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A soil burn severity index for understanding
soil-fire relations in tropical forests
Jain, Theresa B.; Gould, William A.; Graham, Russell T.; Pilliod, David S.; Lentile, Leigh B.; Gonzalez, Grizelle. 2008. A soil burn severity index for understanding soil-fire relations in tropical forests. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. 37(7-8): 563-568.
Methods for evaluating the impact of fires within tropical forests are needed as fires become more frequent and human populations and demands on forests increase. Short- and long-term fire effects on soils are determined by the prefire, fire, and postfire environments. We placed these components within a fire-disturbance continuum to guide our literature synthesis and develop an integrated soil burn severity index. The soil burn severity index provides a set of indicators that reflect the range of conditions present after a fire. The index consists of seven levels, an unburned level and six other levels that describe a range of postfire soil conditions. We view this index as a tool for understanding the effects of fires on the forest floor, with the realization that as new information is gained, the index may be modified as warranted.
Keywords: soil burn severity index, fire, tropical forests
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relations in tropical forests
Electronic Publish Date: January 14, 2009
Last Update: January
14, 2009