by Sealand Energy environmental news (not verified) - 01/08/2009 - 12:35
After studying regular Yellow-Stone Park wild-fires there has always been the perception that after a forest fire new growth would return and after a few years everything would be fine. This report introduces a new factor which is the difference in air and ground temperatures that seem to have just reached an elevated level in which surface soil can no longer regenerate destroyed vegetation; after the recent European fires the exposed soil has reached temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius which is a little like burning your feet on a sandy beach when you step off your towel and at that temperature, the bacteria in the soil which previously enabled re-growth augmented by carbon deposits from burnt material, simply dies and the soil becomes sterile. The strategic point is that elevated ground temperature now reaches levels where the function of the top soil is destroyed and may represent one of the major technical reasons why desert like yellow is creeping across world satellite maps.
Comments (2)
Earth
What should they do?what would be the future?
Excellent report, the soil temperature is a new factor
After studying regular Yellow-Stone Park wild-fires there has always been the perception that after a forest fire new growth would return and after a few years everything would be fine. This report introduces a new factor which is the difference in air and ground temperatures that seem to have just reached an elevated level in which surface soil can no longer regenerate destroyed vegetation; after the recent European fires the exposed soil has reached temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius which is a little like burning your feet on a sandy beach when you step off your towel and at that temperature, the bacteria in the soil which previously enabled re-growth augmented by carbon deposits from burnt material, simply dies and the soil becomes sterile. The strategic point is that elevated ground temperature now reaches levels where the function of the top soil is destroyed and may represent one of the major technical reasons why desert like yellow is creeping across world satellite maps.