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Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation
Stefan Doerr 
,
Antonio Girona-García ,
Carmen Sanchez-Garcia,
David Badía-Villas ,
Rob Bryant,
Matthew Dickinson ,
Rex Hsieh ,
Jorge Mataix-Solera ,
Jessica Miesel ,
Peter Robichaud ,
Cathelijne Stoof ,
Cristina Santin Nuno
,
Antonio Girona-García ,
Carmen Sanchez-Garcia,
David Badía-Villas ,
Rob Bryant,
Matthew Dickinson ,
Rex Hsieh ,
Jorge Mataix-Solera ,
Jessica Miesel ,
Peter Robichaud ,
Cathelijne Stoof ,
Cristina Santin Nuno
International Journal of Wildland Fire, Volume: 34, Issue: 12, Start page: WF25103
Swansea University Authors:
Stefan Doerr , Carmen Sanchez-Garcia, Rob Bryant, Cristina Santin Nuno
-
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DOI (Published version): 10.1071/wf25103
Abstract
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, especiall...
| Published in: | International Journal of Wildland Fire |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1049-8001 1448-5516 |
| Published: |
CSIRO Publishing
2025
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70787 |
| first_indexed |
2025-10-28T10:41:24Z |
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2025-12-16T05:27:27Z |
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SURis |
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<?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2025-12-15T14:10:37.5682395</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>70787</id><entry>2025-10-28</entry><title>Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>575eb5094f2328249328b3e43deb5088</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-8700-9002</ORCID><firstname>Stefan</firstname><surname>Doerr</surname><name>Stefan Doerr</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>466600dc1f90b208a9008df7c9805a7b</sid><firstname>Carmen</firstname><surname>Sanchez-Garcia</surname><name>Carmen Sanchez-Garcia</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>8a943c07a1e86ec1df511a4f32de98ac</sid><firstname>Rob</firstname><surname>Bryant</surname><name>Rob Bryant</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>993c82cbaf875c1268156360e83c4dfd</sid><firstname>Cristina</firstname><surname>Santin Nuno</surname><name>Cristina Santin Nuno</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-10-28</date><deptcode>BGPS</deptcode><abstract>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 with 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 soil-surface temperature occurred in a shrubland wildfire (~964°C), 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.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>International Journal of Wildland Fire</journal><volume>34</volume><journalNumber>12</journalNumber><paginationStart>WF25103</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>CSIRO Publishing</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>1049-8001</issnPrint><issnElectronic>1448-5516</issnElectronic><keywords>burn severity, fire effects belowground, flame temperature, heat transfer, heating duration, mineral soils, soil heating, soil organic matter, soil temperature, thermocouples</keywords><publishedDay>1</publishedDay><publishedMonth>12</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-12-01</publishedDate><doi>10.1071/wf25103</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences Geography and Physics School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>BGPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library)</apcterm><funders>This study was supported by Leverhulme Trust Grant (RPG-2014-095) (CS, SHD), Leverhulme Trust Fellowship (RF-2016-456\2) (SHD), NERC grant IDEAL FIRE (NE/X005143/1) (SHD), European Commission H2020 project no. 101003890 (FirEUrisk) (SHD, CS), Grant RYC2021-031262-I funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR (AG), Grant PID2023-146991NA-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘ERDF/EU’ (AG).</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-12-15T14:10:37.5682395</lastEdited><Created>2025-10-28T10:30:13.5889771</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Stefan</firstname><surname>Doerr</surname><orcid>0000-0002-8700-9002</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Antonio</firstname><surname>Girona-García</surname><orcid>0000-0001-7003-8950</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Carmen</firstname><surname>Sanchez-Garcia</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>David</firstname><surname>Badía-Villas</surname><orcid>0000-0002-1006-5030</orcid><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Rob</firstname><surname>Bryant</surname><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Matthew</firstname><surname>Dickinson</surname><orcid>0000-0003-3635-1219</orcid><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Rex</firstname><surname>Hsieh</surname><orcid>0009-0009-7593-2770</orcid><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Jorge</firstname><surname>Mataix-Solera</surname><orcid>0000-0003-2789-9936</orcid><order>8</order></author><author><firstname>Jessica</firstname><surname>Miesel</surname><orcid>0000-0001-7446-464x</orcid><order>9</order></author><author><firstname>Peter</firstname><surname>Robichaud</surname><orcid>0000-0002-2902-2401</orcid><order>10</order></author><author><firstname>Cathelijne</firstname><surname>Stoof</surname><orcid>0000-0002-0198-9215</orcid><order>11</order></author><author><firstname>Cristina</firstname><surname>Santin Nuno</surname><order>12</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>70787__35822__f52552781fa04126985dc8fece4411da.pdf</filename><originalFilename>70787.VOR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2025-12-15T14:07:53.5001859</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>1818158</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). 