167879 20260121151420.0 doi 10.1071/WF25103 sideral 147561 ART-2025-147561 eng Doerr, Stefan H Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation 2025 Background Fires can alter soil properties via downward heat transfer. Numerous studies have examined effects of wildfires and prescribed burns on soils, yet knowledge of the soil temperatures and durations reached is limited. This can lead to erroneous assumptions regarding fire impacts, especially when laboratory heating results are extrapolated to field conditions. Aims and Methods We compiled new and published data on maximum temperatures and heating durations for mineral soils during wildfires and prescribed burns in forests, shrublands and grasslands around the globe, and compared these to data from laboratory heating experiments. Key results Most fires heated only the uppermost centimetres of the soil, rarely exceeding 300°C below 0.5 cm depth. Where 300°C was exceeded at the soil surface, heat pulses were shorter (<500 s) than those often applied in laboratory studies (30 min to 1 h). The highest near-surface temperatures occurred in shrubland wildfires (~964ºC), and longest heating durations in forests with deep duff layers (>3 h above 60°C). Conclusions and Implications Most fires, except in deep smouldering fuels, generate short and shallow soil heating. Laboratory studies with long heating durations rarely represent field conditions. When investigating fire effects on soil, inclusion of shallow near-surface layer samples is recommended. Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/101003890/EU/FIREURISK - DEVELOPING A HOLISTIC, RISK-WISE STRATEGY FOR EUROPEAN WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT/FirEUrisk This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 101003890-FirEUrisk info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-031262-I info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2023-146991NA-I00 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Girona-García, Antonio Sanchez-Garcia, Carmen Badía-Villas, David Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-1006-5030 Bryant, Rob Dickinson, Matthew Hsieh, Rex Mataix-Solera, Jorge Miesel, Jessica Robichaud, Peter Stoof, Cathelijne Santín, Cristina 5011 240 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural Área Edafología y Quím.Agríco. 34 (2025), WF25103 [18 pp.] Int. j. wildland fire International Journal of Wildland Fire 1049-8001 1820086 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/167879/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2819340 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/167879/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:167879 articulos driver 2026-01-21-14:55:28 ARTICLE