Influence of burning on the soil in the timber range area of Lac Le Jeune, B.C.
department or school: Land and Food Systems, Faculty of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Beaton, James Duncan
issued: 2012-02-09T21:01:01Z
issued: 1953
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: In the forest used as range several problems are encountered: (1) accessibility of ranges and (2) invasion of open or lightly timbered ranges by forest growth. For many years stockmen have advocated the use of controlled burning to overcome these problems. However, at present the value of fire for range improvement in this region is not definitely known. Experimental burns have been made to study the effect of fire on vegetation, but little or no work has been done to determine the effect of fire on the soil in such forest range areas. Accordingly, this investigation was initiated in order to determine to what extent soil characteristics in the forest range about Lac Le Jeune have been altered toy forest fires. As a result of forest fires the following changes occurred in the soil of the lodgepole pine, Douglas fir and mixed stands of lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, and spruce forests near Lac Le Jeune. (1) A reduction in percent porosity of the top O-3 inches of soil due to the destruction of both the porous organic horizon and the crumb structure of the upper portion of the B₂ horizon. A further reduction was the result of the soil pores toeing clogged toy ash and suspended soil particles. (2) Increased percentage of capillary pore space of the O-3 inch layer because of the destruction of the larger pores in the Ao horizon and the compaction of the bare soil toy rain. (3) 4 decrease in the percentage of non-capillary pore space or air volume in the O-3 inch layer resulting from the destruction of the Ao with large porese The compacting effect ofrain drops on the crumb structure of the B₂ horizon also aided in decreasing the non-capillary porosity. (4) An increase in volume weight of the O-3 inch layer due to compaction and destruction of the less dense Ao. (5) A decrease in the infiltration rate due to compaction and destruction of soil structure. (6) An increase in soil temperature at a depth of 3 inches resulting from the addition of charcoal which absorbs heat and…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/40607
note: INFLUENCE OF BURNING ON THE SOIL IN THE TIMBER RANGE AREA OF LAC LE JEUNE, B. C. by JAMES DUNCAN BEATON A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE i n the Department of AGRONOMY (SOILS) We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the standard r e q u i r e d from candidates f o r the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE. Members of the Department of Agronomy. THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1953. ABSTRACT In the forest used as range several problems are encountered: (1) accessibility of ranges and (2) invasion of open or lightly timbered ranges by forest growth. For many years stockmen have advocated the use of controlled burning to overcome these problems• However, at present the value of f i r e for range improvement in this region is not definitely known. Experimental burns have been made to study the effect of f i r e on vegetation, but l i t t l e or no work has been done to determine the effect of fi r e on the s o i l i n such forest range areas. Accordingly, this investigation was initiated in order to determine to what extent s o i l characteristics in the forest range about Lac Le Jeune have been altered toy forest f i r e s . As a result of forest f i r e s the following changes occurred in the s o i l of the lodgepole pine, Douglas f i r and mixed stands of lodgepole pine, Douglas f i r , and spruce forests near Lac Le Jeune. (1) A reduction in percent porosity of the top 0-3 inches of s o i l due to the destruction of both the porous organic horizon and the crumb structure of the upper portion of the B 2 horizon. A further reduction was the result of the s o i l pores toeing clogged toy ash and suspended s o i l particles. (2) Increased percentage of capillary pore space of the 0-3 inch layer because of the destruction of the larger pores in the Ao horizon and the compaction of the bare s o i l toy rain. (3) 4 decrease in the percentage of non-capillary pore spac…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0106372
language: eng
degree discipline: Soil Science
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/40607