The impact of large forest fires on frozen pale soils in the Lena-Vilyui watershed

The catastrophic wildfires that occurred in Central Yakutia in 2021 resulted in extensive forest destruction, leading to the complete incineration of significant forested areas. This devastation has caused the loss of tree stands and the degradation of forest litter, as well as the upper organic layers of the soil. Consequently, there has been a substantial alteration in the water-temperature regime of permafrost soils, which are formed under permafrost conditions. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of these fires on the morphological, physical, and chemical characteristics of pale soils during the initial years following the fire event, specifically after the destruction of the tree stand and the combustion of the litter and organic soil layers. This research primarily focuses on pale, slightly solodized soils located within the larch forests of the Lena-Vilyui watershed. This research presents comprehensive insights into vegetation and the morphogenetic characteristics of soil profiles, alongside the parameterization of various soil properties, including field moisture, humus content, loss on ignition, , reactions of the soil environment, exchangeable base quantities, and granulometric composition. The findings indicate that the deposition of combustion byproducts, specifically in the form of ash, results in soil alkalization, which is associated with a marked decrease in organic carbon levels within the surface strata. Notably, the morphological characteristics of soils in the control area exhibit significant differences compared to those in the burned region; a thin pyrogenic layer with minimal screening effects has developed in the burned region, soil mixing processes have become more pronounced, and the natural horizontal boundaries of soil horizons have been disrupted. The degradation of heat-insulating ground cover and organic matter contributes to substantial soil heating, leading to elevated soil mass temperatures and an extended seasonal thaw. The thawing of upper permafrost layers and the release of previously sequestered moisture result in soil saturation, which, upon winter freeze, triggers cryoturbation. In contrast, soils that have not experienced fire exhibit only a weak expression of permafrost mixing within the soil profile. Furthermore, the temporary waterlogging of poorly drained soils in the initial years post-fire exacerbates tree.

1. Тarabukina V.G., Savvinov D.D. The impact of fires on permafrost soils. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 1990. 120 p. (In Russ.)

2. Тarabukina V.G., Shumilov J.V. Pyrogenous transformation of forest soils in the conditions of cryolithozone. In: Productivity and resistance of forest soils: Proceedings of the 3rd International forest soil science conference, Petrozavodsk, September 7–11, 2009. Petrozavodsk: Karelian Research Centre of RAS; 2009, pp. 112–116.

3. Mergelov N.S. Post-pirogenic transformation of soils and soil carbon stocks in sub-tundra woodlands of Kolyma lowland: a cascading effect and feedbacks. Izvestiya RAN. Seriya Geograficheskaya. 2015;(3):129–140.(InRuss.) https://doi.org/10.15356/0373-2444-2015-3-129-140

4. Desyatkin A., Fedorov P., Filippov N., Desyatkin R. Climate change and its influence on the active layer depth in Central Yakutia. Land. 2021;10(1):1–3. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10010003

5. Jones B.M., Grosse G., Arp C.D., et al. Recent Arctic tundra fire initiates widespread thermokarst development. Scientific Reports. 2015;5(1):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15865

6. Yanagiya K., Furuya M. Post-wildfire surface deformation near Batagay, Eastern Siberia, detected by Lband and C-band InSAR. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. 2020;125(7):e2019JF005473. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005473

7. Fedorov A.N. Permafrost landscape research in the northeast of Eurasia. Earth. 2022;3(1):460–478. https://doi.org/10.3390/earth3010028

8. Desyatkin R., Okoneshnikova M., Ivanova A., et al. Dynamics of vegetation and soil cover of pyrogenically disturbed areas of the northern taiga under conditions of thermokarst development and climate warming. Land. 2022;11(9):1594. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091594

9. Sofronov M.A., Volokitina A.V., Kajimoto T., et al. Zonal peculiarities of forest vegetation controlled by fires in Northern Siberia. Eurasian Journal of Forest Research. 2000;1:51–59.

10. Desyatkin R.V., Desyatkin A.R. The effect of increasing active layer depth on changes in the water budget in the cryolithozone. Eurasian Soil Science. 2019;52(11): 1447–1455. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229319110036

11. Dobrovolskiy G.V. Soil degradation and protection. Moscow: Moscow State University Publishing House; 2002. 654 p. (In Russ.)

12. Dymov A.A., Dubrovsky Y.A., Gabov D.N. Pyrogenic changes in iron-illuvial podzols in the middle taiga of the Komi Republic. Eurasian Soil Science. 2014;47(2): 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229314020045

13. Zaydelman F.R., Shvarov A.P. Pyrogenic and hydrothermal degradation of peat soils, their agroecology, sand crops, recultivation. Moscow: Moscow State University Publishing House; 2002. 168 p. (In Russ.)

14. Krasnoshchekov Yu.N. Pyrogenic impact on gray humus soils of pine forests in the Central ecological zone of the Baikal Lake natural territory. Siberian Journal of Fo rest Science. 2014;(2):43–52. (In Russ.)

15. Chevychelov A.P. Pyrogenesis and postpyrogenic changes of peculiarities and composition of cryomorphic soils. Siberian Journal of Ecology. 2002;9(3):273–277. (In Russ.)

16. Shur Y.L., Jorgenson M.T. Patterns of permafrost formation and degradation in relation to climate and ecosystems. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. 2007; 18(1):7–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.582

17. Petrov D.G. Pyrogenic soils of boreal and sub-arctic regions of Russia: dynamic of properties and informational role:Abstr. … Diss. Cand. Sci., Moscow; 2023. 28 p. (In Russ.)

