Studying The Effects of Forest Fire on Consistency Limits of Sandy Soils: A Case Study, Kozağaç, Muğla

Abstract

The changes in physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of topsoil after forest fires and their relevancy with erosion risk have been so far studied for different geographical regions and ecosystems. It is well known that the risk of erosion increases due to the loss of shear strength and the changes in hydraulic properties after the fire. The consistency limits are strongly related to the shear strength of the soil. Nevertheless, a few studies evaluated the consistency limits of naturally burned soils. In addition, determination of the consistency limits of sandy soils can be very challenging owing to their low plasticity. The temperatures produced by the forest fire that occurred on the left flank of an irrigation dam in Muğla, Kozağaç village affected the topsoil. Hence, grain size distribution, soil organic content (SOM), and Atterberg limits of 24 soil specimens collected from the burned and unburned locations were studied. It was found that the grain size distribution of the burned soil did not significantly change whereas clay content and Atterberg limits increased, and SOM decreased. The methodology followed in this study and the results can be served as a base for future studies of fire effects on sandy soils.