Erosion rate ; Forest fire ; Geochemistry ; Idaho ; Inventory ; Isotope analysis ; Lead ; Sediment budget ; Slope ; Soil erosion ; United States of America
Análisis isotópico ; Balance sedimentario ; Erosión de los suelos ; Estados Unidos ; Geoquímica ; Incendio forestal ; Inventario ; Plomo ; Velocidad de erosión ; Vertiente
Fallout radionuclides, including lead-210 excess (210Pbex), have only recently been applied in burned terrain. The AA. collected over 400 soil samples from unburned, moderately and severely burned forested sites in central Idaho. They measured soil
210Pbex content at stable reference and eroding sites and in mineral and organic soil components. At all sites, organic matter had the highest concentration of 210Pbex. The results indicate that most 210Pbex in these semi-arid, forested sites was bound
to organic matter, and that a substantial portion of this lead was lost due to forest fires. Thus, given methodological uncertainties, 210Pbex losses due to fire, and the subsequent sensitivity of calculated net erosion rates to these lower 210Pbex