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Fontúrbel MT, Jiménez E, Merino A, Vega JA. Contrasting immediate impact of prescribed fires and experimental summer fires on soil organic matter quality and microbial properties in the forest floor and mineral soil in Mediterranean black pine forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 907:167669. [PMID: 37848140 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Prescribed fire (PB) is used to achieve ecological objectives and to reduce fuel hazard thus limiting detrimental impacts of wildfire and appropriate selection of prescription window is critical for these goals. Operational use of PB in the Mediterranean forest is scarce and information about its effects on soil remains incomplete. This study for the first time i) compared the immediate impact of spring and autumn PB and experimental summer fire on key properties of forest floor and mineral topsoil in Mediterranean black pine forest, and ii) assessed the capacity of PB to reduce fuel, with limited immediate impacts on soil. PB significantly reduced the 32.5 % of pre-fire forest floor depth, while summer fire consumed 88.5 % and exposed about 30 % of the mineral soil surface. Mean maximum temperature during fire at the mineral soil surface was 23 °C in PB, in contrast to 128 °C in summer fire, while soil heating at 2 cm depth was negligible in both cases. PB did not cause immediate changes in OM quality parameters, and chemical (C and N concentrations, C/N and pH) and microbiological properties (Cmic, Cmic/C, and β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activities) in forest floor or mineral topsoil (0-2 cm). By contrast, summer fire greatly increased OM recalcitrance and reduced Cmic, Cmic/C and enzyme activities in forest floor immediately after fire. In the mineral topsoil, only microbial properties were significantly reduced. The maximum temperature reached during fire in forest floor and topsoil was associated with most of the overall changes in properties in both layers. The findings suggest that prescribed fire can significantly reduce fuel with limited initial impacts on soil. Although these findings are encouraging for operational use of prescribed burning in the ecosystem under study, long-term monitoring of repeated application of the technique on soil properties and other ecosystem components is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Teresa Fontúrbel
- Centro de Investigación Forestal de Lourizán, Xunta de Galicia, PO Box 127, 36080 Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Enrique Jiménez
- Centro de Investigación Forestal de Lourizán, Xunta de Galicia, PO Box 127, 36080 Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Agustín Merino
- University of Santiago de Compostela, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Lugo, Spain.
| | - José A Vega
- Centro de Investigación Forestal de Lourizán, Xunta de Galicia, PO Box 127, 36080 Pontevedra, Spain
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2
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Méndez-López M, Jiménez-Morillo NT, Fonseca F, de Figueiredo T, Parente-Sendín A, Alonso-Vega F, Arias-Estévez M, Nóvoa-Muñoz JC. Mercury mobilization in shrubland after a prescribed fire in NE Portugal: Insight on soil organic matter composition and different aggregate size. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 904:167532. [PMID: 37797758 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Soils constitute the major reservoir of mercury (Hg) in terrestrial ecosystems, whose stability may be threatened by wildfires. This research attempts to look at the effect of prescribed fire on the presence of Hg in a shrubland ecosystem from NE Portugal, delving into its relationship with soil aggregate size and the molecular composition of soil organic matter (SOM). During the prescribed fire, on average 347 mg Hg ha-1 were lost from the burnt aboveground biomass of shrubs and 263 mg Hg ha-1 from the combustion of the soil organic horizon. Overall, Hg concentration and pools in the mineral soil did not show significant changes due to burning, which highlights their role as long-term Hg reservoirs. The higher Hg concentrations found in smaller aggregates (<0.2 mm) compared to coarser ones (0.5-2 mm) are favored by the higher degree of organic matter decomposition (low C/N ratio), rather than by greater total organic C contents. The Hg-enriched finest fraction of soil (<0.2 mm) could be more prone to be mobilized by erosion, whose potential arrival to water bodies increases the environmental concern for the Hg present in fire-affected soils. The SOM quality (molecular composition) and the main organic families, analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in combination with multivariate statistical analysis, significantly conditioned the retention/emission of Hg in the uppermost soil layers. Thus, before the fire, Hg was strongly linked to lipid and protein fractions, while Hg appeared to be linked to aromatic-like compounds in fire-affected SOM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Méndez-López
- Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioloxía Vexetal e Ciencia do Solo, Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, As Lagoas s/n, 32004 Ourense, Spain; Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA), Universidade de Vigo, Campus Auga, Rúa Canella da Costa da Vela 12, 32004 Ourense, Spain.
