Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone
Forest-peat fires are notable for their difficulty in estimating carbon losses. Combined carbon losses from tree biomass and peat soil were estimated at an 8 ha forest-peat fire in the Moscow region after catastrophic fires in 2010. The loss of tree biomass carbon was assessed by reconstructing fore...
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/7/880 |
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| author | Andrey Sirin Alexander Maslov Dmitry Makarov Yakov Gulbe Hans Joosten |
| author_facet | Andrey Sirin Alexander Maslov Dmitry Makarov Yakov Gulbe Hans Joosten |
| author_sort | Andrey Sirin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest-peat fires are notable for their difficulty in estimating carbon losses. Combined carbon losses from tree biomass and peat soil were estimated at an 8 ha forest-peat fire in the Moscow region after catastrophic fires in 2010. The loss of tree biomass carbon was assessed by reconstructing forest stand structure using the classification of pre-fire high-resolution satellite imagery and after-fire ground survey of the same forest classes in adjacent areas. Soil carbon loss was assessed by using the root collars of stumps to reconstruct the pre-fire soil surface and interpolating the peat characteristics of adjacent non-burned areas. The mean (median) depth of peat losses across the burned area was 15 ± 8 (14) cm, varying from 13 ± 5 (11) to 20 ± 9 (19). Loss of soil carbon was 9.22 ± 3.75–11.0 ± 4.96 (mean) and 8.0–11.0 kg m<sup>−2</sup> (median); values exceeding 100 tC ha<sup>−1</sup> have also been found in other studies. The estimated soil carbon loss for the entire burned area, 98 (mean) and 92 (median) tC ha<sup>−1</sup>, significantly exceeds the carbon loss from live (tree) biomass, which averaged 58.8 tC ha<sup>−1</sup>. The loss of carbon in the forest-peat fire thus equals the release of nearly 400 (soil) and, including the biomass, almost 650 tCO<sub>2</sub> ha<sup>−1</sup> into the atmosphere, which illustrates the underestimated impact of boreal forest-peat fires on atmospheric gas concentrations and climate. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:39:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-a3215a07cb744dcb9ea005b9e449bd6c2023-11-22T03:49:06ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-07-0112788010.3390/f12070880Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral ZoneAndrey Sirin0Alexander Maslov1Dmitry Makarov2Yakov Gulbe3Hans Joosten4Institute of Forest Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow Region, 143030 Uspenskoye, RussiaInstitute of Forest Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow Region, 143030 Uspenskoye, RussiaInstitute of Forest Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow Region, 143030 Uspenskoye, RussiaInstitute of Forest Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow Region, 143030 Uspenskoye, RussiaInstitute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, Soldmannstrasse 15, D-17487 Greifswald, GermanyForest-peat fires are notable for their difficulty in estimating carbon losses. Combined carbon losses from tree biomass and peat soil were estimated at an 8 ha forest-peat fire in the Moscow region after catastrophic fires in 2010. The loss of tree biomass carbon was assessed by reconstructing forest stand structure using the classification of pre-fire high-resolution satellite imagery and after-fire ground survey of the same forest classes in adjacent areas. Soil carbon loss was assessed by using the root collars of stumps to reconstruct the pre-fire soil surface and interpolating the peat characteristics of adjacent non-burned areas. The mean (median) depth of peat losses across the burned area was 15 ± 8 (14) cm, varying from 13 ± 5 (11) to 20 ± 9 (19). Loss of soil carbon was 9.22 ± 3.75–11.0 ± 4.96 (mean) and 8.0–11.0 kg m<sup>−2</sup> (median); values exceeding 100 tC ha<sup>−1</sup> have also been found in other studies. The estimated soil carbon loss for the entire burned area, 98 (mean) and 92 (median) tC ha<sup>−1</sup>, significantly exceeds the carbon loss from live (tree) biomass, which averaged 58.8 tC ha<sup>−1</sup>. The loss of carbon in the forest-peat fire thus equals the release of nearly 400 (soil) and, including the biomass, almost 650 tCO<sub>2</sub> ha<sup>−1</sup> into the atmosphere, which illustrates the underestimated impact of boreal forest-peat fires on atmospheric gas concentrations and climate.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/7/880forest firepeat fireclimate changeGHGscarbon dioxide |
| spellingShingle | Andrey Sirin Alexander Maslov Dmitry Makarov Yakov Gulbe Hans Joosten Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone Forests forest fire peat fire climate change GHGs carbon dioxide |
| title | Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone |
| title_full | Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone |
| title_short | Assessing Wood and Soil Carbon Losses from a Forest-Peat Fire in the Boreo-Nemoral Zone |
| title_sort | assessing wood and soil carbon losses from a forest peat fire in the boreo nemoral zone |
| topic | forest fire peat fire climate change GHGs carbon dioxide |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/7/880 |
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