Desarrollo de Repelencia al Agua en Suelos Afectados por Incendios, en una Zona del Parque Metropolitano del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito

Soil exposure to high temperatures during a forest fire can induce the development of water repellency and other effects that alter soil quality, including changes in carbon and organic matter content, soil loss, preferential flow and erosion. In this work, the severity and persistence of water repellency reached by a previously burned soil within a 13.4 ha area in the Metropolitan Park in the city of Quito was determined. The determination of soil water repellency persistence was performed using the water drop breakthrough time (WDPT) methodology and the repellency severity was determined using the ethanol molarity test (MED). The highest values of water repellency persistence were determined four months after the fire and allowed classifying the fire-affected soil as "Strongly Repellent". It was observed that the persistence of fire-induced repellency was transient and decreased in relation to time, with a decrease in repellency being determined in the samples analyzed at seven and nine months. No definitive relationship was found between the increase in water repellency and the increase in organic matter, which presented the highest average concentration four months after the fire (5.88 %).