Abstract
Vegetation changes caused by fire events are visible instantly but changes in soils are less apparent, and could be short-term, long-term or permanent in nature. Research has shown that soils undergo changes in their mineralogical, geochemical, physico-chemical and biological properties after a fire event that may vary depending on the intensity and duration of the fire, and the properties of the soil. Some of these properties make significant contributions towards soil’s ability to sorb contaminants. Changes in these properties could affect soil sorption complex and the effectiveness of remediation methods used to clean these soils when contaminated. This review synthesizes available information on fire-induced changes in soil properties affecting soil sorption and the factors which dictate these changes. The implications of changes in these properties on the soil’s natural attenuation capacity and choice of remediation method to clean up fire-affected contaminated soils are also discussed.
Highlights
IntroductionFire events are becoming more frequent in occurrence, and larger in terms of areal coverage [1]
Fire events are becoming more frequent in occurrence, and larger in terms of areal coverage [1].Analyses of charcoal records in sediments and isotopic records in ice cores have indicated lower biomass burning in present times than any time in the previous 2000 years [2,3], but Huang et al [1]and North et al [4] reported an increase in the occurrence of wildfires
Falciglia et al [116] have shown that soil texture influences contaminant sorption in soils by up to 37.1% with finer soil particles playing a major role. This influence has been attributed to the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the various soil particles which, according to Schulten and Leinweber [117] increases from 10 mmol/kg in sandy soil to 813 mmol/kg in fine clay (Table 1)
Summary
Fire events are becoming more frequent in occurrence, and larger in terms of areal coverage [1]. The cause of fire incidents and their occurrence and spread are influenced by several factors most of which are related to human activities. Fires likely to affect soils are ground fires and crawling or surface fires because of their proximity to the soil surface Irrespective of whether they are natural or manmade, fire events affect the ecosystems in which they occur in several ways. In contaminated soils where natural attenuation processes are hindered by the presence of high concentrations of contaminants, fire-induced changes in soil properties could have serious consequences These changes could influence soil sorption and attenuation capacities and dictate the choice of remediation method to use on fire-affected contaminated sites. This paper reviews soil- and fire-related factors that dictate changes in selected soil properties during fire events and the extent to which these properties are affected. It discusses how these changes may affect soil sorption capacity and the choice of remediation methods used on contaminated fire-affected soils
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