Navigation Links
When it comes to forest soil, wildfires pack 1-2 punch
Date:10/16/2008

For decades, scientists and resource managers have known that wildfires affect forest soils, evidenced, in part, by the erosion that often occurs after a fire kills vegetation and disrupts soil structure. But, the lack of detailed knowledge of forest soils before they are burned by wildfire has hampered efforts to understand fire's effects on soil fertility and forest ecology.

A new study led by the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station addresses this critical information gap and represents the first direct evidence of the toll wildfire can take on forest soil layers. It draws on data from the 2002 Biscuit Fire, which scorched some 500,000 acres in southwest Oregon, including half of a pre-existing study's experimental plots, which had been studied extensively before the fire. The result was a serendipitous and unprecedented opportunity to directly examine how wildfire changes soil by sampling soils before and after a wildfire. The study appears in the November issue of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

"Losing our experiment in the fire was hard, but the opportunity to better understand fire as a dominant ecosystem process has been very exciting," said Bernard Bormann, a research forest ecologist with PNW Research Station and the study's lead investigator. "This study, covering over 300 acres, provided nearly 400 soil sampling points as well as extensive tree and understory plots to use in our analysis."

Bormannalong with study co-author and Western Washington University professor Peter Homann and colleagues from the PNW Research Station and Oregon State Universityconducted chemical analyses on soil samples collected before and after the fire. They found that the combustion of the organic layer at the soil's surface, including woody debris, caused intense, 1,300 F-plus temperatures, which, in turn, displaced considerable amounts of carbon and nitrogen from the underlying mineral soil layer and left mostly as
'/>"/>

Contact: Yasmeen Sands
ysands@fs.fed.us
206-732-7823
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Source:Eurekalert  

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Efavirenz-based initial therapies associated with better outcomes in HIV-infected adults
2. Complete Genomics launches, becomes worlds first large-scale human genome sequencing company
3. Monitoring outcomes of suicide attempts in pregnancy can better assess drug dangers
4. New study spotlights National Institutes of Health grant outcomes for clinical research
5. Predicting acute GVHD by gene expression could improve liver stem cell transplant outcomes
6. Treatment delays result in poor outcomes for men with breast cancer
7. When it comes to female red squirrels, it seems any male will do
8. Mouse study: When it comes to living longer, its better to go hungry than go running
9. National Inventors Hall of Fame welcomes 2008 inductees
10. Meteorology student SOARS toward excellence, overcomes obstacles
11. DFG welcomes decision on stem cell research by German parliament

