Fire Effects on Soil Properties

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

Part 1 Review of fire effects on soil properties 1 The sedimentary record: the very early acquisition of fire by homininsFerran 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 hydrocarbonsIsabel 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 regenerationSusana Martínez, Inmaculada Aguado and Emilio Chuvieco

Paulo Pereira is Professor of Environmental Science at the Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania. He has researched the effects of fire on ecosystems for more than 10 years and organised international conferences and courses in this field. Paulo has also edited several special issues on fire effects on ecosystems for well-regarded journals. Jorge Mataix-Solera is Professor of Soil Science at the University Miguel Hernández in Elche, Spain. His research focuses on the effects of fires on soil properties, and he has collaborated extensively with researchers from the USA, Australia, Israel, Slovak Republic, UK, Brazil and Italy. He is one of the Executive Editors of SOIL and is President of the Spanish Society of Soil Science. Xavier Úbeda is a senior lecturer at the University of Barcelona, Spain. He has over 25 years of experience in the study of fire effects on soil properties, hydrology and soil erosion. His main interest is the effect of prescribed fires on soil properties and he has organised many conferences on the effects of fire and forest management practices. Guillermo Rein is Professor of Fire Science at the Imperial College, London, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Fire Technology. He leads the research group Imperial Hazelab and his research focuses on wood ignition, designing structures that resist fire and the spread of wildfires. Artemi Cerdà is Professor in Physical Geography at the University of Valencia, Spain. He was previously a staff member of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, and has conducted research at Bar-Ilan University, Palermo University, Wageningen University, Amsterdam University, Swansea University and the United States Forest Service. He is an expert on soil erosion and soil hydrology on fire-prone land.