Researchers are interested in how wildfire impacts nutrients of forests—particularly as wildfires are becoming more frequent across the globe. Following the 2023 Lookout Fire, which burned over much of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA), researchers Dr. Georgia Seyfried, Dr. Jacob Bukoski, and Dr. Yuzhe Wang are studying post-wildfire carbon dynamics. The researcher team, with funding from the National Science Foundation, is characterizing pyrogenic carbon (Py-C) stocks and measuring soil respiration and soil microbial community composition as ecosystem recovery begins following the fire. Measurements are being compared against pre-, active, and immediate post-fire measurements from the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire Behavior Assessment Team (FBAT), which was active at the HJA during the Lookout Fire. The project will provide information on how wildfire impacts carbon retention and cycling, allowing advances in modeling of wildfire-associated carbon emissions, and contributing to resolving global carbon budgets.
Pyrogenic Carbon Study Spring 2024
Jacob Bukoski, Assistant Professor, College of Forestry, OSU, takes samples of biochar as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Jacob Bukoski, Assistant Professor, College of Forestry, OSU, takes samples of biochar as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Georgia Seyfried, Assistant Professor, College of Forestry, OSU, examines a tree trunk within the burned area of the 2023 Lookout Fire
Jacob Bukoski, Assistant Professor, College of Forestry, OSU, and Georgia Seyfried examine a thick organic horizon within an unburned area of the HJA
Jacob Bukoski and Georgia Seyfried examine a thick organic horizon within an unburned area of the HJA
Jacob Bukoski and Georgia Seyfried next to the burned trunk of a western red cedar tree. Note the mixed severity burn pattern from the 2023 Lookout Fire, where some areas of the forest are burned and others are still green
Jacob Bukoski within an area that was burned in the 2023 Lookout Fire
Jacob Bukoski and Georgia Seyfried examine differences between burned and unburned soils in a stand that experienced mixed severity fire at the HJA
Jacob Bukoski and Georgia Seyfried examine soil within a burned area of the HJA
Georgia Seyfried examines soil within a burned area of the HJA
Jacob Bukoski and Georgia Seyfried examine soil within a burned area of the HJA
Yuzhe Wang, a visiting scholar to OSU and Associate Professor at the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in Fuzhou, China, measures a tree within a mixed burn severity area from the 2023 Lookout Fire
Jacob Bukoski records data as part of a research project on pyrogenic carbon production from the Lookout Fire at HJA
Yuzhe Wang, a visiting scholar to OSU and Associate Professor at the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in Fuzhou, China, measures tree diameter within a mixed burn severity area from the 2023 Lookout Fire
Jacob Bukoski (left) and Yuzhe Wang (right) discuss burn patterns and take measurements as part of a project on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Jacob Bukoski (left) and Yuzhe Wang (right) discuss burn patterns and take measurements as part of a project on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Jacob Bukoski (left) and Yuzhe Wang (right) take samples of biochar on a tree trunk as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Jacob Bukoski, Assistant Professor, College of Forestry, OSU, takes measurements of biochar as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire
Yuzhe Wang (left) and Jacob Bukoski (right) take measurements as part of a study on pyrogenic carbon production from wildfire