The effect of forest fire on soil mercury burden
Burgess JR. 1995. The effect of forest fire on soil mercury burden
From the abstract: "Atmospheric deposition of mercury results in an increased load of Hg to organic soil horizons. Forest fires can generate soil temperatures sufficient to cause Hg volatilization and consumption of organic soil. The possible effect of forest fire on organic soil Hg burden was investigated. Organic soil samples from burned and unburned areas (1947), were collected from a watershed in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. The burned site is characterized by a beech-dominated hardwood forest, and the unburned site is a mature spruce-fir forest. Samples were analyzed for total mercury. Organic soils from the burned site were thinner and significantly lower in Hg concentration (burned mead = 231 ng Hg/g dry wt., unburned mean = 550 ng Hg/g dry wt., P = 0.004). The lower Hg concentration in the soils from the burned sites probably result from a combination of the following: low or zero initial Hg burden, reduced Hg retention ability, lower dry deposition collection efficiency of the hardwood canopy, and possibly the orientation of the slope at the sampling site."
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Burgess, John
- Date of Issue
- 1995-12
- Units
- ACAD
- Keywords
- Eagle Lake, FIRE, Mercury (Hg), Mount Desert Island, Pemetic Mountain, Soil Profiles, Soils, The Bubbles