Effects of prescribed fire on soil quality in Mediterranean grassland (Prades Mountains, north-east Spain)

Úbeda, Xavier; Lorca, M.; Outeiro, Luís; Bernia, Sara; Castellnou, Marc

doi:10.1071/wf05040

Cited by 125 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In some parts of Europe, mainly in the Mediterranean countries, fuel management techniques have not only been implemented and used, but also the effects of such techniques on trees, forest floor, soil and breeding bird population have been investigated, though not on a very wide scale (e.g. Fernandes and Botelho, 2003;Moreira et al, 2003;Ú beda et al, 2005). Despite being an established practice, it is a technique that is banned in some European countries.…”

Section: Prescribed Burning Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for CO2 emissions mitigation in Europe through prescribed burning in the context of the Kyoto Protocol

Narayan

Fernandes

Brusselen

et al. 2007

Forest Ecology and Management

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Section: Prescribed Burning Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for CO2 emissions mitigation in Europe through prescribed burning in the context of the Kyoto Protocol

Narayan

Fernandes

Brusselen

et al. 2007

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…Arocena and Opio [10] also reported that soil pH increased by 2 or 3 pH units for two or three years after fires, and Rhoades et al [53] found that soil pH was higher in logged burnout areas for more than three years after combustion of downed logs compared with adjacent soil. Úbeda et al [54] observed that pH returned to pre-fire values just one year after the fire. This increase is generally due to the combustion of organic matter and ash production.…”

Section: Soil Phmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a Wildfire on Selected Physical, Chemical and Biochemical Soil Properties in a Pinus massoniana Forest in South China

Xue

QiuJing

Chen

2014

Forests

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Abstract:Pinus massoniana forests bordering South China are often affected by wildfires. Fires cause major changes in soil properties in many forest types but little is known about the effects of fire on soil properties in these P. massoniana forests. Such knowledge is important for providing a comprehensive understanding of wildfire effects on soil patterns and for planning appropriate long-term forest management in these forests. Changes in soil physical properties, carbon, nutrients, and enzymes were investigated in a P. massoniana forest along a wildfire-induced time span consisting of an unburned soil, and soils 0, one, four, and seven years post-fire. Soil (0-10 cm) was collected from burned and unburned sites immediately and one, four, and seven years after a wildfire. The wildfire effects on soil physical and chemical properties and enzyme activities were significantly different among treatment variation, time variation, and treatment-by-time interaction. Significant short-term effects on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties were found, which resulted in a deterioration of soil physical properties by increasing soil bulk density and decreasing macropores and capillary moisture. Soil pH increased significantly in the soil one-year post-fire. Carbon, total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and available N and P increased significantly immediately and one year after the wildfire and decreased progressively to concentrations lower than in the unburned soil. Total potassium (K) and exchangeable K increased immediately after the wildfire and then continuously decreased along the burned time-span. Urease, acid phosphatase, and catalase activities significantly decreased OPEN ACCESSForests 2014, 5 2948 compared to those in the unburned soil. In fire-prone P. massoniana forests, wildfires may significantly influence soil physical properties, carbon, nutrients, and enzyme activity.

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“…Despite this, little research has been carried out on soil properties from boreal grassland ecosystems (Pereira et al, 2013a, c). The majority of studies on fire impacts on grassland soils have been carried out in tropical (Coetsee et al, 2010;Michelsen et al, 2004), subhumid (Knapp et al, 1998), desert (Ravi et al, 2009a;Whitford and Steinberger, 2012), arid (Vargas et al, 2012), semiarid (Dangi et al, 2010;Ravi et al, 2009b;Xu and Wan, 2008), temperate (Harris et al, 2007) and Mediterranean environments (Marti-Roura et al, 2013;Novara et al, 2013;Úbeda et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term changes in soil Munsell colour value, organic matter content and soil water repellency after a spring grassland fire in Lithuania

et al. 2014

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Abstract.Fire is a natural phenomenon with important implications on soil properties. The degree of this impact depends upon fire severity, the ecosystem affected, topography of the burned area and post-fire meteorological conditions. The study of fire effects on soil properties is fundamental to understand the impacts of this disturbance on ecosystems. The aim of this work was to study the short-term effects immediately after the fire (IAF), 2, 5, 7 and 9 months after a low-severity spring boreal grassland fire on soil colour value (assessed with the Munsell colour chart), soil organic matter content (SOM) and soil water repellency (SWR) in Lithuania. Four days after the fire a 400 m 2 plot was delineated in an unburned and burned area with the same topographical characteristics. Soil samples were collected at 0-5 cm depth in a 20 m × 20 m grid, with 5 m space between sampling points. In each plot 25 samples were collected (50 each sampling date) for a total of 250 samples for the whole study. SWR was assessed in fine earth (< 2 mm) and sieve fractions of 2-1, 1-0.5, 0.5-0.25 and < 0.25 mm from the 250 soil samples using the water drop penetration time (WDPT) method. The results showed that significant differences were only identified in the burned area. Fire darkened the soil significantly during the entire study period due to the incorporation of ash/charcoal into the topsoil (significant differences were found among plots for all sampling dates). SOM was only significantly different among samples from the unburned area. The comparison between plots revealed that SOM was significantly higher in the first 2 months after the fire in the burned plot, compared to the unburned plot. SWR of the fine earth was significantly different in the burned and unburned plot among all sampling dates. SWR was significantly more severe only IAF and 2 months after the fire. In the unburned area SWR was significantly higher IAF, 2, 5 and 7 months later after than 9 months later. The comparison between plots showed that SWR was more severe in the burned plot during the first 2 months after the fire in relation to the unburned plot. Considering the different sieve fractions studied, in the burned plot SWR was significantly more severe in the first 7 months after the fire in the coarser fractions (2-1 and 1-0.5 mm) and 9 months after in the finer fractions (0.5-0.25 and < 0.25 mm). In relation to the unburned plot, SWR was significantly more severe in the size fractions 2-1 and < 0.25 mm, IAF, 5 and 7 months after the fire than 2 and 9 months later. In the 1-0.5-and 0.5-0.25 mm-size fractions, SWR was significantly higher IAF, 2, 5 and 7 months after the fire than in the last sampling date. Significant differences in SWR were observed among the different sieve fractions in each plot, with exception of 2 and 9 months after the fire in the unburned plot. In most cases the finer fraction (< 0.25 mm) was more water repellent than the Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. P. Pereira et al.: Sho...

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Effects of prescribed fire on soil quality in Mediterranean grassland (Prades Mountains, north-east Spain)

Cited by 125 publications

References 12 publications

Potential for CO2 emissions mitigation in Europe through prescribed burning in the context of the Kyoto Protocol

Potential for CO2 emissions mitigation in Europe through prescribed burning in the context of the Kyoto Protocol

Effects of a Wildfire on Selected Physical, Chemical and Biochemical Soil Properties in a Pinus massoniana Forest in South China

Short-term changes in soil Munsell colour value, organic matter content and soil water repellency after a spring grassland fire in Lithuania

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