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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Grassland fire effect on soil organic carbon reservoirs in semiarid environment

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Abstract. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of a experimental fire, used for grassland management, on soil organic carbon (SOC) reservoirs. The study was carried out on Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf (Hh) grassland and Ampelodesmos mauritanicus (Desf.) T. Durand and Schinz (Am) grasslands, located in the north of Sicily. Soil samples were collected at 0–5 cm before and after experimental fire and SOC was measured. During grassland fire soil surface temperature was monitored. Biomass of both grasses was analyzed in order to determine dry weight and its chemical composition. The results showed that SOC varied significantly with vegetation cover, while it is not affected in the short period by grassland fire. Am grassland stored more SOC compared with Hh grassland thanks to lower content in biomass of labile carbon pool. No significant difference was observed in SOC before and after fire which could be caused by several factors: first, in both grassland types the measured soil temperature during fire was low due to thin litter layers; second, in semiarid environment higher mineralization rate results in lower soil carbon labile pool; and third, the C stored in the finest soil fractions, physical protected, is not affected by fire.