| | - Nicasio Tomás Jiménez-Morillo
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS-CSIC), Avda. Reina Mercedes 10, 41012 Sevilla, Spain; Instituto Mediterrâneo para a Agricultura, Ambiente e Desenvolvimento (MED), University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra Apartado 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
| | - Felicia Fonseca
- Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Sta. Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
| | - Tomás de Figueiredo
- Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Sta. Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
| | - Andrea Parente-Sendín
- Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioloxía Vexetal e Ciencia do Solo, Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, As Lagoas s/n, 32004 Ourense, Spain; Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA), Universidade de Vigo, Campus Auga, Rúa Canella da Costa da Vela 12, 32004 Ourense, Spain
| | - Flora Alonso-Vega
- Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioloxía Vexetal e Ciencia do Solo, Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, As Lagoas s/n, 32004 Ourense, Spain; Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA), Universidade de Vigo, Campus Auga, Rúa Canella da Costa da Vela 12, 32004 Ourense, Spain
| | - Manuel Arias-Estévez
- Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioloxía Vexetal e Ciencia do Solo, Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, As Lagoas s/n, 32004 Ourense, Spain; Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA), Universidade de Vigo, Campus Auga, Rúa Canella da Costa da Vela 12, 32004 Ourense, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Nóvoa-Muñoz
- Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioloxía Vexetal e Ciencia do Solo, Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, As Lagoas s/n, 32004 Ourense, Spain; Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA), Universidade de Vigo, Campus Auga, Rúa Canella da Costa da Vela 12, 32004 Ourense, Spain
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Kumar J, Kalita H, Rekhung W, Alone RA, Angami T, Jini D, Makdoh B, Touthang L, Khatri N, Singh AP, Sinha NK, Kumar D, Chaudhary RS. Dynamics of soil organic carbon of jhum agriculture land-use system in the heterogeneous hill of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12156. [PMID: 37500678 PMCID: PMC10374613 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38421-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Land-use conversion affects soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Therefore, an in-depth study of change in SOC, SOC pool, fractions of SOC and enzymatic activities of soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and dehydrogenase (DHA) with the conversion of forest land to jhum, fallow jhum and settle cultivation use has been undertaken on the hills of Arunachal Pradesh of India. Geo-referenced soil samples from eight different locations, each from different land uses were collected at three depth. One part of the soil sample had been used for the analysis of SOC and its carbon fraction. The second portion was kept in a deep freezer for determining SMBC and DHA. The third part was used for the analysis of bulk density. The result revealed that the highest loss of SOC pool was recorded in jhum land (41.8 to 13.4%), and the labile carbon was also found to decrease in jhum land. The highest SMBC was observed on the surface soil of the natural forest; the highest DHA was found in the natural forest; and the lowest DHA was recorded in jhum land. This study found that the converting natural forest to jhum reduces SOC storage, enzymatic activities and C fractions significantly whereas fallow jhum shows sign of recovery because all of these parameters improved when compared to the jhum land-use system. This study also confirms that the fallow period helps restore the initial situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jitendra Kumar
- ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
| | - H Kalita
- ICAR RC for NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
| | - Wangnem Rekhung
- ICAR RC for NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
| | - Rajesh A Alone
- ICAR RC for NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
| | | | - Doni Jini
- ICAR RC for NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
| | - Badapmain Makdoh
- ICAR RC for NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
| | - Letngam Touthang
- ICAR RC for NEH Region, AP Centre, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
| | - Nirmal Khatri
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - A P Singh
- SAS Nagaland University, Medziphema Campus, Kohima, Nagaland, India
| | - Nishant K Sinha
- ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Dhiraj Kumar
- ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - R S Chaudhary
- ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Roshan A, Biswas A. Fire-induced geochemical changes in soil: Implication for the element cycling. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 868:161714. [PMID: 36682541 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Soils play an essential role in supporting and sustaining life on this planet. In fire-impacted environments, fire causes considerable changes to the soil, especially in the various elements. The present work provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the effect of fire on soil geochemistry, and its impact on the cycling of different biogenic, major, minor, and trace elements in the soil. Results from both natural and experimental fires (field-scale and lab-scale) are considered in this review. The temperature at which mineral transformation occurs in the soil during fires is summarised. The review suggests that fires can significantly alter mobility and hence, the cycling of many elements in fire-affected regions. Change in speciation of elements following fires risks formation and/or increased availability of the toxic forms of elements in the soil. The unique physical, chemical, and biological conditions observed during fires make many unlikely reactions more likely. However, the information available in the literature is often fire, vegetation, and element specific. More studies on this topic by changing these three variables will improve our understanding of changes in the soil caused by fire. Hence, with fires being touted to increase global presence in the coming years, more studies on understanding their effects on soils are recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajmal Roshan
- Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, MP, India
| | - Ashis Biswas
- Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, MP, India.
