Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests

Wildfires are an integral component of Mediterranean ecosystems. The forest management practices implemented following such forest fires can significantly influence soil chemistry and metal dynamics. This study investigates the effects of different forest management strategies, including natural reg...

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Main Authors: Yener Ulus, Shaoyi Wang, Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui, Noah Landau, Owen Lekki, Tuğba Bayazıt, Habibullah Uzun, Fevziye Aslan, Ali Kavgacı
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1661652/full
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author Yener Ulus
Yener Ulus
Shaoyi Wang
Shaoyi Wang
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Noah Landau
Owen Lekki
Tuğba Bayazıt
Habibullah Uzun
Fevziye Aslan
Ali Kavgacı
author_facet Yener Ulus
Yener Ulus
Shaoyi Wang
Shaoyi Wang
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Noah Landau
Owen Lekki
Tuğba Bayazıt
Habibullah Uzun
Fevziye Aslan
Ali Kavgacı
author_sort Yener Ulus
collection DOAJ
description Wildfires are an integral component of Mediterranean ecosystems. The forest management practices implemented following such forest fires can significantly influence soil chemistry and metal dynamics. This study investigates the effects of different forest management strategies, including natural regeneration, grading (e.g., gradoni terrace making), and subsoiling with ripper on soil levels of major, trace, and heavy metals in a fire-affected forest in the southwestern part of Türkiye. Soil samples were collected 2.5 years after the containment of the wildfire and analyzed for selected metals (Fe, Ca, Al, Mn, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, As, and Hg) concentrations. The findings indicated that subsoiling with a ripper resulted in elevated levels of multiple potentially toxic metals, including Cr (223.22 ± 60.47 mg/kg), Ni (150.54 ± 27.33 mg/kg), Zn (156.18 ± 66.14 mg/kg), and As (6.72 ± 1.30 mg/kg), compared to other treatments. These findings demonstrate that management interventions such as subsoiling with a ripper can significantly alter the distribution and concentration of trace metals. Future research integrating topographic variation and earlier sampling would further strengthen our understanding of post-fire metal dynamics.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2296-665X
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publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Environmental Science
spelling doaj-art-00b69b0d23f44c7fb60b415f36f0b38c2025-08-21T05:31:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-08-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.16616521661652Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forestsYener Ulus0Yener Ulus1Shaoyi Wang2Shaoyi Wang3Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui4Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui5Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui6Noah Landau7Owen Lekki8Tuğba Bayazıt9Habibullah Uzun10Fevziye Aslan11Ali Kavgacı12Biology and Environmental Science Department, College of Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL, United StatesEnvironmental Studies Department, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, United StatesSchool of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaEnvironmental Studies Department, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, United StatesEnvironmental Studies Department, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, United StatesCentral Research Laboratory, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, TürkiyeDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, TürkiyeGeneral Directorate of Forestry, Ankara, TürkiyeVocational School of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, TürkiyeWildfires are an integral component of Mediterranean ecosystems. The forest management practices implemented following such forest fires can significantly influence soil chemistry and metal dynamics. This study investigates the effects of different forest management strategies, including natural regeneration, grading (e.g., gradoni terrace making), and subsoiling with ripper on soil levels of major, trace, and heavy metals in a fire-affected forest in the southwestern part of Türkiye. Soil samples were collected 2.5 years after the containment of the wildfire and analyzed for selected metals (Fe, Ca, Al, Mn, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, As, and Hg) concentrations. The findings indicated that subsoiling with a ripper resulted in elevated levels of multiple potentially toxic metals, including Cr (223.22 ± 60.47 mg/kg), Ni (150.54 ± 27.33 mg/kg), Zn (156.18 ± 66.14 mg/kg), and As (6.72 ± 1.30 mg/kg), compared to other treatments. These findings demonstrate that management interventions such as subsoiling with a ripper can significantly alter the distribution and concentration of trace metals. Future research integrating topographic variation and earlier sampling would further strengthen our understanding of post-fire metal dynamics.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1661652/fullpost-fire soil contaminationwildfireforest managementheavy metalsoil disturbance
spellingShingle Yener Ulus
Yener Ulus
Shaoyi Wang
Shaoyi Wang
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui
Noah Landau
Owen Lekki
Tuğba Bayazıt
Habibullah Uzun
Fevziye Aslan
Ali Kavgacı
Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests
Frontiers in Environmental Science
post-fire soil contamination
wildfire
forest management
heavy metal
soil disturbance
title Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests
title_full Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests
title_fullStr Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests
title_full_unstemmed Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests
title_short Post-fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in Mediterranean forests
title_sort post fire forest management effects on soil metal dynamics in mediterranean forests
topic post-fire soil contamination
wildfire
forest management
heavy metal
soil disturbance
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1661652/full
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