Publications

Research Highlights

Into the unknown: The role of post-fire soil erosion in the carbon cycle

Results indicate that post-fire SOC erosion is a quantitatively important process in the overall C balance of fires; and that the C sink ability of SOC water erosion alone during the first post-fire year could account for around 13% of the C emissions produced by wildland fires.

How much does it cost to mitigate soil erosion after wildfires?

The results confirmed that post-fire soil erosion mitigation treatments are cost-effective as long as they are applied in areas where the post-fire erosion rates exceed the tolerable erosion rate thresholds and are less costly than the loss of on- and off-site values that they are targeted to protect. Therefore, the proper assessment of post-fire soil erosion risk is vital to ensure that the available financial, human and material resources are applied appropriately.

Effectiveness of post-fire soil erosion mitigation treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis

We meta-analyzed investigations of post-wildfire soil erosion mitigation treatments, analyzing and critically reviewing the effectiveness of the different existing post-fire mitigation treatments, as well as their different materials and application rates. Relevant key-variables in the erosive response after wildfires were also studied in relation to the treatments' effectiveness such as the post-fire year, the degree of burn severity, the rainfall amount and erosivity, and the provision and/or evolution of ground cover.

What is wrong with post-fire soil erosion modelling? A meta-analysis on current approaches, research gaps, and future directions

We review the advances in the last 20 years in post-fire soil erosion modelling research and evaluate model adaptations to burned areas, paying special attention to how key-variables in the post-fire hydrological and erosive response were addressed in their predictions: a) fire-induced changes in soil and ground cover; b) fire-induced changes in infiltration; c) burn severity; and d) post-fire mitigation treatments. This study also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches, suggests potential improvements, and identifies directions for future research.

Dynamics of topsoil carbon stocks after prescribed burning for pasture restoration in shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain)

The degree of soil burn severity was highly dependant on the environmental conditions during the burning and the ignition technique used: slow prescribed burning severely affected topsoil properties, while soil remained unaffected at sites where the fire spread rapidly. In the mid-term, the reduction in soil biological activity after fires and the incorporation of ashes and charred plant remains led to an increase in the soil organic carbon of the burned soils.

2025

Robichaud, P.R.; Massman, W.J.; Bova, A.; Girona-García, A.; Alfaro Leránoz, A; Gibson, N.E. 2025. Comparing modeled soil temperature and moisture dynamics during prescribed fires, slash-pile burns and wildfires. International Journal of Wildland Fire 34: WF22082. DOI: 10.1071/WF22082

2024

Girona-García, A.; Vieira, D.; Doerr, S.; Panagos, P.; Santín, C. 2024. Into the unknown: The role of post-fire soil erosion in the carbon cycle. Global Change Biology 30 (6): e17354. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17354.

García-Carmona, M.; Girona-García, A.; Keizer, J.J.; Oliveira, B.R.F.; García-Orenes, F.; Mataix-Solera, J. Post-fire management and biocrust development interact in mid-term soil recovery after a wildfire. Forest Ecology and Management 572: 122293. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122293.

2023

Girona-García, A.; Cretella, C.; Fernández, C.; Robichaud, P.R.; Vieira, D.; Keizer, J.J. 2023. How much does it cost to mitigate soil erosion after wildfires? Journal of Environmental Management 334: 117478. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117478.

Vieira, D.C.S.; Girona-García, A. 2023. Response on the “Characterising wildfire impacts on ecosystem services: A triangulation of scientific findings, governmental reports, and expert perceptions in Portugal”. Environmental Science & Policy 147:265-266. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.06.016.

2022

Parente, J.; Girona-García, A.; Lopes, A.R.; Keizer, J.J.; Vieira, D.C.S. 2022. Prediction, validation, and uncertainties of a nation-wide post-fire soil erosion risk assessment in Portugal. Scientific Reports 12: 2945. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07066-x.

García-Carmona, M.; Girona-García, A.; Oliveira, B.R.F.; Keizer, J.J.; García-Orenes, F.; Mataix-Solera, J., 2022. The role of mosses in soil physico-chemical properties under two contrasting post-fire managements in Central Portugal. Revista de Ciências Agrárias 45 (4), 563-567.

Fernández, C.; Fernández-Alonso, J.M.; Keizer, J.; Girona-García, A. 2022. Guía para la evaluación de campo de la severidad del fuego en el suelo. Xunta de Galicia. ISBN: 978-84-124269-3-9.

2021

Girona-García, A.; Vieira, D.C.S.; Silva, J.; Fernández, C.; Robichaud, P.R.; Keizer, J.J. 2021. Effectiveness of post-fire soil erosion mitigation treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Earth-Science Reviews 217: 103611. DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103611.

Lopes, A.R.; Girona-García, A.; Corticeiro, S.; Martins, R.; Keizer, J.; Vieira, D.C.S. 2021. What is wrong with post-fire soil erosion modelling? A meta-analysis on current approaches, research gaps, and future directions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 46 (1): 205-219. DOI: 10.1002/esp.5020.

Mora, J.L.; Girona-García, A.; Martí-Dalmau, C.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Armas-Herrera, C.; Badía-Villas, D. 2021. Changes in pools of organic matter and major elements in the soil following prescribed pastoral burning in the Central Pyrenees. Geoderma 402: 115169. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115169.