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Vieira AMD, Vaňková M, Campos I, Trubač J, Baieta R, Mihaljevič M. Estimation of mercury emissions from the forest floor of a pine plantation during a wildfire in central Portugal. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2022; 194:755. [PMID: 36083387 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-10436-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) concentrations in soils and Hg releases from soils during wildfires are not well characterised in Portugal, even though wildfire activity continues to increase around the Mediterranean. This study focused on the low to moderate severity wildfire in Pombal (Portugal) in 2019, which consumed 12.5 ha of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.). We evaluated Hg concentrations in soil profiles and Hg pools in organic horizons to assess the fire-induced Hg emissions. Moreover, impacts of the fire on forest floor properties were estimated. Four soil profiles were sampled, two at the burned area and two at a nearby unburned area. The soil profiles displayed a typical Hg distribution, with higher Hg concentrations (156 µg kg-1) in the organic horizons with a sharp decrease in the mineral layers. The bond between organic matter and Hg was evident along the profiles, with a strong correlation between TOC and Hg. Ratios of Hg/TOC in the surface layers of the soil were similar in all profiles. The mean organic Hg pool at the studied site was calculated at 10.6 g ha-1. The fire did not seem to affect the topsoil properties based on visual indicators and the lack of statistical differences (p > 0.05) among measured fire-sensitive chemical soil properties (pH, CEC, TOC, TS) between the topsoils of the burned and unburned areas. If we consider a hypothetical complete combustion of the organic layer (743 Mg) and unaffected topsoil, we estimated a release of 133 g of Hg from the burned area. The study emphasised the importance of the forest floor for Hg retention and its crucial role in Hg emissions during wildfires in a country increasingly affected by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alda Maria Domingues Vieira
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Maria Vaňková
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Isabel Campos
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Environment and Planning, CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Jakub Trubač
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Rafael Baieta
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Mihaljevič
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic
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Martínez SI, Contreras CP, Acevedo SE, Bonilla CA. Unveiling soil temperature reached during a wildfire event using ex-post chemical and hydraulic soil analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 822:153654. [PMID: 35124058 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires affect different physical, chemical, and hydraulic soil properties, and the magnitude of their effects varies depending on intrinsic soil properties and wildfire characteristics. As a result of climate change, the frequency and intensity of wildfires have increased, and understanding their impact and predicting the temperature to which soils were exposed in previous events is becoming increasingly critical. Hence, the objectives of this study were to develop a soil-heating laboratory procedure to (a) identify changes in soil properties at different temperatures and (b) to infer the temperature ranges to which heated soils have been exposed. Saturated (Ks) and unsaturated (Ku) hydraulic conductivity, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), wet aggregate stability (WAS), soil water repellency index (RIm), and soil organic matter content (SOM) were measured in six laboratory heated (LH) soils at 300, 500, 700, and 900 °C for 2 h. Bulk density (BD) and soil texture were measured in unheated (UH) and wildfire-unheated (WH) samples. UH samples were used as baselines to quantify changes in soil properties, and WH and LH samples were compared to determine the temperatures to which WH soils were exposed. The results show that in the studied temperature range, WAS exhibited a U-shaped trend, opposite to that of pH and EC. Ks and Ku (negative tension of -3 cm) tend to increase with temperature, reaching a maximum of 1.27·10-4 and 5.62·10-5 (m/s) at 900 °C, respectively. RIm was highly dependent on texture; loam soils had an average minimum and maximum of 1.84 and 2.73, at 900 and 300 °C, respectively, while sandy loam soils had an average minimum and maximum of 1.29 and 2.08 at 300 and 900 °C, respectively. Finally, the parameters that provided laboratory variation and a temperature range consistent with the results observed in naturally heated soils were WAS, RIm, pH, and EC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofía I Martínez
- Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820436, Chile
| | - Cristina P Contreras
- Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820436, Chile
| | - Sara E Acevedo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820436, Chile
| | - Carlos A Bonilla
- Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820436, Chile; Centro de Desarrollo Urbano Sustentable ANID/FONDAP/15110020, El Comendador 1916, Providencia, Santiago 7520245, Chile.
