Impact of Fire on the Geology of Soils Essay -- Wildfires and Soil Geo

Fires ar an important and healthy process in m any ecosystems. The lack of push asides can cause new gear up communities to concern an field of operation . The regular occurrence of fires can keep one plant community dominate, like oak savannas. Fires can leave burnt sticks the coat of trees and clumps of charcoal where bunch grass use to become, but not for long. An area that was burned will re-grow, grasslands will be green the next growing season and forests will typically show new growth short after. Somewhere in the process of a fire the soil it travels oer is effected. Alterations happen immediately after a fire passes over a soil and can continue years after a fire has gone. Soils are impacted in two main ways by the entering of nutrients form the brunt organic matter (living vegetation and by the drove on the surface of the soil) and the heating of the soil and the nutrients already present in the soil. The greater the duration and intensity of the fire will influen ce the bill of alteration of the soil. A prescribed burn is usually less violent than a wildfire. Prescribed burn are put on when conditions are right, meaning that the area is not too dry or too large. Wildfires on the other hand can start at any time and burn vast areas and last for days out of control. oneness reason wildfires usually are more incisive than prescribed burns is because of the fire suppression that lasted most of this century allowed large amounts of fuel to pile up waiting to be burned. Vegetation in these areas will grow back regardless, but it is the soils that have a harder time recovering from the intense heat. One other difference to consider when looking at the types of fires, is a forest fire verses a grassland fire. Forest fires usually last seven-day and h... ... A., 1989, Effect of simulated forest fire on the availability of N and P in Mediterranean soils Plant Soil. v. 120, p. 57-63. Mroz, G. D., Jurgensen, M. F., Harvey, A. E., and Larsen, M. J., 1980, Effects of fire on nitrogen in forest floor horizons Soil Science community of the States Journal, v. 44, p. 395-400.Prieto-Fernandez, A., Villar, M. C., Carballas, M. and Carballas, T., 1993, Short-term effects of a wildfire on the nitrogen billet and its mineralization kinetics in an Atlantic forest soil Soil biota and Biochemistry, v. 25, p. 1657-1664. Ulery, A. L. and Graham, R. C., 1993, Forest fire effects on soil color and texture Soil Science Society of America Journal, v. 57, p. 135-140.Ulery, A. L., Graham, R.C. and Bowen, L. H., 1996, Forest fire effects on phyllosilicates in California Soil Science Society of America Journal, v. 60, p. 309-315.