Carbon reservoirs in the soil of boreal forests are being released by more frequent and larger wildfires, according to a new study involving a University of Guelph researcher.
Carbon reservoirs in the soil of boreal forests are being released by more frequent and larger wildfires, according to a new study involving a University of Guelph researcher.
As wildfires continue to ravage northern areas across the globe, a research team investigated the impact of these extreme fires on previously intact carbon stores by studying the soil and vegetation of the boreal forest and how they changed after a record-setting fire season.
“Northern fires are happening more often, and their impacts are changing,” said U of G Prof. Merritt Turetsky, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Biology. She worked on the study with lead authors Xanthe Walker and Michelle Mack from the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at Northern Arizona University (NAU), as well as a team of Canadian scientists including Wilfrid Laurier University professor Jennifer Baltzer.
Read more at University of Guelph
Photo: U of G grad students Kristen Reid and Jean Holloway drilling into soil. CREDIT: Merritt Turetsky
