Analysis of the 1:5 soil: water extract in burnt soils to evaluate fire severity

This paper studies fire severity through changes in the composition of the 1:5 soil: water extract in burnt and unburnt samples collected after a wildfire that affected 7.1 ha of mountainous broom scrub (Teide broom, Spartocytisus supranubius L.) in Tenerife (Canary Islands). Soil samples were collected over a regular sampling grid and analysed for pH, electrical conductivity (E.C.), and soluble cations (Ca+2, Mg+2, K+, and NH4+–N) and anions (P, SO4− 2–S, and NO3−‑N). A visual estimation of fire effects on individual broom plants was also conducted. The results show significant differences between burnt and unburnt samples for pH, E.C. and soluble ions (except for P), which generally agrees with data reported in the literature. Although fire severity, as estimated from the degree of fuel combustion, correlated significantly with most of the studied parameters, the qualitative fire severity indexes failed to discriminate sample groups apparently exposed to moderate fire severity conditions. Multivariate statistical analysis (PCA) allowed extracting two main factors, capable to account for 88% of total variability, after rejecting three variables (inorganic N-forms and K+). These factors were related to fire severity and pH-dependent Ca+2 and P reactions, respectively.