SGER- Effects of Droughts and Fires on Peatland Carbon Sinks: A Case Study of Changes Following the Massive Fires of 2007 in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

奥克弗诺基沼泽是一片巨大的泥炭地，占佐治亚州东南部超过35万英亩。2007年4月至6月，整个湿地在一场灾难性的大火中烧毁，美国东南部的长期干旱加剧了这场大火。在火灾之前，之前的研究人员绘制并量化了整个泥炭地的泥炭特征、生态条件和植被群落。现在有一个独特但短暂的机会，可以在火灾后进行广泛的采样，直接与沼泽及其植被的火灾前特征进行比较。有必要尽快完成这项研究，然后在焚烧地点的生态条件因短暂矿物质的淋失、降雨对表层沉积物(如木炭颗粒)的重新分配、洞穴和觅食生物的重新工作以及火灾后短暂植被的生长而模糊或永久改变之前进行。除了解决湿地在沉积物中固碳的长期潜力外，这项工作还将提高从世界各地收集的泥炭剖面的可解性。今天，失控的大火在世界许多地区肆虐，许多公民的健康和安全受到空气污染、房屋受损、火灾后极端侵蚀以及野生动物和渔业破坏的影响。将获得的有关火灾生态的信息将使州和联邦机构人员、公园管理人员以及其他参与消防、水资源管理和自然资源保护的人员受益。参与这项研究的人员有通过讲座、报纸文章以及电台和电视采访积极参与公众的历史。

The Okefenokee Swamp is a large peatland occupying over 350,000 acres of southeastern Georgia. In April-June of 2007 the entire wetland burned in a catastrophic fire that was exacerbated by prolonged droughts in the southeastern US. Previous researchers mapped and quantified peat characteristics, ecological conditions, and vegetation communities over the entire peatland, prior to the fire. There now is a unique but ephemeral opportunity to undertake extensive post-fire sampling for direct comparison to pre-fire characteristics of the swamp and its vegetation. It is necessary that this study be done soon, before ecological conditions are blurred or permanently altered at the burned sites by leaching of ephemeral mineral matter, redistribution of the surface sediments (such as charcoal particles) by rainfall, reworking by burrowing and browsing organisms, and growth of short-lived post-fire vegetation. In addition to addressing the long-term potential for wetlands to sequester carbon in their sediments, the work will enhance interpretability of peat profiles collected from sites around the world. Uncontrolled fires rage in many parts of the world today, and the health and safety of many citizens is impacted through air pollution, damage to homes, extreme post-fire erosion, and destruction of wildlife and fisheries. The information on fire ecology that will be obtained will benefit State and Federal agency personnel, park managers, and other personnel involved with fire protection, water resources management, and natural resource conservation. The personnel involved in this study have a history of actively engaging the public via lectures, newspaper articles, and radio and TV interviews.