Phosphorus Release from Ash and Remaining Tissues of Two Wetland Species after a Prescribed Fire

Abstract

Dead plant tissues and ash from a prescribed fire play an important role in nutrient balance and cycling in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. The objective of this study was to assess the dynamic changes in total phosphorus release (TPr) from ash or tissues of either cattail (Typha domingensis Pers.) or sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense Crantz) to water. Natural-dead (senesced-dead) and burning-dead (standing-dead due to a prescribed fire) cattail and sawgrass were collected from highly (H) and moderately (M) impacted zones in the Florida Everglades. This experiment was conducted by incubation and water-extraction of the materials in plastic bottles for 65 d at room temperature (24 +/- 1 degrees C). Results showed that 63 to 88%, 17 to 48%, 9 to 20%, and 13 to 28% of total P (TPp) were released as TPr from cattail and sawgrass ash, cattail tissues from the H zone, cattail tissues, and sawgrass tissues from the M zone, respectively. TPp means total P of plant tissues, whereas TPr is total P release from the tissues or ash. Most of the TPr was released within 24 h after burning. The quick release of TPr observed in this experiment may help explain the P surge in the surface water immediately following a fire in the marsh. These findings suggest that prescribed burning accelerates P release from cattail and sawgrass. They also imply that it is very important to keep the water stagnant in the first 24 h to maximize the benefits of a prescribed fire in the Everglades.

Chemical Characteristics of Wildfire Ash Across the Globe and Their Environmental and Socio-Economic Implications

“…Nutrient fluxes from ash, both transported in water and in smoke, are a key nutrient supplier to freshwater and some marine ecosystems and can cause adverse ecological effects like eutrophication, a major environmental concern (Bladon et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2010;Spencer et al, 2003). In freshwater ecosystems, nutrient inputs from ash might lead to eutrophication and increase in phytoplankton productivity, especially in oligotrophic waters (Ardyna et al, 2022;Tang et al, 2021).…”

“…This is partly due to its high mobility, and hence rapid redistribution after fire, which makes wildfire ash more challenging to collect than other components of the post-fire environment, such as fire-affected soils or the eroded sediment (Bodí et al, 2014). Over the last few years, however, research interest in wildfire ash has gained traction, with studies assessing ash chemical characteristics in a diverse range of ecosystems such as tropical and sub-tropical savannas (Brito et al, 2017;Brito et al, 2021;Caumo et al, 2022;Oliveira-Filho et al, 2018;Sánchez-García et al, 2021), tropical broadleaf forests (Audry et al, 2014), temperate eucalypt forests (Campos et al, 2015;Campos et al, 2016;Costa et al, 2014;Santín et al, 2012;2015b;2018;Silva et al, 2015;Wu et al 2017), Mediterranean and temperate conifer forests (Balfour & Woods, 2013;Harper et al, 2019;Pereira et al, 2012;Simon et al, 2016;Tsai et al, 2015;Quigley et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2015), temperate heathlands (Marcos et al, 2008), boreal forests (Kohl et al, 2019), and wetlands (Liu et al, 2010). This previous research indicated that ash chemical composition is highly heterogeneous even for ash from the same or similar ecosystems (Table 1).…”

Phosphorus Uptake and Growth of Wild-Type Barley and Its Root-Hairless Mutant Cultured in Buffered-and Non-Buffered-P Solutions

“…Dry tissue (150 mg ± 5.0 mg) was ground, digested in 6 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and diluted to 50 mL with distilled water [22]. Phosphorus concentration in the digested solution was analyzed with an automated discrete analyzer (AQ2, SEAL Analytical, Hanau, Germany) based on United States Environmental Protection Agency Method 365.1 (USEPA, 1983).…”

Biological Flora of Coastal Freshwater and Brackish Marshes: Cladium jamaicense Crantz

“…Important factors that contribute to productivity in the marsh are the composition of litter and the quality of ash that results from burning (Qian et al ., 2009). Liu et al . (2010) recorded a surge of phosphorus in surface water from C. jamaicense and Typha domingenis within 24 hours after a fire.…”