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
When it comes to forest soil, wildfires pack 1-2 punch
When it comes to forest soil, wildfires pack 1-2 punch
(Date:11/6/2009)... Center and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) ...on Taste and Smell Research. Organized by Monell i...the first international meeting on taste and smell...utive Officer, American Association for the Advanc...e magazine, will open the meeting with a plenary a...
(Date:11/4/2009)... United States Using Less Water Today , The Un...ears ago, despite a 30 percent population increase... alternative cooling methods at power plants and m... latest USGS water use report, nearly half of all ...ermoelectric power plants. Irrigation accounts for...
(Date:11/4/2009)...eived more than $10 million in research grants fro...mulus program, bringing thetotal amount of stimulu...n. Thirty-three projects achieved stimulus fundin... , "The university has thoughtfully undertaken a... excellence to federal agency priorities. Through...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Monell Center joins with CAS to host Beijing meeting on taste and smell research 2USGS science picks 2USGS science picks 3USGS science picks 4USGS science picks 5USGS science picks 6USGS science picks 7OU achieves $10 million in stimulus grants for 33 projects on the Norman campus 2OU achieves $10 million in stimulus grants for 33 projects on the Norman campus 3Flip for Fall Seasonal Household Tips Include Ten Million Reasons to Use Allergy Protective Bedding 57967 1Flip for Fall Seasonal Household Tips Include Ten Million Reasons to Use Allergy Protective Bedding 57967 2Flip for Fall Seasonal Household Tips Include Ten Million Reasons to Use Allergy Protective Bedding 57967 3Lilly Announces New U S Affiliate Leader 57963 1Lilly Announces New U S Affiliate Leader 57963 2ALPCO Launches GLP 1 28Active 7 36 29 and 287 36 and 9 36 29 ELISA Kits 57959 1ALPCO Launches GLP 1 28Active 7 36 29 and 287 36 and 9 36 29 ELISA Kits 57959 2
...h officials in China brace for a potential resurge... connection with Chinese New Year on February 9, r...ave published insights into a new protein that cou...ability to cause disease and death. , When the SA...l reservoir to humans in late 2002, it caused appr...
... growth hormone and similar compounds may reduce c...y lead to cartilage degeneration and impaired memo...Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and ...rat model to explore the effects of growth hormone...factor 1) on adult rats and found paradoxical effe...
...he University of Oregon have,discovered a form of ...ornia,s Salton Sea, using near-infrared light for ...in this week,s online edition of the,Proceedings o...ew strain of Acaryochloris is unique because it is...or Michelle Wood. She obtained,samples containing ...
Other Biology News:New SARS Protein Linked To Important Cell Doorway 2New SARS Protein Linked To Important Cell Doorway 3Deficiency of growth hormone and IGF-1 reduces cancer and kidney disease, but creates other problems 2Scientists discover unique microbe in California's largest lake 2Scientists discover unique microbe in California's largest lake 3Scientists discover unique microbe in California's largest lake 4Scientists discover unique microbe in California's largest lake 5
(Date:11/5/2009)... , Fuel economy ratings for the new 2010 model...conomy.gov web site, which Oak Ridge National Lab...tment of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protect...t fuel economy list are hybrid electrics, led by t...ist proves that hybrids have gone mainstream," sai...
(Date:11/5/2009)...ire/ -- The endangered black-footed ferrets inhabi... carnivore feeds on prairie dogs. The prairie do... population die-offs in towns occur. The U.S. Fis...erret breeding program and has been releasing trai...bitat. Unfortunately, plague can sweep through an...
(Date:11/5/2009)...tCall/ -- Imagenetix, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: IA...nt and CEO of Imagenetix, will be presenting the C...ce on Thursday, December 3rd, at 10:30 AM PST at t...O ,, LD MICRO is a by-invitation only newslette...es in the micro-cap space. Since 2002, the firm ha...
(Date:11/5/2009)...ber 5, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time , BOTHE... - OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("OncoGenex" or...audited financial results for the third quarter an...d the Company,s highlights for the third quarter o...eflect the operations of OncoGenex Technologies In...
Breaking Biology Technology:November 2009 story tips from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory 2November 2009 story tips from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory 3Colorado Companies Team Up With U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to Protect Black-Footed Ferret 2Imagenetix to Present at 2nd Annual LD MICRO Conference at the Luxe Sunset Bel Air 2OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 2OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 3OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 4OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 5OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 6OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 7OncoGenex Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results 8
...nd Sanitizer May Minimize Viral Transmission, Incl...d hand sanitizer may significantly impact public h...iruses, including norovirus, from food handlers an...sity of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and North Carolin...in the August 2008 issue of the journal Applied a...
... scientists have induced electrons in the nanocrys...ing them into a smaller volume. This has the poten...eneration of solar power. , "Slowing down the cool...0 timescould lead to a better infrared laser sourc...mistry and Physics at the University of Chicago. "...
...two years away, but soccer aficionados can get an ...petition when the National Institute of Standards ...ost the second-ever international nanosoccer conte...tition where computer-driven "nanobots" the size o...gger than a grain of ricewill be part of the RoboC...
Other Biology Technology:Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology 2Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology 3Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology 4New research expected to improve laser devices and make photovoltaics more efficient 2Let the games begin! Nanosoccer at 2009 RoboCup in Austria 2
Cytotoxicity Fluorometric (green / red) Assay Kit, LIVE/DEAD® from Molecular Probes (Invitrogen)
Goat Anti-Human Xg Affinity Purified Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from R&D Systems
Human MMP-9 / NGAL Complex ELISA Kit from R&D Systems
20X TE buffer *RNase free* from Molecular Probes (Invitrogen)
Biology Products: