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Fire as a Soil-Forming Factor

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Abstract

In the span of a human generation, fire can, in theory, impact all the land covered by vegetation. Its occurrence has many important direct and indirect effects on soil, some of which are long-lasting or even permanent. As a consequence, fire must be considered a soil-forming factor, on par with the others traditionally recognized, namely: parent material, topography, time, climate, living beings not endowed with the power of reason, and humans.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Professor Fiorenzo C. Ugolini and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Agroalimentari e dell’Ambiente (DISPAA), Università degli Studi di Firenze, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144, Florence, Italy

    Giacomo Certini

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  1. Giacomo Certini
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Correspondence to Giacomo Certini.

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Certini, G. Fire as a Soil-Forming Factor. AMBIO 43, 191–195 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0418-2

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