Pyrogenic Carbon Study Spring 2024

Researchers are interested in how wildfire impacts nutrients of forests—particularly as wildfires are becoming more frequent across the globe.  Following the 2023 Lookout Fire, which burned over much of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA), researchers Dr. Georgia Seyfried, Dr. Jacob Bukoski, and Dr. Yuzhe Wang are studying post-wildfire carbon dynamics.  The researcher team, with funding from the National Science Foundation, is characterizing pyrogenic carbon (Py-C) stocks and measuring soil respiration and soil microbial community composition as ecosystem recovery begins following the fire. Measurements are being compared against pre-, active, and immediate post-fire measurements from the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire Behavior Assessment Team (FBAT), which was active at the HJA during the Lookout Fire.  The project will provide information on how wildfire impacts carbon retention and cycling, allowing advances in modeling of wildfire-associated carbon emissions, and contributing to resolving global carbon budgets.