Interactive comment on “Distribution of black carbon in Ponderosa pine litter and soils following the High Park wildfire” by C. M. Boot et al

Distribution of black carbon in ponderosa pine forest floor and soils following the High Park wildfire

Biomass burning produces black carbon (BC), effectively transferring a fraction of the biomass C from an actively cycling pool to a passive C pool, which may be stored in the soil. Yet the timescales and mechanisms for incorporation of BC into the soil profile are not well understood. The High Park fire (HPF), which occurred in northwestern Colorado in the summer of 2012, provided an opportunit...

Distribution of black carbon in Ponderosa pine litter

Introduction Conclusions References

Growth Response of Pinus ponderosa following a Mixed-Severity Wildfire in the Black Hills, South Dakota

numerous studies have documented a temporary decrease in growth following prescribed burning (e.g., Landsberg et al. 1984, Grier 1989, Sutherland et al. 1991, Peterson et al. 1994, Busse et al. 2000), whereas other studies have reported a positive growth response in ponderosa pine (Wyant et al. 1983, Skov et al. 2005), giant sequoia (Mutch and Swetnam 1995), and Douglas-fir (Reinhardt and Ryan ...

Restoring forest structure and process stabilizes forest carbon in wildfire-prone southwestern ponderosa pine forests.

Changing climate and a legacy of fire-exclusion have increased the probability of high-severity wildfire, leading to an increased risk of forest carbon loss in ponderosa pine forests in the southwestern USA. Efforts to reduce high-severity fire risk through forest thinning and prescribed burning require both the removal and emission of carbon from these forests, and any potential carbon benefit...

Interactive Effects of O3 and CO2 on the Ponderosa Pine Plant/Litter/Soil System