ABSTRACT
Soils, like other natural systems, are composed of many highly interrelated components making it difficult to analyze individual characteristics and processes out of context. Physical properties (e.g., texture, structure, density, and porosity) and chemical properties (e.g., pH, reactivity, and mineral content) are only part of the complex soil system. Soil processes are the mechanisms that occur within the soil. Both soil properties and soil processes differ by soil type and by the environmental context being considered, which for this review, is fire. Fire, whether natural and intentional, has a large impact in most ecosystems, and in fire-dependent natural systems, the lack of fire can disrupt basic forest and soil dynamics. Research methodologies used to determine changes in soil physical and chemical properties have been adapted to study soil after wildland fires, prescribed fires, and laboratory fire simulations.