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7
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Jiménez-Morillo NT, Almendros G, Miller AZ, Hatcher PG, González-Pérez JA. Hydrophobicity of soils affected by fires: An assessment using molecular markers from ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 817:152957. [PMID: 35016935 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.152957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Soil water repellency (SWR) is a physical property due to a complex interaction of factors (e.g., fire, soil organic matter, soil texture) that reduces the soil water infiltration capacity. Traditionally, SWR is attributed to the accumulation and redistribution of hydrophobic compounds within soil profile. To obtain further insight into chemical compounds, which could be associated with SWR, a study was done on coarse (1-2 mm) and fine (< 0.05 mm) granulometric fractions of burned and unburned sandy soils under two Mediterranean vegetation biomes from Doñana National Park (Spain). The water drop penetration time (WDPT) test was used to assess the SWR. The molecular composition of extracted humic substances from the soil organic matter (SOM) was determined by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR/MS). Partial least squares (PLS) regressions showed that the SWR can be predicted (P = 0.006) solely based on the abundances of approximately 1200 common compounds determined by FT-ICR/MS. This model confirmed the significant correlation between a specific SOM molecular composition and the SWR. The comparative analysis revealed that the SWR in the burned samples was significantly (P < 0.05) related to the abundance of aromatic and condensed compounds, while in the unburned samples there was a significant influence of aromatic hydrocarbons and lignin compounds. In the fine fraction, lipid compounds were significantly associated with the SWR. Contrastingly, the coarse fraction did not show any correlation. Alternatively, soils with a high SWR were significantly related to the presence of lipids and lignin. This analysis showed that combining FT-ICR/MS molecular characterizations with statistical treatments is a powerful approach for exploratory analysis suggesting that the structural features associated with SWR in the studied soils are different depending on the types of vegetation or the soil physical fractions with different particle size.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ana Z Miller
- HERCULES-Lab, Universidade de Évora, Palácio do Vimioso, 7000-089 Évora, Portugal; IRNAS-CSIC, Av. Reina Mercedes, 10, 41012 Seville, Spain
| | - Patrick G Hatcher
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
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Abdalla K, Chivenge P, Ciais P, Chaplot V. Long-term (64 years) annual burning lessened soil organic carbon and nitrogen content in a humid subtropical grassland. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:6436-6453. [PMID: 34606136 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Burning has commonly been used to increase forage production and nutrients cycling in grasslands. However, its long-term effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) pools within the aggregates and the relation between aggregates-associated SOC and soil CO2 emissions need further appraisal. This study evaluated the effects of 64 years of annual burning on SOC and N dynamics compared to annual mowing and undisturbed treatments in a grassland experiment established in 1950. Soils were sampled from four depths representing the upper 30 cm layer and fractionated into macroaggregates, microaggregates and silt + clay fractions. The macroaggregates were further fractionated into three occluded fractions. The SOC in the bulk soil and aggregates were correlated to soil CO2 effluxes measured under field conditions. Compared to the undisturbed treatment, annual burning decreased aggregates stability, SOC and N in the upper 30 cm layer by 8%, 5% and 12%, respectively. Grassland mowing induced greater aggregates stability than burning only in the upper 5 cm. Burning also decreased SOC in the large macroaggregates (e.g., 0-5 cm) compared to mowing and the undisturbed grasslands but proportionally increased the microaggregates and their associated SOC. Soil N associated with aggregates decreased largely following grassland burning, for example, by 8.8-fold in the microaggregates within the large macroaggregates at 20-30 cm compared to the undisturbed grassland. Burning also increased soil CO2 emissions by 33 and 16% compared to undisturbed and mowing, respectively. The combustion of fresh C and soil organic matter by fire is likely responsible for the low soil aggregation, high SOC and N losses under burned grassland. These results suggested a direct link between grass burning and SOC losses, a key component for escalating climate change severity. Therefore, less frequent burning or a rotation of burning and mowing should be investigated for sustainable grasslands management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khatab Abdalla
- Chair of Agroecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Environment, Natural Resources and Desertification Research Institute, National Center for Research, Khartoum, Sudan
