Which is the role of post-fire SOC erosion in the C cycle?
- 1Biodiversity Research Institute (IMIB), CSIC-UniOvi-PA, Mieres, Spain (a.girona@csic.es)
- 2Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
- 3European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
Wildfires burn on average 448 million hectares globally every year, releasing around 2.2 Pg of carbon (C) into the atmosphere [1, 2]. The net effect of wildfires in the C cycle goes, however, beyond emissions and involves many other interacting processes. Among those, there is a significant knowledge gap on the role of post-fire soil organic carbon (SOC) erosion as a carbon sink mechanism.
Post-fire erosive response is greatly enhanced by the direct and indirect effects of wildfires on soil and vegetation, such as the loss of protective cover and soil structure or the development of a water-repellent layer [3]. In addition, biomass and soil organic matter undergo quantitative and qualitative changes during wildfires, such as the formation of pyrogenic carbon, highly resistant to degradation. The resulting PyC and non-PyC carbon fractions, with contrasting physical properties and chemical stability, will be differently redistributed and mineralized during the erosion process [4]. Ultimately, post-fire SOC erosion will act as a carbon sink when the post-fire burial and stabilization of eroded carbon, together with the recovery of net primary production and soil organic carbon content, exceed the SOC losses during its post-fire transport [5]. All these processes have been scarcely investigated and poorly quantified to the date. In this presentation, we will provide new insights into this potential C sink mechanism, critically reviewing the state of the art and highlighting key research gaps.
References
[1] Boschetti et al., 2021. Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS). https://gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/country.profile/downloads
[2] Randerson et al., 2012. J Geophys Res. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JG002128
[3] Shakesby & Doerr, 2006. Earth-Sci Revs. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.10.006
[4] Doetterl et al., 2016. Earth-Sci Revs. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.12.005
[5] Santín et al., 2015. Glob Change Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12800
How to cite: Girona-García, A., Santín, C., Vieira, D., and Doerr, S.: Which is the role of post-fire SOC erosion in the C cycle?, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-5803, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-5803, 2023.
