Texas Burn Scars
January 25, 2023
Last year brought significant wildfires across Texas with over
650,000 acres burned. These fires can and will have lasting impacts on our
landscape. One of the most visible effects? Burn scars. Simply put, a burn (or
fire) scar is an area that has been left charred and stripped of vegetation by
an intense wildfire.
Typically, most low vegetation such as grasses and forbs are
removed and a scattering of blackened snags, or dead trees, are left standing
with only ash and fire-hardened bare soil remaining.
Without vegetation to hold soil in place, especially on
slopes, erosion can take place even with modest rainfall amounts on burn scars.
On large mountains, higher rainfall rates can even cause devastating mud flows
into the creeks and streams, and where deeper soils exist, lead to entire
hillsides collapsing.
In Texas, grass and hardwood stump sprouts
are already coming back on some of the 2022 burn scars and many areas are
beginning to recover, but it may take as long as 10 years for the soil to fully
revegetate and return to pre-wildfire water holding capacity. Landowners impacted by wildfires can expect ongoing
bouts of localized heavy erosion during strong to severe thunderstorms over the
next several years.
The good thing? These impacts can be
mitigated with proven erosion control methods including contour felling,
erosion control mats, fiber rolls, hydro mulching, seedling and more. For
additional information on erosion control methods, click here.
For assistance in controlling erosion
on your property, contact Texas A&M Forest Service at https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/ContactUs/.