- School of Agricultural, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Pauline Chivenge
- School of Agricultural, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- African Plant Nutrition Institute UM6P Experimental Farm, Benguérir, Morocco
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de 1'Environnement/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Vincent Chaplot
- School of Agricultural, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat (LOCEAN), UMR 6159 CNRS/IRD/UPMC/MNHN, Institut de Recherche pour le eDéveloppement (IRD), Paris, France
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9
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Tuhý M, Ettler V, Rohovec J, Matoušková Š, Mihaljevič M, Kříbek B, Mapani B. Metal(loid)s remobilization and mineralogical transformations in smelter-polluted savanna soils under simulated wildfire conditions. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 293:112899. [PMID: 34089961 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The surroundings of mines and smelters may be exposed to wildfires, especially in semi-arid areas. The temperature-dependent releases of metal(loid)s (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) from biomass-rich savanna soils collected near a Cu smelter in Namibia have been studied under simulated wildfire conditions. Laboratory single-step combustion experiments (250-850 °C) and experiments with a continuous temperature increase (25-750 °C) were coupled with mineralogical investigations of the soils, ashes, and aerosols. Metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) were released at >550-600 °C, mostly at the highest temperatures, where complex aerosol particles, predominantly composed of slag-like aggregates, formed. In contrast, As exhibited several emission peaks at ~275 °C, ~370-410 °C, and ~580 °C, reflecting its complex speciation in the solid phase and indicating its remobilization, even during wildfires with moderate soil heating. At <500 °C, As was successively released via the transformation of As-bearing hydrous ferric oxides, arsenolite (As2O3) grains attached to the organic matter fragments, metal arsenates, and/or As-bearing apatite, followed by the thermal decomposition of enargite (Cu3AsS4) at >500 °C. The results indicate that the active and abandoned mining and smelting sites, especially those highly enriched in As, should be protected against wildfires, which can be responsible for substantial As re-emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Tuhý
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Vojtěch Ettler
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan Rohovec
- Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Matoušková
- Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Mihaljevič
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Bohdan Kříbek
- Czech Geological Survey, Geologická 6, 152 00, Prague 5, Czech Republic
| | - Ben Mapani
- Department of Mining and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Private Bag, 13388, Windhoek, Namibia
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A 13-Year Approach to Understand the Effect of Prescribed Fires and Livestock Grazing on Soil Chemical Properties in Tivissa, NE Iberian Peninsula. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11091013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The high density of fuel accumulated in the Mediterranean ecosystems due to land abandonment results in high severity fires. Traditional fire practices and livestock grazing have played an important role in shaping the structure and composition of Mediterranean landscapes, and both can be efficient tools to manage them now that land abandonment is widespread. Attempts at controlling forest fires are essential for landscape management practices that, in their turn, seek to maintain a specific species composition. Against this backdrop, this study aims to determine the short- and long-term effects of the combined management practices of prescribed fires and goat grazing on the chemical properties of soils in Tivissa, Tarragona (NE Iberian Peninsula). Forty-two samples were collected in a 4 × 18 m plot before the prescribed fire of 2002 (1), immediately after the 2002 prescribed fire (PF) (2), one year after the 2002 PF (3), three years after the 2002 PF (4), and thirteen years after the 2002 PF (5). Soil samples were taken at each sampling point from the top layer (0–5 cm), sieved to obtain a <2 mm fraction, and soil pH, EC, Total C, total N, available P, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ were determined. The results indicate that the short-term effects of fire are more relevant than those attributable to the livestock over the long term due to the low grazing intensity of less than one goat per ha. The long-term effects of prescribed fires were not visible in the research, suggesting that they recovered after burning with all their functions intact and with enhanced levels of natural fertility. Combined land management practices of prescribed fire and livestock grazing did not affect soil chemical properties. The applied management enhanced soil fertility and boosted the ecosystem’s resilience.
