RT Journal Article
T1 Chemical composition of wildfire ash produced in contrasting ecosystems and its toxicity to Daphnia magna
A1 Harper, Ashleigh R.
A1 Santin, Cristina
A1 Doerr, Stefan H.
A1 Froyd, Cynthia A.
A1 Albini, Dania
A1 Otero Pérez, Xosé Lois
A1 Viñas, Lucía
A1 Pérez Fernández, Begoña
K1 Bioassays
K1 Ecotoxicology
K1 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
K1 Wildfire impacts
AB It is well established in the world’s fire-prone regions that wildfires can considerably change the hydrological dynamics of freshwater catchments. Limited research, however, has focused on the potential impacts of wildfire ash toxicity on aquatic biota. Here, we assess the chemical composition and toxicity of ash generated from wildfires in six contrasting vegetation types distributed globally (UK grassland, Spanish pine forest, Spanish heathland, USA chaparral, Australian eucalypt forest and Canadian spruce forest). Acute (48 h) immobilisation tests were conducted on the extensively studied aquatic macroinvertebrate Daphnia magna, a sensitive indicator of aquatic contaminants. We found significant differences between the chemical composition and toxicity of these ash types. The UK and Spanish ash had no detectable toxicity to Daphnia magna, whereas the Australian eucalypt, USA chaparral and Canadian spruce ash all caused significant toxicity (immobilisation). The principal characteristics of the latter ash types were their high pH, and NO3, Cl and conductivity levels. Elevated water-soluble and total concentrations of metals (e.g. Mn, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cu and As) and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were not linked to toxicity
PB CSIRO Publishing
SN 1049-8001
YR 2019
FD 2019
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21052
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21052
LA eng
NO Harper Ashleigh R., Santin Cristina, Doerr Stefan H., Froyd Cynthia A., Albini Dania, Otero Xose Luis, Viñas Lucia, Pérez-Fernández Begoña (2019) Chemical composition of wildfire ash produced in contrasting ecosystems and its toxicity to Daphnia magna. International Journal of Wildland Fire 28, 726-737.  https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18200
NO This work was supported by a Swansea University College of Science PhD studentship (Harper), a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship REF-2016–456\2 (Doerr) and a Ser Cymru Fellowship supported by European Union’s 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska–Curie grant agreement no. 663830 (Santin) and Natural Environment Research Ecotoxicology of wildfire-generated ash Int. J. Wildland Fire 735 Council (NERC) grant NE/R011125/1. Xose Luis Otero was supported by Cross-Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS) strategic group (Conselleria de Educacion REF. 2018-PG100)
DS Minerva
RD 22 abr 2026