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2025-12-15T14:10:37.5682395 v2 70787 2025-10-28 Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation 575eb5094f2328249328b3e43deb5088 0000-0002-8700-9002 Stefan Doerr Stefan Doerr true false 466600dc1f90b208a9008df7c9805a7b Carmen Sanchez-Garcia Carmen Sanchez-Garcia true false 8a943c07a1e86ec1df511a4f32de98ac Rob Bryant Rob Bryant true false 993c82cbaf875c1268156360e83c4dfd Cristina Santin Nuno Cristina Santin Nuno true false 2025-10-28 BGPS 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 with 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 soil-surface temperature occurred in a shrubland wildfire (~964°C), 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. Journal Article International Journal of Wildland Fire 34 12 WF25103 CSIRO Publishing 1049-8001 1448-5516 burn severity, fire effects belowground, flame temperature, heat transfer, heating duration, mineral soils, soil heating, soil organic matter, soil temperature, thermocouples 1 12 2025 2025-12-01 10.1071/wf25103 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) This study was supported by Leverhulme Trust Grant (RPG-2014-095) (CS, SHD), Leverhulme Trust Fellowship (RF-2016-456\2) (SHD), NERC grant IDEAL FIRE (NE/X005143/1) (SHD), European Commission H2020 project no. 101003890 (FirEUrisk) (SHD, CS), Grant RYC2021-031262-I funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR (AG), Grant PID2023-146991NA-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘ERDF/EU’ (AG). 2025-12-15T14:10:37.5682395 2025-10-28T10:30:13.5889771 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography Stefan Doerr 0000-0002-8700-9002 1 Antonio Girona-García 0000-0001-7003-8950 2 Carmen Sanchez-Garcia 3 David Badía-Villas 0000-0002-1006-5030 4 Rob Bryant 5 Matthew Dickinson 0000-0003-3635-1219 6 Rex Hsieh 0009-0009-7593-2770 7 Jorge Mataix-Solera 0000-0003-2789-9936 8 Jessica Miesel 0000-0001-7446-464x 9 Peter Robichaud 0000-0002-2902-2401 10 Cathelijne Stoof 0000-0002-0198-9215 11 Cristina Santin Nuno 12 70787__35822__f52552781fa04126985dc8fece4411da.pdf 70787.VOR.pdf 2025-12-15T14:07:53.5001859 Output 1818158 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| title |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation |
| spellingShingle |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation Stefan Doerr Carmen Sanchez-Garcia Rob Bryant Cristina Santin Nuno |
| title_short |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation |
| title_full |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation |
| title_fullStr |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation |
| title_sort |
Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation |
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575eb5094f2328249328b3e43deb5088 466600dc1f90b208a9008df7c9805a7b 8a943c07a1e86ec1df511a4f32de98ac 993c82cbaf875c1268156360e83c4dfd |
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575eb5094f2328249328b3e43deb5088_***_Stefan Doerr 466600dc1f90b208a9008df7c9805a7b_***_Carmen Sanchez-Garcia 8a943c07a1e86ec1df511a4f32de98ac_***_Rob Bryant 993c82cbaf875c1268156360e83c4dfd_***_Cristina Santin Nuno |
| author |
Stefan Doerr Carmen Sanchez-Garcia Rob Bryant Cristina Santin Nuno |
| author2 |
Stefan Doerr Antonio Girona-García Carmen Sanchez-Garcia David Badía-Villas Rob Bryant Matthew Dickinson Rex Hsieh Jorge Mataix-Solera Jessica Miesel Peter Robichaud Cathelijne Stoof Cristina Santin Nuno |
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International Journal of Wildland Fire |
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WF25103 |
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2025 |
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1049-8001 1448-5516 |
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10.1071/wf25103 |
| publisher |
CSIRO Publishing |
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Faculty of Science and Engineering |
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Faculty of Science and Engineering |
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School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography |
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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 with 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 soil-surface temperature occurred in a shrubland wildfire (~964°C), 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. |
| published_date |
2025-12-01T05:33:36Z |
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1856987008812974080 |
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11.096089 |