| Wildfires change the chemical composition of soil organic matter (SOM). Since the effects of fires on organic matter (OM) in soil solution are largely unknown, we sought to compare the quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and total organic matter (TOM =DOM +particulate OM) between burned and control sites. The sites were subjected to a low-intensity surface fire in a coniferous forest in Germany dominated by spodic Cambisols derived from Triassic sandstone. Soil solutions from three different soil horizons (O, Ah, Bw), and throughfall (TF) were analyzed using solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy, allowing us to track the initial fire impact on OM vertically through the soil profile and 70 days after the fire. In addition, organic layer samples were... |
