INFLUENCE OF WILDFIRE AND FIRE SUPPRESSION BY SEAWATER ON SOIL PROPERTIES

Abstract

During the last decades rapid climate changes have occurred and through frequent fires they have strongly affected the landscape. Wildfires directly influence on soil properties and generally increasing availability of nutrients. Due to the lack of multiple sources of freshwater, most fires in Dalmatia are being extinguished by seawater, which directly affects soil properties. During October 2012 soil samples (0 - 5 cm) were collected at four different locations from a burned and unburned plots in order to observe the impacts of fire on soil properties. Samples were collected 14 and 2 months after the wildfires occurred in 2011 and 2012, depending on the location. This paper analyzes the effects of wildfire and seawater used for fire suppression on soil chemical properties. The results showed significant differences between burned and unburned soil plots for pH, plant available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), total carbon and total nitrogen. Differences between electrical conductivity (EC), F-, Cl-, SO42-, Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ in burned and unburned plots also exist. Burned plots contain higher average values of K, P, EC and all water-extractable elements. Soil pH conditions after wildfire favors the solubility of some elements presented in this paper. These investigated parameters are under the direct influence of fire intensity and seawater on the ground. This study is useful for understanding changes in soil chemistry after fire and seawater application.