Session: Symposium--Soils of Wildfire-Affected Landscapes: Linking Belowground Ecology & Watershed Processes

Division: SSSA Division: Forest, Range and Wildland Soils

Title: Symposium--Soils of Wildfire-Affected Landscapes: Linking Belowground Ecology & Watershed Processes

Lead Community Sponsor:
Cosponsor: SSSA Division: Soil Biology and Biochemistry, SSSA Division: Soils and Environmental Quality, SSSA Division: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils
Community Cosponsor:
Format: Oral Symposium
Keywords: Soil ecology, pyrogenic carbon, soil erosion and watershed biogeochemistry

Session Description: Understanding the mechanisms that govern the response and recovery of soils to fire -- and their downslope and downstream impacts on environmental quality -- is increasingly relevant. Such mechanisms include ecological, biogeochemical, physical and watershed processes that operate across broad spatial and temporal scales. Belowground responses to fire depend on both the response of above ground plant communities and on the nature of the disturbance - fire frequency, severity, size, and seasonality. An integrated understanding of fire effects across multiple temporal and spatial scales is required to prepare and respond to wildfire under changing climate and land management challenges.