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. 2020 Jul 24;17(15):5343.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17155343.

Do Wildfires Cause Changes in Soil Quality in the Short Term?

Valeria Memoli  1 , Speranza Claudia Panico  1 , Lucia Santorufo  1 , Rossella Barile  2 , Gabriella Di Natale  3   4 , Aldo Di Nunzio  4 , Maria Toscanesi  3 , Marco Trifuoggi  3 , Anna De Marco  5 , Giulia Maisto  1
Affiliations

Do Wildfires Cause Changes in Soil Quality in the Short Term?

Valeria Memoli et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Wildfires have high frequency and intensity in the Mediterranean ecosystems that deeply modify the soil abiotic (i.e., pH, contents of water, organic matter and elements) and biotic properties (i.e., biomass and activity). In 2017, an intense wildfire occurred inside the Vesuvius National Park (Southern Italy), destroying approximately 50% of the existing plant cover. So, the research aimed to evaluate the fire effects on soil quality through single soil abiotic and biotic indicators and through an integrated index (SQI). To achieve the aim, soil samples were collected inside the Vesuvius National Park at 12 sampling field points before fire (BF) and after fire (AF). The findings highlighted that in AF soil, the contents of water and total carbon, element availability, respiration and the dehydrogenase activity were lower than in BF soil; in contrast, pH and hydrolase activity were significantly higher in AF soil. The microbial biomass and activity were affected by Al, Cr and Cu availability in both BF and AF soils. Despite the variations in each investigated soil abiotic and biotic property that occurred in AF soil, the overall soil quality did not significantly differ as compared to that calculated for the BF soil. The findings provide a contribution to the baseline definition of the properties and quality of burnt soil and highlight the short-term effects of fire on volcanic soil in the Mediterranean area.

Keywords: Vesuvius National Park; microbial activity; organic matter content; potential toxic trace elements; sequential extraction; soil quality index.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Mean temperatures (black points) and sum of rainfall (white points) measured each month from September 2016 to September 2018 in the sampling area, Vesuvius National Park.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the sampling field points (blue points) inside the Vesuvius National Park.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean values (± e.s.) of (a) Cfung/Cmic, (b) microbial respiration, (c) hydrolase activity (HA), (d) dehydrogenase activity (DHA) measured before (BF) and after fire (AF) in soils collected on the Vesuvius National Park, Southern Italy. The asterisks indicate significant differences (t-test—*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001) in soil properties between BF and AF soils.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean values (± e.s.) of soil quality index (SQI) based on soil chemical and biological properties calculated before (BF) and after fire (AF) in soils collected on the Vesuvius National Park, Southern Italy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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