Naslov
Effects of pile burning on physio-chemical soil properties in a Mediterranean environment (Croatia)

Autori
Delač, Domina ; Kisić, Ivica ; Pereira, Paulo

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
8th International Conference on Fire Effects on Soil Properties / - Guarapuava, 2021, 1-2

Skup
8th International Conference on Fire Effects on Soil Properties (FESP 2021)

Mjesto i datum
Guarapuava, Brazil, 26.07.2021. - 28.07.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
slash-pile burning ; soil degradation ; soil recovery

Sažetak
Slash-pile burns are a common practice in the Mediterranean during springtime to manage pruning residues and unwanted biomass. Despite being widely used, the impact of this practice on soil properties is not well known. The aim of this work is to study the effect of two experimental pile burns (burned at moderate (MS) and high (HS) severities, respectively ) conducted in a rural Mediterranean environment (Croatia) on physio-chemical soil properties. The experiment was established on the 18th March 2019 in Vrana settlement (43°58'N 15°31'E ; 20 m a. s. l.) on soils of the Leptosols type. An unburned treatment (UB) was set up to assess the impact of burn treatments. The properties studied were soil water repellency (SWR), aggregate mean weight diameter (MWD), water-stable aggregates (WSA), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic matter (SOM), total content of calcium (Ca), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), and iron (Fe), available phosphorus (P2O5), and potassium (K2O) and vegetation cover (VC). The study was carried during 5 sampling campaigns ; 5 days after burn (DAB) and 3, 8, 12, and 15 months after burn (MAB) (75 in total). The result showed that SWR was significantly higher in smaller soil fractions (<0.25 mm) in burn treatments than in UB 5 DAB and 3 MAB. The significantly lower MWD and WSA was 3 MAB in burn treatments than in UB. pH was significantly higher in HS than in UB 3, 12 and 15 MAB, while EC was significantly higher in HS than in UB 5 DAB, 3 and 15 MAB then in burn treatments. In the case of SOM, no significant differences were identified in burn treatments. Total Ca was significantly higher in burn treatments than in UB 5 DAB – 12 MAB. During the whole study period, total Al and Si were significantly higher in UB than in HS, while total Fe was significantly higher in UB then in HS 5 DAB and 8 – 15 MAB. In the case of available nutrients, P2O5 was significantly higher in HS then in UB 3 – 15 MAB, while K2O was significantly higher in burn treatments than in UB 5 DAB. VC was significantly higher in UB than in MS during whole study period, while VC was significantly higher in UB than in HS 5 DAB – 8 MAB. In general, the observed changes in soil properties during the study period were attributed mainly to the volatilization during burning, vegetation regrowth, water erosion and leaching. Principal component analysis revealed that the detrimental effect of pile burn treatments was still evident, and soil did not complete recover from the burn disturbance 15 month after fire. Soils clearly need more time to recover from pile burning even with a relatively rapid vegetation regrowth at the burned areas. The work was supported by the Croatian science foundation under the project “Influence of Summer Fire on Soil and Water Quality” (IP-2018-01-1645).

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Interdisciplinarne biotehničke znanosti

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