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The Impact of Forest Fires on Soil pH, Surface Temperatures and Snow Surface Temperatures
Organization(s):University Of Alaska Fairbanks - IARC
Country:United States of America
Student(s):Alan Urban, Nathan Simms, Corbin Knapp
Grade Level:Undergraduate
GLOBE Educator(s):Christina Buffington
Contributors:
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report
Protocols:Surface Temperature, Soil pH, Soil Temperature
Presentation Poster:
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Language(s):English
Date Submitted:2021-12-02
The importance of managing wildfires and their effects upon the soil and the health
of environments are key in forest management around the world. The significance of
these impacts is the effect of forest fires on soil characteristics such as pH and the
temperature readings of the soil surface and the snow surface temperatures. The two
sites tested near Murphy Dome compared a burn area and a non-burn area of arctic
boreal forests within a 200m distance of each other. The impacts of the Shovel Creek
fire near Murphy Dome that occurred in 2019 indicated through data collected in
the fall of 2021 that there was a decrease in soil surface temperature, no significant
change in snow surface temperature, and an increase in the soil’s pH levels.