Impact of a long-term fire retardant (Fire Trol 931) on the leaching of Ca, Mg, and K from a Mediterranean forest loamy soil

Michalopoulos, Charalampos; Koufopoulou, Sofia; Tzamtzis, Nikolaos; Pappa, Athina

Impact of a long-term fire retardant (Fire Trol 931) on the leaching of Ca, Mg, and K from a Mediterranean forest loamy soil

2016

Michalopoulos, Charalampos | Koufopoulou, Sofia | Tzamtzis, Nikolaos | Pappa, Athina

The present laboratory study was conducted in pot soil taken from forest. The leaching of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K) (plant macronutrients) due to the application of a nitrogen phosphate-based long-term fire retardant (LTFR) (Fire Trol 931) was investigated. The concentrations of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺ were measured in the resulting leachates from pots with forest soil and pine tree alone and in combination with fire. Magnesium is a minor component of Fire Trol 931. The leaching of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺ from treated soils with the retardant pots was significantly greater than that from control pots. The leaching of Mg²⁺ was found to be of small percentage of the initially applied Mg quantities. Fire Trol 931 application resulted in the leaching of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺ from a typical Mediterranean forest soil in pots, following the application of simulated annual precipitation probably due to ammonium (one of the major retardant components) soil deposition that mobilizes base cations from the soil. It seems that LTFR application may result in chemical leaching from the soil to the drainage water.

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