EGU22-12625, updated on 28 Mar 2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12625
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Post-fire metal exports in a recently burnt eucalypt plantation in North-Central Portugal

Dalila Serpa1, Ana Machado1, Isabel Campos1, Martha Santos1, Fátima Jesus1, Bruna Oliveira1, Behrouz Gholamahmadi1, Martinho Martins1, Oscar González-Pelayo1, Nelson Abrantes1, Jacob Keizer1, and Life-Reforest Consortium2
Dalila Serpa et al.
  • 1Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal (dalila.serpa@ua.pt)
  • 2CETIM Technological Centre, A Coruña, Spain (jfierro@cetim.es)

Ash and sediments transported by post-fire runoff are a source of hazardous substances, like metals, posing a risk of contamination to the downstream aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, metal mobilization was evaluated using 16 m2 bounded runoff-erosion plots at a eucalypt plantation in Albergaria-a-Velha (Aveiro district, North-Central Portugal) that burnt with moderate severity in September 2019. In total, 9 plots were installed: 3 were treated with eucalypt chopped-bark mulch, another 3 were treated with an innovative barrier-based technique developed within the scope of the LIFE REFOREST project (LIFE17 ENV/ES/000248) consisting of geotubes containing a mycotechnosol and, 3 others were left untreated. Eroded sediments and overland flow were collected during the first post-fire hydrological year. Sediment and overland flow samples were analysed for vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), which are of concern for both environmental and human health. Given the most recent climate change scenarios, which foresee an increase in fire severity and frequency for the Mediterranean region, this work provides key information for resource managers to define adaptative strategies to effectively safeguard surface water resources.

How to cite: Serpa, D., Machado, A., Campos, I., Santos, M., Jesus, F., Oliveira, B., Gholamahmadi, B., Martins, M., González-Pelayo, O., Abrantes, N., Keizer, J., and Consortium, L.-R.: Post-fire metal exports in a recently burnt eucalypt plantation in North-Central Portugal, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-12625, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12625, 2022.