Mora, J.L.; Molina-Clerencia, M.; Girona-García, A.; Martí-Dalmau, C.; Badía-Villas, D. 2021. Factors controlling the buildup of humus and particulate organic matter in European beech and Scots pine stands at their southernmost distribution limits (Moncayo Massif, Spain). Geoderma 401: 115211. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115211.

Francos, M.; Sánchez-García, C.; Girona-García, A.; Fernández-García, V. 2021. Influence of topography on sediment dynamics and soil chemical properties in a Mediterranean forest historically affected by wildfires. NE Iberian Peninsula. Environmental Earth Sciences 80: 436. DOI: 10.1007/s12665-021-09731-2.

2020

Badía-Villas, D.; Esteban-Piñeiro, J.; Girona-García, A.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Poch, R.M. 2020. Topsoil microstructure changes after a shrubland prescribed burn (Central Pyrenees, NE Spain). Science of the total Environment 748: 141253. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141253.

2019

Girona-García, A.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Badía-Villas, D. 2019. Dynamics of topsoil carbon stocks after prescribed burning for pasture restoration in shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain). Journal of Environmental Management 233: 695-705. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.057.

Girona-García, A.; Badía-Villas, D.; Jiménez-Morillo, N.T.; González-Pérez, J.A. 2019. Changes in soil organic matter composition after Scots pine afforestation in a native European beech forest revealed by analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS). Science of the Total Environment 691: 1155-1161. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.229.

Girona-García, A. 2019. Changes in soil properties after prescribed burning for pasture restoration in shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain). Tesis de la Universidad de Zaragoza 2019-88. ISSN: 2254-7606.

2018

Girona-García, A.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Badía-Villas, D.; Martí-Dalmau, C. 2018. Effects of prescribed burning on soil organic C, aggregate stability and water repellency in a subalpine shrubland: variations among sieve fractions and depth. Catena 166: 68-77. DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2018.03.018.

Girona-García, A.; Zufiaurre Galarza, R.; Mora, J.L.; Armas-Herrera, C.M.; Martí, C.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Badía-Villas, D. 2018. Effects of prescribed fire for pasture reclamation on soil chemical properties in subalpine shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain). Science of the Total Environment 644: 583-593. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.363.

Girona-García, A.; Badía-Villas, D.; Jiménez-Morillo, N.T.; de la Rosa, J.M.; González-Pérez, J.A. 2018. Soil C and N isotope composition after a centennial Scots pine afforestation in podzols of native European beech forests in NE-Spain. Catena 165: 434-441. DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2018.02.023.

Girona-García, A.; Badía-Villas, D.; Martí-Dalmau, C.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Mora, J.L.; Armas-Herrera, C.M. 2018. Effects of prescribed fire for pasture management on soil organic matter and biological properties: a 1-year study case in the Central Pyrenees. Science of the Total Environment 618: 1079-1087. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.127.

Girona-García, A.; Badía-Villas, D.; Martí, C. 2018. Changes in Topsoil Properties after Centennial Scots Pine Afforestation in a European Beech Forest (NE Spain). Forests 9: 343. DOI: 10.3390/f9060343.

Badía, D.; Girona-García, A. 2018. Soil humus changes with elevation in Scots pine stands of the Moncayo Massif (NE Spain). Applied Soil Ecology 123: 617-621. DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2017.07.017.

Armas-Herrera, C.M.; Martí, C.; Badía, D.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Girona-García, A.; Mora, J.L. 2018. Short-term and midterm evolution of topsoil organic matter and biological properties after prescribed burning for pasture recovery (Tella, Central Pyrenees, Spain). Land Degradation and Development 29: 1545-1554. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2937.

2017

Badía, D.; López-García, S.; Martí, C.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Girona-García, A.; Casanova-Gascón, J. 2017. Burn effects on soil properties associated to heat transfer under contrasting moisture content. Science of the Total Environment 601-602: 1119-1128. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.254.

Badía-Villas, D.; Martí-Dalmau, C.; Girona-García, A.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Casanova Gascón, J. 2017. Chapter 12: Soil thickness affected by fire: changes in organic C content and related properties. In: Bento Gonçalves, A.J.; Batista Vieira, A.A.; Melo Costa, M.R.; Marques Aranha, J.T. (Eds.). Wildfires: Perspectives, Issues and Challenges of the 21st Century. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Hauppauge NY, USA. ISBN: 978-1-53612-890-1.

2016

Badía, D.; Ruiz, A.; Girona, A.; Martí, C.; Casanova, J.; Ibarra, P.; Zufiaurre, R. 2016. The influence of elevation on soil properties and forest litter in the Siliceous Moncayo Massif, SW Europe. Journal of Mountain Science 13 (12): 2155-2169. DOI: 10.1007/s11629-015- 3773-6.

Armas-Herrera, C.M.; Martí, C.; Badía, D.; Ortiz-Perpiñá, O.; Girona-García, A.; Porta, J. 2016. Immediate effects of prescribed burning on the amount and stability of topsoil organic matter in Central Pyrenees. Catena 147: 238-244. DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2016.07.016.

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