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Is Fire a Poorly Recognised Moderator of Acid Deposition Impacts?

The Australian continent is renowned for its intense Bush fires which periodically remould its ecosystems. Increasingly though it is realised that such fires occur periodically in all environments from the tropics to the Arctic.

Another phenomenon which also modifies ecosystems in a drastic fashion is 'Acid Deposition' or as it is often termed, 'Acid Rain'. A striking feature of fire and acid deposition is that they share many environmental components and processes e.g. soil nutrient cycles. Also while both are natural phenomena their influence on ecosystems has been markedly distorted by human activities.

This document sets out to examine whether fire alters the impacts of acid deposition and whether land degradation, ascribed to acid deposition, could be due instead to altered fire regimes. It brings together ideas and information on the influences of fire and acid deposition on soil chemistry to show how these two phenomena could interact with one another. Of particular importance is the regulatory role of soil buffering systems and steady state physico-chemical processes, principally the weathering of minerals, and alkaline atmospheric inputs.

Correspondence to: djroser@ozemail.com.au
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