Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-19T17:04:31.838Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of the mineralogical effects of an experimental forest fire on a goethite/ferrihydrite soil with a topsoil that contains hematite, maghemite and goethite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

P. Nørnberg ,
A. L. Vendelboe ,
H. P. Gunnlaugsson ,
J. P. Merrison ,
K. Finster  and
S. K Jensen
P. Nørnberg*
Affiliation:
Mars Simulation Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
A. L. Vendelboe
Affiliation:
Mars Simulation Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
H. P. Gunnlaugsson
Affiliation:
Mars Simulation Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
J. P. Merrison
Affiliation:
Mars Simulation Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
K. Finster
Affiliation:
Mars Simulation Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
S. K Jensen
Affiliation:
Mars Simulation Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
*
*E-mail: geopn@phys.au.dk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A long-standing unresolved puzzle related to the Danish temperate humid climate is the presence of extended areas with large Fe contents, where goethite and ferrihydrite are present in the topsoil along with hematite and maghemite. Hematite and, particularly, maghemite would normally be interpreted as the result of high temperature as found after forest fires. However, a body of evidence argues against these sites having been exposed to fire. In an attempt to get closer to an explanation of this Fe mineralogy, an experimental forest fire was produced. The results showed a clear mineralogical zonation down to 10 cm depth. This was not observed at the natural sites, which contained a mixture of goethite/ferrihydrite, hematite and maghemite down to 20 cm depth. The experimental forest fire left charcoal and ashes at the topsoil, produced high pH and decreased organic matter content, all of which is in contrast to the natural sites. The conclusion from this work is that the mineralogy of these sites is not consistent with exposure to forest fire, but may instead result from long-term transformation in a reducing environment, possibly involving microbiology.

Keywords

experimental forest firegoethiteferrihydritemaghemitehematiteFe oxides
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 239 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banerjee, S.K. (2006) Environmental magnetism of nanophase iron minerals: Testing the biomineralization pathway. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 154, 210–221.Google Scholar
Barrón, V. & Torrent, J. (2002) Evidence for a simple pathway to maghemite in Earth and Mars soils. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Ada, 66, 2801–2806.Google Scholar
Campbell, A.S., Schwertmann, U. & Campbell, P.A. (1997) Formation of cubic phases on heating of ferrihydrite. Clay Minerals, 32, 615–622.Google Scholar
Campbell, G.S., Jungbauer, J.D., Bristow, K.L. & Hungerford, R.D. (1995) Soil temperature and water content beneath a surface fire. Soil Science, 159, 363–374.Google Scholar
Cornell, R.M. & Schwertmann, U. (2003) The Iron Oxides: Structure, Properties, Reactions, Occurrences and Uses. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Dalsgaard, K., Baastrup, E. & Bunting, B.T. (1981) Topography on development of alfisols on calcareous clayey till in Denmark. Catena, 8, 111–136.Google Scholar
Gunnlaugsson, H.P., Merrison, J.P., Mossin, L.A., Nornberg, P., Sanden, J., Uggerhø, E. & Weyer, G. (2002) Can Mössbauer spectroscopy reveal the origin of magnetic soil in Denmark. Hyperjine Interactions, 144/145, 365–370.Google Scholar
Iglesias, T., Cala, V. & Gonzalez, J. (1997) Mineralogical and chemical modifications in soils affected by a forest fire in the Mediterranean area. The Science of the Total Environment, 204, 89–96.Google Scholar
Ketterings, Q.M., Bigham, J.M. & Laperche, V. (2000) Changes in soil mineralogy and texture caused by slash-and-burn fires in Sumatra, Indonesia. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 64, 1108–1117.Google Scholar
Maher, B.A. (1998) Magnetic properties of modern soils and Quaternary loessic paleosols: paleoclimatic implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 137, 25–54.Google Scholar
Nornberg, P., Schwertmann, U., Stanjek, H., Andersen, T. & Gunnlaugsson, H.P. (2004) Mineralogy of a burned soil compared with four anomalously red Quaternary deposits in Denmark. Clay Minerals, 39, 85–98.Google Scholar
Nornberg, P., Gunnlaugsson, H.P., Merrison, J.P. & Vendelboe, A.L. (2009) Salten Skov I: A Martian magnetic dust analogue. Planetary and Space Science, 57, 628–631.Google Scholar
Scheinost, A.C. & Schwertmann, U. (1999) Color identification of iron oxides and hydroxysulfates: use and limitations. Soil Science Society America Journal, 63, 1463–1471.Google Scholar
Schwertmann, U. & Heinemann, B. (1959) Über das Vorkommen und die Entstehung von Maghemit in nordwestdeutschen Böen. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Monatshefte, 174-181.Google Scholar
Schwertmann, U. & Murad, E. (1983) Effect of pH on the formation of goethite and hematite from ferrihydrite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 31, 277–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U., Murad, E. & Schulze, D.G. (1982) Is there Holocene reddening (hematite formation) in soils of axeric temperate areas. Geoderma, 27, 209–223.Google Scholar
Stanjek, H. (1987) The formation of maghemite and hematite from lepidocrocite and goethite in a Cambisol from Corsica, France. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde, 150, 314–318.Google Scholar
Terefe, T., Mariscal-Sancho, I., Peregrina, F. & Espejo, R. (2008) Influence of heating on various properties of six Mediterranean soils. A laboratory study. Geoderma, 143, 273–280.Google Scholar
Torrent, J., Barron, V. & Liu, Q. (2006) Magnetic enhancement is linked to and precedes hematite formation in aerobic soil. Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L02401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulery, A.L., Graham, R.C. & Amrhein, C. (1993) Woodash composition and soil pH following intense burning. Soil Science, 156, 358–364.Google Scholar
Vendelboe, A.L., Gunnlaugsson, H.P., Helgason, P. & Nornberg, P. (2005) Characterization of burned soil profiles by Mossbauer spectroscopy. Hyperjine Interactions, 166, 517–522.Google Scholar
Wondafrash, T.T., Sancho, I.M., Miguel, V.G. & Serrano, R.E. (2005) Relationship between soil colour and temperature in the surface horizon of Mediterranean soils: a laboratory study. Soil Science, 170, 495–504.Google Scholar
Zavarzina, D.G. (2004) The role of dissimilatory Fe(III)- reducing bacteria in transformation of iron minerals. Paleontological Journal, 38, 231–237.Google Scholar