fire on Soil Permeability in a Neotropical Savanna

Abstract

Abstract Prescribed fire is a manner to decrease the amount of fuel which, otherwise, would be subjected to wild fires. However, the effect of such practice on soil physical properties still needs attention. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of prescribed fire on some physical variables of a soil under the Brazilian Tropical Savanna, a fire-prone ecosystem. To do so, we sampled water repellency, infiltration capacity, and soil resistance to penetration in burned (prescribed fire) and unburned adjacent plots. There were no significant differences between burned and unburned plots for any of the variables. Therefore, in addition to the clear effects with respect to ecosystem flammability, here we demonstrated that prescribed fire does not significantly alter soil physical properties in the Brazilian Tropical Savanna. This demonstrates the soil physical properties maintenance under low intensity fire regimes.