Wildfire Impacts on Flood Regulation and Water Purification Impacto de los incendios forestales en la regulación de las inundaciones y la depuración del agua

Abstract

Wildfires are global phenomena with positive and negative impacts on ecosystems. They are a natural ecosystem element that shaped several biomes. However, for some time, they may disturb the ecosystems, reducing their capacity to supply several services. The objective of this article is to resume the impacts of wildfires on flood regulation and water purification and discuss the use of some restoration measures to mitigate the wildfire impacts. Wildfires, especially in the immediate period after, reduce the ecosystem’s capacity to regulate floods and purify water due to vegetation removal and ash that can degrade water quality. The magnitude of the impacts depends essentially on wildfire severity and post-wildfire precipitation intensity. Restoration measures must be applied, especially after high-severity wildfires and if the recurrence is high. In the context of climate change, the interval between fires is expected to be shorter, and the severity will be high. Therefore, restoration measures may be more needed.