How might a wildfire influence mass wasting? By drying out (removing the water) from the regolith on a slope, wildfires decrease the likelihood of a mass wasting event. A wildfire can dry out the regolith on a slope, making it less cohesive and more likely to travel downward. Wildfires burn only at the bottom of a slope, which oversteepens the slope and induces mass wasting. The ash from the wildfires lands on the slope, adding enough mass to instigate mass wasting. Because plants on a slope bind the regolith with their roots and shield the soil surface from raindrops, a wildfire that destroys these plants would render the soil looser and more susceptible to the erosional forces of rain.

Because plants on a slope bind the regolith with their roots and shield the soil surface from raindrops, a wildfire that destroys these plants would render the soil looser and more susceptible to the erosional forces of rain.

Explanation:

The plants present in a region, protect the soil from being eroded by the impact of rain or wind. This is because the roots of the plants leave the soil more aggregated, block the impact of the wind and allow water to infiltrate. This protection is increased on slopes, where the chances of erosion are greater. However, when a fire occurs and these plants are killed, the roots no longer provide protection to the soil, leaving it drier and looser. This causes the wind to break this soil apart, facilitating erosion. In addition, rainwater has difficulties in infiltrating the soil and ends up draining, taking parts of the soil with it and causing erosion.