Soils of Post-Pyrogenic Forests

Fires cause significant changes in morphological soil properties. Examples of soils of lichen and lingonberry–green-moss pine forests and green-moss spruce forests subjected to ground fires at different times are given. The preservation of pyrogenic features in soil morphology within different periods after fires is discussed. Soils of recently burnt areas are characterized by a lower acidity and lower content of water-soluble organic matter and an increase in the content of aromatic structures and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil organic matter. The composition of densimetric fractions of soils of post-pyrogenic forests is analyzed. The content of PAHs increases in the composition of light densimetric fractions. Examples of increasing hydrophobicity of the upper mineral horizons of post-pyrogenic soils are given.