FIRE EFFECTS ON SOIL PROPERTIES

Summary

Wildland fires are occurring more frequently and affecting more of Earth's surface than ever before. These fires affect the properties of soils and the processes by which they form, but the nature of these impacts has not been well understood. Given that healthy soil is necessary to sustain biodiversity, ecosystems and agriculture, the impact of fire on soil is a vital field of research.

Fire Effects on Soil Properties brings together current research on the effects of fire on the physical, biological and chemical properties of soil. Written by over 60 international experts in the field, it includes examples from fire-prone areas across the world, dealing with ash, meso and macrofauna, smouldering fires, recurrent fires and management of fire-affected soils. It also describes current best practice methodologies for research and monitoring of fire effects and new methodologies for future research. This is the first time information on this topic has been presented in a single volume and the book will be an important reference for students, practitioners, managers and academics interested in the effects of fire on ecosystems, including soil scientists, geologists, forestry researchers and environmentalists.

 Key Features:

• brings together research on the effects of fire on the physical, biological and chemical properties of soil.
• contributing to a better understanding of the impact of fire as an integral and inseperable part of the ecosystem
• prpvides a contemporary review of the ways in which fire impacts soils and of the methods being used to monitor and analyse these effects

Table of Contents

Part 1 Review of fire effects on soil properties

1 The sedimentary record: the very early acquisition of fire by hominins
Ferran Estebaranz-Sánchez, Laura Martínez and Paulo Pereira

2 Laboratory fire simulations: plant litter and soils
Paulo Pereira, Xavier Úbeda and Marcos Francos

3 Ash and soils: a close relationship in fire-affected areas
Paulo Pereira, Eric Brevik, Igor Bogunovic and Ferran Estebaranz-Sánchez

4 Texture, mineralogy and structure
David Badía and Clara Martí

5 Soil water repellency
Victoria Arcenegui, Nicasio T. Jiménez-Morillo and Patricia Jiménez-Pinilla

6 Erosion
Gary Sheridan, Patrick Lane and Petter Nyman

7 Carbon
Cristina Santín and Stefan Doerr

8 Nutrient processes
António José Dinis Ferreira, Inês Amorim Leitão, Anne Karine Boulet and Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira

9 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Isabel Campos, Nelson Abrantes, Patrícia Pereira and Jan Jacob Keizer

10 Microbiology
Miriam Muñoz-Rojas and Gema Bárcenas-Moreno

11 Meso and macrofauna
Nelson Abrantes

12 Recurrent fires
Lea Wittenberg and Naama Tessler

13 Smouldering fires and soils
Muhammad Agung Santoso, Xinyan Huang, Nuria Prat-Guitart, Eirik Christensen, Yuqi Hu and Guillermo Rein

14 Management of fire-affected soils
Xavier Úbeda and Jorge Mataix-Solera

Part 2 Methods used to study the effects of fire on soils

15 Soil heating
Cathelijne R. Stoof

16 Fire severity assessments in both the laboratory and the field
Daniel Moya, Javier Madrigal, Teresa Fontúrbel, Eva Marino, Carmen Hernando, Mercedes Guijarro, Cristina Fernández, Enrique Jiménez, Manuel Lucas-Borja, Jose Antonio Vega and Jorge de las Heras

17 Experimental methods and scales in smouldering wildfires
Eirik Christensen, Yuqi Hu, Francesco Restuccia, Muhammad Agung Santoso, Xinyan Huang and Guillermo Rein

18 Unveiling the effects of fire on soil organic matter by spectroscopic and thermal degradation methods
José M. de la Rosa, Agustín Merino, Nicasio T. Jiménez-Morillo, Marco A. Jiménez-González, José A. González-Pérez, Francisco J. González-Vila, Heike Knicker and Gonzalo Almendros

19 Methods used in the study of slash-and-burn fires
Edivaldo Thomaz, Valdemir Antoneli and Fabio Melquiades

20 Techniques for mapping the effects of fire on soil
Juan F. Martínez-Murillo, Raquel Montorio Llovería and Fernando Pérez-Cabello

21 Remote sensing techniques applied to post-fire regeneration
Susana Martínez, Inmaculada Aguado and Emilio Chuvieco