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<br />REFERENCES <br /> <br />Adams, Susan, Strain, B.R., and Adams, M.S., 1970, Water-repellent soils, fire, and <br />annual plant cover in a desert scrub community of southeastern California: <br />Ecology, v. 51, p. 696-700. <br />This was the first study to be conducted on fire-related water repellency in deserts. <br />Researchers examined the vegetation mosaic that resulted from hydrophobic soils in a desert <br />scrub community of Southern Califomia, four years after fire. Large hummocks of soil <br />supported various shrubs, but were devoid of the annual plants that resided between the <br />hummocks. Results of the study suggested that hydrophobic soil layers within the <br />hummocks were responsible for the observed vegetation patterns. Fire appeared to intensify <br />the hydrophobic properties of the soil, and to increase the depth at which these layers were <br />found. Researchers also noted that the three different types of shrubs appeared to cause <br />varying degrees of water repellency on their respective hummocks. <br /> <br />Barrett, Gary, and Slaymaker, Olav, 1989, Identification, characterization, and <br />hydrological implications of water repellency in mountain soils, Southern <br />British Columbia: Catena, v. 16, p. 477-489. <br />This study evaluated and identifIed hydrophobic soils at various sites within the mountains <br />of British Columbia. Contrary to many other studies, these water-repellent soils were fine- <br />grained (one site was clay-silt lacustrine deposits). Researchers found that all sites in the <br />subalpine-alpine ecotone exhibited water-repellent or diffIcult-to-wet layers. These layers <br />(no more than a few centimeters thick) occurred at or near the surface, and were found in <br />locations of accumulated organic matter. The results strongly indicated that the water <br />repellency was associated with the accumulation of organic matter, specifIcally that derived <br />from vegetation in the alpine-subalpine ecotone. The authors noted that the repellency <br />appeared to be a "permanent" feature, in that it did not degrade with exposure to water. <br />They also reported that water-repellent layers graded into gradually less repellent (or <br />"transient'') layers below. <br /> <br />3 <br />