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Tuhý M, Rohovec J, Matoušková Š, Mihaljevič M, Kříbek B, Vaněk A, Mapani B, Göttlicher J, Steininger R, Majzlan J, Ettler V. The potential wildfire effects on mercury remobilization from topsoils and biomass in a smelter-polluted semi-arid area. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 247:125972. [PMID: 32069734 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.125972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires can be responsible for significant mercury (Hg) emissions especially in contaminated areas. Here, we investigated the Hg distribution in topsoils and vegetation samples and temperature-dependent Hg mobilization from biomass-rich topsoils collected near a copper (Cu) smelter in Tsumeb (semi-arid Namibia), where Hg-rich Cu concentrates are processed. The thermo-desorption (TD) experiments conducted on representative biomass-rich topsoils (3.9-7.7 mg Hg/kg) indicated that more than 91% of the Hg was released at ∼340 °C, which corresponds to the predominant grassland-fire conditions. The mineralogical investigation indicated that the Hg comes mainly from the deposited smelter emissions because no distinct Hg-rich microparticles corresponding to the windblown dust from the nearby disposal sites of the technological materials (concentrates, slags, tailings) were found. A comparison with the TD curves of the Hg reference compounds confirmed that the Hg in the biomass-rich topsoils occurs as a mixture of Hg bound to the organic matter and metacinnabar (black HgS), which exhibits similarities with the TD pattern of smelter flue dust residue. Despite the installation of a sulfuric acid plant in the smelter in 2015 and a calculated drop in the estimated Hg emissions (from 1301 ± 457 kg/y for the period 2004-2015 to 67 ± 5 kg/y after 2015), the Hg legacy pool in the smelter surroundings can potentially be re-emitted back to the atmosphere by wildfire. Using the Hg spatial distribution data in the area (184 km2), the estimates indicate that up to 303 kg and 1.3 kg can be remobilized from the topsoils and vegetation, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Tuhý
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan Rohovec
- Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Matoušková
- Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Mihaljevič
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Bohdan Kříbek
- Czech Geological Survey, Geologická 6, 152 00, Prague 5, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Vaněk
- Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Ben Mapani
- Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Namibia, Private Bag, 13301, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Jörg Göttlicher
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, DE-76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Ralph Steininger
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, DE-76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Juraj Majzlan
- Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich-Schiller University, Burgweg 11, D-07749, Jena, Germany
| | - Vojtěch Ettler
- Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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Girona-García A, Ortiz-Perpiñá O, Badía-Villas D. Dynamics of topsoil carbon stocks after prescribed burning for pasture restoration in shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain). JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2019; 233:695-705. [PMID: 30641418 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Revised: 12/16/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Prescribed burning has been recently readopted as a management practice in the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain) to stop shrub encroachment processes and recover pasturelands. The immediate effects of prescribed burning on soil C stocks and related biological properties and their evolution in the short-to mid-term after burning were assessed. The study was conducted during three autumnal prescribed burnings in the Central Pyrenees in the municipalities of Buisán, Asín de Broto and Yebra de Basa. At each site, the topsoil Ah horizon was sampled at soil depths of 0-1, 1-2 and 2-3 cm immediately before and immediately after burning. Additionally, seasonal samplings were conducted every 6 months up to one year in the case of the Asín and Yebra sites and up to 24 months at the Buisán site. The total soil organic C stock (SOCS) total N stock (NS), microbial biomass C (MBC), soil basal respiration (SR) and β-D-glucosidase activity were analyzed. The maximum temperatures recorded at the soil surface were 438 °C (Buisán), 768 °C (Asín) and 595 °C (Yebra). At the Buisán site, burning significantly decreased the SOCS (-52%), NS (-44%), MBC (-57%), SR (-72%) and