Open AccessImpact of prescribed burning on soils in urban interface areas in Granada (south-eastern Spain) .
Author(s) -
Sara Montoya Sánchez-Camacho,
Guadalupe Marín Calderón,
Eduardo Ortega Bernaldo de Quirós
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
spanish journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 2253-6574
DOI - 10.3232/sjss.2014.v4.n1.06
Subject(s) - soil water , entisol , organic matter , environmental science , moisture , total organic carbon , water content , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , soil science , geography , geology , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , meteorology
We report here on the effects of preventive burning on soils in peri-urban areas in Granada (Spain). The sampling area, located close to the Sacromonte Abbey on the outskirts of the city of Granada,used to be an agricultural plot devoted to olive trees and cereals but is now abandoned to scrub and the odd tree.The soils in question were entisols. Controlled burning was conductedfor six hours over an area of 13,300 m2and samples were taken at three different times: before burning, four days afterwards and a year afterwards. The parameters measured were: pH, organic matter, carbonates, soil moisture and nitrogen. The results reveal that whilst organic matter and nitrogen contents increased, pH, carbonates and soil moisture decreased after burning