GLOBE Projects

GLOBE Side Navigation

The Impact of Forest Fires on Soil pH, Surface Temperatures and Snow Surface Temperatures

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: View Document
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:12/02/2021
Burned and unburned sites on both sides of Murphy Dome Road. Credit: Google Earth Images
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.



Comments