glucosidase activity (-66%) at 0-1 cm depth, whereas fire had no direct effects on soil at the Asín and Yebra sites. The contrasting effects of burning on soil that were observed among sites were found to be related to differences in fire residence time. The prescribed fire at the Buisán site was on a plain slope under slow winds (<8 km h-1) at a burning rate of 0.64 ha h-1, which produced greater impacts on the soil properties than the burnings at the Asín and Yebra sites, where fire spread rapidly (2.72 and 1.43 ha h-1, respectively). At the Buisán site, the SOCS and NS recovered to the unburned values 24 months after burning. One year after burning, the SOCS at Asín were 60% higher than those of the unburned soils at 0-1 cm depth. At all sites a decreasing trend in soil biological activity in the short- and mid-term was observed. From the results it can be concluded that: 1) the direct effects of burning on soil are highly dependent on the environmental conditions, 2) in the mid-term, the reduction in soil biological activity and the incorporation of ashes and charred plant remains led to an increase in the SOCS of the burned soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Girona-García
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra Cuarte s/n, 22071, Huesca, Spain.
| | - Oriol Ortiz-Perpiñá
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra Cuarte s/n, 22071, Huesca, Spain
| | - David Badía-Villas
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra Cuarte s/n, 22071, Huesca, Spain
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13
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Girona-García A, Zufiaurre Galarza R, Mora JL, Armas-Herrera CM, Martí C, Ortiz-Perpiñá O, Badía-Villas D. Effects of prescribed burning for pasture reclamation on soil chemical properties in subalpine shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 644:583-593. [PMID: 29990908 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The abandonment of the traditional pastoral activities in the subalpine grasslands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain) has resulted in shrub encroachment processes that are dominated by species such as the Echinospartum horridum. Therefore, prescribed burning has been recently readopted in this region as a management tool to stop the spread of shrubs and recover grasslands. We aimed to assess the effect that this practice may have on soil chemical properties such as SOC, N, pH, EC, water-extractable and exchangeable cations (Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+), cation exchange capacity, inorganic N forms (N-NH4+ and N-NO3-) and available P. We studied two prescribed burnings conducted at the subalpine level of the Central Pyrenees in the municipalities of Tella-Sin (April 2015) and Buisán (November 2015). At each site, the topsoil was sampled in triplicate at soil depths of 0-1, 1-2 and 2-3 cm immediately before (U), immediately after (B0) and one year after (B12) burning, and litter and/or ashes were removed prior to sampling. The results indicate that in the B0 samples, burning significantly reduced the SOC and N contents as well as the exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ at 0-1 cm, whereas the rest of the studied properties remained virtually unchanged. However, in the B12 samples we detected a decrease of nutrient content that was probably related to leaching and/or erosion processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Girona-García
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain.
| | - Raquel Zufiaurre Galarza
- Departamento de Química Analítica, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain
| | - Juan Luis Mora
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, C/ Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Cecilia María Armas-Herrera
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain
| | - Clara Martí
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain
| | - Oriol Ortiz-Perpiñá
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain
| | - David Badía-Villas
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain
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Úbeda X, Pereira P, Badía D. Prescribed fires. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 637-638:385-388. [PMID: 29753226 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Úbeda
- GRAM (Grup de Recerca Ambiental Mediterrània), Department of Geography, University of Barcelona, Montalegre, 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paulo Pereira
- Environmental Management Center, Mykolas Romeris University, Ateities g. 20, LT-08303 Vilnius, Lithuania.
| | - David Badía
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior, University of Zaragoza, Crtra. Cuarte s/n, Huesca 22071, Spain
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