Abstract
Forest fires are major environmental disturbances, and can affect the physical, chemical, mineralogical, and biological properties of the soil. This study was carried out to determine the effects of forest fire disturbance on functions of the ecosystem. We examined the influence of fire on the chemical properties of soil in a recently burned pine forest in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do Province in Korea. Immediately after a fire, we established four burned plots and control plots outside the margin of the fire. Soil organic matter, water content, and total nitrogen was slightly lower than those in the unburned sites. The soil pH, NO3-N and NH4-N contents of the burned site was significantly higher than those in the unburned site. The concentrations of calcium in the burned soil was approximately 1.1~1.5 times higher than that in the top-soil (0~5cm) of the unburned site during the experimental period. In contrast, the concentration of magnesium was lower than that in all soil layers in the unburned site. The concentration of phosphorus partially increased in the burned site (1.4 times), but rapidly decreased. The total nitrogen content decreased in all soil layers of the burned sites. The chemical properties of the top-soil of the burned site were observed to be restored within five months after the fire, but we believe that the restoration of soil layers below 5cm requires additional time.
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