[M-IS01] ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AND CLIMATIC CHANGES IN NORTHERN EURASIA

[MIS01-02] Pyrogenic carbon production during wildfires in Scots pine forests of southern Siberia

★Invited Papers

*Elena Kukavskaya¹, Olga Shapchenkova¹, Ludmila Buryak ^1,2,3, Sergey Zhila¹ (1.V.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences - separate subdivision of the FRC KSC SB RAS, 660036 Akademgorodok 50/28, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 2.The Branch of FBU VNIILM “Centre of Forest Pyrology”, 660062 Krupskaya 42, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 3.Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology, 660037 Krasnoyarsky Rabochiy Prospect 31, Krasnoyarsk, Russia)

Keywords:pyrogenic organic matter, fire severity, fuel type, thermal analyses

Wildfires release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, but they also convert some of the burned biomass into pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM). PyOM is C-enriched and more chemically and thermally recalcitrant than its unburned precursors. Recent studies in different ecosystem types around the world have shown that up to 30% of the total C affected by fire is retained as PyOM. In Siberia, large areas of forest burn annually, with the frequency of fires having tended to increase in recent decades. However, studies of pyrogenic carbon production from wildfires in the vast region of Siberia are still lacking. We evaluated the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of PyOM formed during wildfires in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands in southern Siberia. Our results showed that 5 to 27% of the C affected by fire was retained in PyOM depending of prefire stand characteristics and fire severity. The PyOM samples showed a significant loss of thermolabile compounds and an enrichment in thermally recalcitrant aromatic compounds. Fuel type had a significant effect on the thermal properties and resistance of PyOM to thermal degradation. To better understand the role of pyrogenic carbon in the carbon budget, more regional studies are required to account for a range of different ecosystem types and fire characteristics. The research was supported by grant # 24-27-20064.