Fires are a complex phenomenon that may generate a chain of responses and processes that affect each part of the ecosystem. Some ecosystems need fire to be sustainable. Soils are a crucial element of the environment and are the base for forest development. Thus, is important to understand the magnitude of the impacts of fire on soil properties and the response of plants to this disturbance. Soils are a poor conductor, thus the direct impacts of fire on soils are limited to the first centimetres. These impacts are especially important after high severity fires as a consequence of the high temperatures reached and the high consumption of organic matter. In this case, the direct impacts of fire can last more time comparing to low and moderate fire severities. Post-fire and indirect impacts on soil depend on fire history, ash properties, topography, post-fire weather, topography, vegetation recuperation and post-fire management. Vegetation recuperation depends also very much from the impacts of fire on soil. The aim of this course is to give an overview of fire impacts on soil properties, the latest methods that we used to assess it and contribute to building proper management guidelines for managers.

10:45-10:55: Presentation of the book "Fire impacts on soil properties"

10:55-11:25: "Fire in northern boreal forests - effects on biogeochemical cycles"
Kajar Koster, University of Helsinki, Finland

11:25-11:50: "Effects of prescribed fires on soil and plant ecosystems" Manuel Lucas Borja, University of Castilla y la Mancha, Spain

11:50-12:20: "Ash and soils. A close relationship in fire-affected areas" Paulo Pereira, Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania

12:20-12:30: Course clausure

This course is supported by the POSTFIRE Project (CGL2013-47862-C2-1 and 2-R) and the POSTFIRE_CARE Project (CGL2016-75178-C2-2-R) sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and AEI/FEDER, EU. This course is also supported by the Academy of Finland project BOREALFIRE (294600, 307222).