18. Prokushkin S.G., Bogdanov V.V., Prokushkin A.S., et al. Post-fire restoration of organic substance in the ground cover of the larch forests in permafrost zone of Central Evenkia. Biology Bulletin. 2011;38(2):183–190. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359011020129

19. Karpel B.A., Korokhodkina V.G. Changes in soil conditions after fires. In: Shcherbakov I.P. (ed.) Forest fires in Yakutia and the it impact on the nature of the forest. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 1979, pp. 75–87. (In Russ.)

20. Тarabukina V.G. Pyrogenes and its impact on the ecological condition of the soils of the northern taiga. In: Savvinov D.D. (ed.) Applied ecology of the North: experience of research, current state and prospects: Proceedings of the International scientific-practical conference, Yakutsk, March 20–21, 2003. Yakutsk: Institute of Applied Ecology of the North of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); 2003, pp.174–177. (In Russ.)

21. Certini G. Effects of fire on properties of forest soils: a review. Oecologia. 2005;143:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1788-8

22. Tsibart A.S., Gennadiev A.N. The influence of fires on the properties of forest soils in the Amur River basin (the Norskii Reserve). Eurasian Soil Science. 2008; 41(7):686–693. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229308070028

23. Startsev V.V., Dymov A.A., Prokushkin A.S. Soils of postpyrogenic larch stands in Central Siberia: Morphology, physicochemical properties, and specificity of soil organic matter. Eurasian Soil Science. 2017;50(8): 885–897. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229317080117

24. Scientific and applied reference book on the climate of the USSR. Series 3: Long-term data. Issue 24 Yakut ASSR. Book 1, Parts 1–6. Smirnova N.S. (ed.). Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat; 1989. 607 p. (In Russ.)

25. Weather in Berdigestyakh. Weather and climate. http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/history/24758_2.htm. (accessed: 01.06.2024).

26. Struchkov A.A., Nikolaev A.A. Assessment of the forest fire condition of Gorny District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Vestnik of North-Eastern Federal University. Earth Sciences. 2021;2(22):22–32. (In Russ.)

27. Shcherbakov I.P. Forest cover of the North-East USSR. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 1975. 343 p. (In Russ.)

28. Andreev V.N., Galaktionova T.F., Perfileva V.I., Shcher bakov I.P. The main features of the vegetation cover of the Yakut ASSR. Yakutsk: YAF SB of the USSR Academy of Sciences; 1987. 156 p. (In Russ.)

29. National Atlas of soils of the Russian Federation. Shoba S.A. (ed.). Moscow: Astrel; 2011. 631 p. (In Russ.)

30. Elovskaya L.G. Classification and diagnostics of permafrost soils of Yakutia. Yakutsk: YAF SB of the USSR Academy of Scienc; 1987. 172 p. (In Russ.)

31. Field guide for Russian Soils. Moscow: Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute; 2008. 182 p. (In Russ.)

32. Elovskaya L.G., Konorovskiy A.K., Kuznetsov Kh.A., et al. Systematic list of soils in the taiga zone of Yakutia and their diagnostic characteristics. In: Elovskaya L.G. (ed.) Soils of the valleys of the Lena and Aldan Rivers. Yakutsk: Yakutsk Publishing House; 1965, pp. 34–53. (In Russ.)

33. Zolnikov V.G., Elovskaya L.G., Teterina L.V., Chernyak E.I. Soils of the Vilyui River’s basin and their use. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; 1962. 204 p. (In Russ.)

34. Desyatkin R.V., Lesovaya S.N., Okoneshnikova M.V., Zaitseva T.S. Palevye (pale) soils of Central Yakutia: Genetic specificity, properties, and classification. Eurasian Soil Science. 2011;44(12):1304–1314. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229311120027

35. Arinushkina E.V. Handbook for the Chemical Analysis of Soils.Moscow: Moscow State University Publishing House; 1970. 487 p. (In Russ.)

36. Kachinskii N.A. Mechanical and microaggregate composition of soil, methods of investigation. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; 1958. 91 p. (In Russ.)

37. Abstract of flora of Asian Russia: Vascular plants. Baikov K.S. (ed.). Novosibirsk: Publishing House of the SB RAS; 2012. 640 p. (In Russ.)

38. Matveev P.M., Matveev A.M. Forest pyrology. Krasnoyarsk: Siberian State Technological University; 2002. 316 p. (In Russ.)

39. Tsibart A.S., Gennadiev A.N. Trend of forest soils transformation under the influence of pyrogenic factor in the Amur River region. Moscow University Bulletin. Series 5, Geography. 2009;(3):66–74. (In Russ.)

40. Gyninova A.B., Sympilova D.P. Changes in the properties of sod-forest soils under the influence of fires. In: Soils of Siberia, their use and protection. Novosibirsk: Nauka: 1999, pp. 120–124. (In Russ.)

41. Desyatkin R.V., Nikolaeva M.Ch., Ivanova A.Z., et al. The impact of 2021 large forest fires on vegetation and soils, on the territory of distribution of light soil-forming rocks in Central Yakutia. Dokuchaev Soil Bulletin. 2024; (118):231–275. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.19047/0136-1694-2024-118-231-275