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Speciation and Aqueous Dissolution of Macronutrients in Fire Ash: Variation across Ecosystems and the Effects on Nutrient Cycling

Lingqun Zeng, Shyrill F. Mariano, Rixiang Huang Orcid Logo, Carmen Sanchez-Garcia, Cristina Santin Nuno, Jonay Neris Tome, Kruthika Kumar, Chase K. Glenn, Omar El Hajj, Anita Anosike, Joseph O’Brien, Rawad A. Saleh Orcid Logo

Environmental Science & Technology

Swansea University Authors: Carmen Sanchez-Garcia, Cristina Santin Nuno, Jonay Neris Tome

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DOI (Published version): 10.1021/acs.est.4c07101

Abstract

This study investigated the speciation and aqueous dissolution of macronutrients in fire ash from diverse ecosystems and speciation of ash and smoke from laboratory burning, exploring the variations and their causes. The speciation of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and potassium (K) in fire ash from...

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Published in: Environmental Science & Technology
ISSN: 0013-936X 1520-5851
Published: American Chemical Society (ACS) 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68634
Abstract: This study investigated the speciation and aqueous dissolution of macronutrients in fire ash from diverse ecosystems and speciation of ash and smoke from laboratory burning, exploring the variations and their causes. The speciation of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and potassium (K) in fire ash from five globally distributed ecosystems was characterized by using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and sequential fractionation. Aqueous dissolution of the macronutrients was measured by batch experiments at acidic and alkaline pHs. The results showed that P existed mainly as Ca phosphates, Ca as double carbonates, calcite, and sulfates, and most K was associated with Ca carbonates. Mineralogy and the relative abundance of the species were primarily controlled by elemental stoichiometry and fire temperature. Differences in Ca and P speciation existed between ash and smoke from laboratory burning, possibly caused by the temperature difference and/or mass fractionation during burning. The rates, extents, and pH dependencies of macronutrient dissolution differed among macronutrients and depended on their speciation, with K being highly soluble and the P and Ca regulated by solution pH. The variability in ash macronutrient chemistry and ecosystem-specific fire ash loads resulted in varying loads and availability of individual macronutrient from fire among ecosystems. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of how fires transform the chemistry of macronutrients and affect macronutrient returns to soils across different ecosystems, which is essential for evaluating the disturbance to ecosystem nutrient cycling by fires.
Keywords: Terrestrial ecosystems, wildland fires, fire ash, smoke, macronutrients, speciation, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: This work was supported by Startup funds from University at Albany and National Science Foundation (#2120547). The authors would like to thank NSLS beamline scientists Drs. Sarah Nicolas and Yonghua Du for assistance in experimental setup. This research used 8-BM of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under contract no. DE-SC0012704. C.S.-G., C.S., and J.N. acknowledge funding by Natural Environment Research Council grant (NE/R011125/1). During manuscript preparation, C.S.-G. was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement #101003890. The G-WISE campaign was supported by National Science Foundation, Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS-2144062).

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